Six takeaways from A-level and other Level 3 results

Teenagers who picked up A-level and different Level 3 results earlier were successful Year 10 erstwhile Covid hit.

Most spent hours retired of the classroom. Their GCSE exams were cancelled and their grades based connected what their teachers thought they ought to person - an attack that led to a roar successful apical A-level and GCSE grades successful 2020 and 2021

The program ever since has been to bring grades backmost down, truthful they transportation "weight and credibility" with employers.

So present we are, successful the twelvemonth England's exam watchdog said would beryllium astir "getting backmost to normal".

But it's not rather mean yet.

Here are six things you request to know.

Top A-level results successful England, Wales and Northern Ireland person fallen for a 2nd twelvemonth moving - with 27.2% of each grades an A* oregon A.

That's much oregon little backmost to wherever it was successful 2019 - and a important autumn from caller years. It was:

But the driblet is unevenly spread.

It is steepest successful England, wherever grades were owed to beryllium brought backmost successful enactment with 2019 this year.

But Wales and Northern Ireland are taking a much gradual attack and this year's grades were ever meant to beryllium a spot higher than that.

Overall, determination are 73,008 less apical grades than successful 2022 but 31,834 much than successful 2019.

Wales and Northern Ireland had a higher percent of apical A-level grades than England earlier the pandemic - and that remains the lawsuit now.

The proportionality of A-levels marked A* oregon A was:

This year's driblet successful apical grades was little terrible successful Wales and Northern Ireland partially due to the fact that students determination beryllium AS-levels the twelvemonth earlier their A-levels. These number towards their last A-level grades and were sat past year, erstwhile marking was much lenient.

But it's besides due to the fact that Wales and Northern Ireland are opting for a much phased instrumentality to 2019 levels than England. And it's simpler for them to bash this due to the fact that they each person a azygous exam board, whereas England has multiple.

So was this year's attack just to students successful England?

Ofqual, England's exams regulator, says determination was "protection built into the grading process" this year, truthful students should person achieved the grades they would person if the pandemic had not deed - adjacent if they performed little good successful their exams.

Some Covid measures besides remained successful spot successful England for this year's exams. A-levels were spaced further isolated than earlier the pandemic, allowing for remainder and revision.

But, dissimilar successful the remainder of the UK, A-level students successful England received nary beforehand accusation astir the topics connected which they would beryllium tested.

The Higher Education Policy Institute said this week "England has astir apt got it wrong", trying to instrumentality to mean "too quickly".

But Ofqual caput Jo Saxton told BBC News students successful England would not beryllium disadvantaged, due to the fact that universities had been warned antithetic nations were taking antithetic approaches.

In fact, astir students spell to assemblage successful their location federation - Welsh students thin to survey successful Wales, for example.

But the Association of School and College Leaders has said the authorities indispensable marque employers alert antithetic twelvemonth groups person been graded differently.

Overall, 26.5% of this year's A-level grades successful England were A* oregon A - but the proportionality varies depending connected wherever you live.

In London and South East it was 30% oregon much - successful the North East, 22%.

The North-South disagreement existed earlier Covid but determination differences grew afterwards. And now, London and the South East person a higher proportionality of apical grades than successful 2019.

The Sutton Trust said the disagreement reflected "patterns of determination prosperity".

Pupils besides experienced antithetic amounts of Covid disruption depending connected however their portion of the state was affected.

And MPs person warned it could instrumentality a decennary for the spread betwixt disadvantaged pupils and others to constrictive to what it was earlier Covid.

According to Ofqual, 47.4% of grades fixed to private-school candidates were A* and A, compared with 25.4% successful academies .

The spread grew successful 2020 and 2021, arsenic fee-paying schools did peculiarly good erstwhile teachers' assessments were the ground for A-level grades.

And though it has narrowed since, it remains wider than successful 2019.

Not each pupils received the aforesaid enactment - world and affectional - erstwhile schools closed during lockdowns.

Some schools were amended capable to supply laptops for distant learning. And their pupils whitethorn person had much entree to computers and the net astatine location oregon much carnal abstraction successful which to learn.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) said the fig of 18-year-olds connected escaped schoolhouse meals successful England heading disconnected to assemblage had risen by 60% since 2019. But the Sutton Trust says the fig of students eligible for escaped schoolhouse meals has accrued by much than that.

Girls outperformed boys again astatine the apical A-level grades but lone conscionable - 27.5% of A-levels taken by girls were an A* oregon A, compared with 26.9% of those taken by boys.

The spread grew, successful 2020 and 2021, erstwhile grades were based connected teachers' assessments, but has narrowed since the instrumentality of exams.

And erstwhile you look astatine conscionable A*s, boys overtook girls this twelvemonth - 9.1% of antheral entries received an A*, compared with 8.8% of female.

This year, 3,448 students opened their T-level results. More than 200,000 received Level 3 BTec results, 33,000 Level 3 Cambridge Technical.

The wide walk complaint was 90.5% and 69.2% achieved a merit oregon above.

A full of 1,830 applied to higher acquisition - and 1,220 person been accepted.

Changes had been enactment successful spot to guarantee determination was not a repetition of past year, erstwhile galore results were delayed.