A-level results 2012: A and A* grades fall

The share of A-level entries getting the top grade has fallen for the first time in two decades in results published on Thursday for more than 300,000 candidates.

The results show that 26.6% of grades issued this year are A or A*, a fall of 0.4% compared with last year. The overall pass rate at all grades rose for the 30th successive year, to 98%.

For the first time since the A* was introduced in 2010, boys slightly outperformed girls at the grade. Eight per cent of boys achieved an A*, compared with 7.9% of girls, in results for 335,000 candidates in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Achieving the A* grade requires marks of above 90% in a candidate's second-year exams.

Figures by subject showed that more boys than girls took technical disciplines such as maths, physics, computing and economics. Girls predominate in psychology, English and French.

Since 2009, the exams regulator, Ofqual, has adopted a new approach intended to contain grade inflation by comparing examiners' marking of candidates against the performance of that year-group at GCSE, as well as previous years' A-level results. The approach was introduced for the new AS-level specification first awarded in 2009, and the revised A-level first awarded in 2010.

The exam itself is more demanding, with more challenging questions and fewer modules than in the past. However, examiners suggested that the drop in the top grade reflected a change in the cohort of candidates this year, rather than pressure from the regulator.

While the number of 18-year-olds in the population has declined, the number taking A-levels is up by 1.5%. This means a broader range of candidates is sitting the exams. The last time there was a year-on-year drop in the proportion getting the top grade was in 1991, when there was a 0.1% fall.

The number of British teenagers learning European languages fell again in this year's A-levels, prompting examiners to speak of a crisis in the subjects. Entries in French declined to about 12,500 this year, and the number of candidates taking German dropped below 5,000. The number of entries for Spanish declined slightly, at 7,351 this year compared with 7,610 in 2011, although the trend over the past five years is up.

There was a modest increase in the take-up of other languages. Entries for A-level Polish rose from 844 last year to 923, and there were 3,425 entries for Mandarin, compared with 3,237 in 2011. Arabic, Japanese and Russian entries also climbed.

Andrew Hall, chief executive of the AQA exam board, said the drop in the number of people taking A-levels in traditional modern foreign languages was a real worry. "We have the euro economy in crisis – I think modern foreign languages are in the same place," he said.

There was no magic bullet to fix the problem, Hall said, but he welcomed the government's move this year to introduce modern languages in primary schools.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the OCR exam board, said universities had made it clear they wanted students with qualifications in science and maths. "I'm not sure the message has been as strong around languages, so they could assist in this approach," he said.

The government has expressed concern at the continuing decline in languages. A spokesman for the Department for Education said the English baccalaureate, which recognises achievement in core subjects at GCSE, was reversing the decline.

The spokesman said: "The EBacc is already reversing falling numbers studying languages at GCSE, which should have a positive knock-on effect on numbers continuing to study them at A-level. And from 2014 languages will be compulsory for all seven-year-olds until they leave primary school."

The 10 most popular A-level subjects, in order, were: English, maths, biology, psychology, history, chemistry, art and design, general studies, physics and media studies.

There were 85,714 candidates taking maths this year. Maths has increased in popularity over the past five years and now accounts for nearly 10% of the total number of entries.

The subjects which experienced the biggest year-on-year falls in popularity, in percentage terms, were Critical Thinking, General Studies and PE, which declined by 12.7% to just under 17,000 candidates.

Since the turn of the century, the subjects which have gained most in popularity have been religious studies, media studies, psychology and politics, while French, German, computing and geography have declined most, according to the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University.

Exam boards declined to publish a full breakdown of results by type of school this year, saying that the scale of conversion to academy status among England's secondary schools since the election made it hard to provide meaningful data.

Soon after the coalition was formed, the education secretary, Michael Gove, invited all outstanding schools to convert to academies; counting these schools' results within the data for academies could skew the figures.

Dame Athene Donald, chair of the Royal Society's education committee, welcomed the increase in candidates taking science subjects. "In these times of economic hardship it should be with a great sense of relief that we see the numbers of students choosing to take science A-levels rising for yet another year. Scientific research and development provide the UK with genuine prospects for economic growth and I am delighted that many young people are aware of the opportunities that science qualifications offer them."

She said the Royal Society remained concerned that the current A-level system was too narrow, and suggested there should be a baccalaureate-style system to allow students to study more subjects.

Beck Smith, director of the pressure group Campaign for Science and Engineering, expressed concern over the gender gap in the sciences. Girls made up just under a fifth of those taking physics A-level, and a third of those taking maths.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "The continuing fall in numbers taking modern languages is a real concern. A-level students are savvy and have their eye very much on the job market. They've heard the messages loud and clear that employers want mathematics and science graduates, and these subjects have increased. If we are going to turn around the decline in modern languages, employers, universities and the government must send out the message that modern language skills equal employment opportunities."

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, suggested setting up advisory networks between schools to promote languages. They exist to promote the teaching of maths and physics, and provide further-maths teaching for students where schools and colleges cannot provide it themselves.

Hobby said: "From investigating the possibility of giving talented language teachers a 'golden hello' to setting up advisory networks, we must begin to raise the status of modern foreign languages so that our school leavers can take full advantage of the creative and commercial opportunities the rest of the world has to offer."