A-Level grades up
Students across England have done better than ever before in their A-Levels.
This year’s results show that the overall pass rate is 0.6 per cent up from last year to 96 per cent and the number of A grades increased by 0.8 per cent to 22.4 per cent.
The Department of Education emphasised that traditional subjects continue to attract high numbers of entries as, with the exception of General Studies, English and Mathematics had the highest number of entries.
School Standards Minister David Miliband said that the results showed that an “education revolution” is underway in the UK with opportunities opening up for more and more young people.
Having earlier in the week launched a pre-emptive strike against those who claim A-Levels have become easier, Mr Miliband continued in this vein, saying: “These results are built on the hard work of students, schools and colleges. I congratulate the students and thank our teachers for their commitment.
“My message to them is simple. Don’t let anyone tell you that standards have dropped because more of you have done well, this is simply a myth. Your hard work has merited success.
“At a time when Ofsted says the standard of teaching has never been higher, we should expect to have rising levels of achievement in our schools and colleges. We are getting better as a country at getting the best out of our young people. We should applaud them and applaud their schools and colleges.”
Mr Miliband’s words were echoed by all the teaching unions, who sought to focus attention on pupils’ achievement rather than the dispute around standards.
However, the Institute of Directors (IoD) again complained about the high number of students achieving A grade results.
Policy adviser James Walsh said: “Employers and universities are finding it increasingly difficult to select the very best candidates from A-Level students. With an ever-growing number of A grade passes being awarded the brightest students are not shining through.”
He emphasised though that employers value A-Levels themselves and would not welcome any move to a new diploma-style qualification.
