A-level results 2023 LIVE: Biggest ever drop in results sparks scamble for university places
ondon students stretched their lead over the rest of the country as almost one third of A-levels taken in the capital were given top grades.
Results published today show that 10.5 per cent of exams taken in London were graded A*, which is the highest of any region.
In the North East – the lowest performing region, just 6.4 per cent of grades were awarded an A*.
In total, 30 per cent of exams taken in London were graded A* or A – which is just behind the South East at 30.3 per cent.
It means the gap between London and the South East and the lowest performing regions has increased from 3.9 percentage points in 2019 to 8.3 percentage points this year.
London was also the most improved region this year, with an 11.5 per cent increase in top grades since 2019 – the last year exams were taken and marked normally.
It comes as students in the UK saw the biggest ever drop in A-Level results, with top grades plunging by a quarter as exam chiefs battle pandemic grade inflation.
Teenagers now face a scramble to secure university places in one of the most fiercely competitive clearing rounds yet.
Top grades dropped by 25 per cent compared to last year, but are still higher than before the pandemic.
It means there were 73,000 fewer top grades awarded this year than last year, but 32,000 more than in 2019.
Results were deliberately lower for the second year running as exams watchdog Ofqual aimed to reduce grades that had spiralled during the pandemic when exams were cancelled and marks were based on teacher assessment.
Geoff Barton, head of the Association of School and College Leaders said today’s results will feel like a “bruising experience” for many students.
Live updates
University call centre inundated with thousands of calls
A university call centre had received more than 5,600 calls in the first hour of opening on Thursday morning.
More than 80 staff at the University of Sheffield had spoken to 430 people since opening the call centre at 8am, with the most popular subjects including management, law, psychology and engineering.
The university’s director of admissions said “clearing has become increasingly competitive” and “this year is no exception”.
Dan Barcroft, Director of Admissions at the University of Sheffield said: “At Sheffield, we have limited places available through clearing to high achieving students across a number of courses and are providing an accommodation guarantee to all applicants who have accepted an offer by the end of August.
“It’s so important that students considering an offer through clearing take the time to make well-informed decisions about where they want to study.”
London student wins ‘life changing’ place at top public school
A student who won a “life-changing” free place at a top UK boarding school is pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor.
Ernesta Danquah Amoah, 18, from Barking in London, attended Millfield School, in Somerset, on a Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation place to study for her A-levels in the sixth form.
She has achieved an A* in psychology, an A in biology and a B in chemistry and wants to study biomedical science at either Newcastle or Birmingham universities with a goal of becoming a doctor.
“Coming to Millfield was a life-changing experience,” she said.
“I was initially worried that I wouldn’t fit in as it was such a different environment from what I was used to in London but I was definitely proven wrong.”
Exams just as difficult as 2019, minister suggests
A-levels are just as difficult in 2023 as they were in 2019, the schools minister suggested.
Asked whether the qualification was now as difficult as pre-pandemic or if it was matched to a different performance standard, Nick Gibb told BBC Radio 4’s World at one: “What has happened is that yes, is the answer to that.
“The senior examiners will look at the overall performance this year and if they see at a national level a drop in performance then that will be taken into account.”
He added: “So a typical student in 2019 getting a B in geography is very likely to get the same grade in 2023.”
A-level results show a ‘worrying trend of growing inequality’
This year’s A-level results have shown a growing trend of inequality within England, a social mobility charity has said.
Sarah Atkinson, chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, said: “Too many young people are continuing to shoulder the burden of the pandemic.
“While the government has returned to pre-pandemic grading this year, it doesn’t mean they should return to pre-pandemic education support.”
She added: “Concerningly, the results today show a worrying trend of growing inequality of attainment, both regionally, with the North-East falling behind London and the South-East and a widening the attainment gap between independent and state schools.”
London sixth form sees 80 per cent of students score an A* or A grade
Newham Collegiate (NCS) saw 45 students offered places at either Oxford or Cambridge.
Nyari Barot, 18, from Dagenham, achieved three A* and will be going to Oxford to study theology.
Nyari Barot had a back injury but still scored top grades to study at Oxford
/ ESShe missed more than three weeks of school with a back injury she got while on holiday in India.
She said: “Getting into Oxford is hard enough but having to try to do it with a serious injury is almost impossible.
“The NCS were just incredible. It really is thanks to the teachers who took time out even after school to be able to help me get back to being ready for the exams.
“Now I am going to Oxford. It really is a dream come true for me because I have wanted this for such a long time.”
Sarah Oyegoke, 18, from Romford, is the 12th student from Newham Collegiate to win a full scholarship to the US.
Sarah-Oyegoke is going to Stanford in the US to study law
/ ESShe will be study law, with a focus on immigration, at Stanford University in California. The scholarship is covering the £80,000-a-year tuition fees and expenses over four years.
She said: “I’ve never been out of the country so to go and live in America is going to be a real culture shock for me.
“I was looking up where I wanted to go and the school really supported me when they suggested the scholarship for Stanford.
“I couldn’t believe that I could get into Stanford but everyone gave me the confidence to go for it.
“I am the twelfth student to leave East Ham for an Ivy League university. It is like something out of a film.”
Results a ‘whirlwind of emotions,’ says Paddington sixth form student
Jonathan Russell, 18, a student at MBS Sixth Form in Paddington said he was full of mixed emotions after receiving his results, and will now be studying maths at the University of Edinburgh, his back-up choice, from September.
Mr Russell told the PA news agency: “I’m happy about some subjects, disappointed in others – it’s a sort of whirlwind of emotions. But I’m happy I got my offer.” He said he had already checked his university place at home on Ucas before coming into school to pick up his results.
On opening his results, he added: “It was more curiosity, to see what grade I missed for my first offer. It was not the one I expected, but it was the best one I could have missed.”
Mr Russell said he already had a strong familiarity with Edinburgh, having visited often in the summer with family, and already had friends based there.
He said he would be “going over to one of my friends to play some Mario Kart” to celebrate his results.
A-level results a ‘testament’ to the hard work of students who suffered through pandemic
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan praised the students who received their A-level results today after going through a “tough time” during the pandemic.
Ms Keegan said: “They’ve definitely had a tough time and they’ve definitely had to show their resilience.
“I mean, they did have teacher assessed grades at GCSE, they did have a lot of disruption during the pandemic, and that’s why I think it’s just our time really to congratulate them. They’ve done so well. They’ve really shown that they can be resilient.”
She added: “I was just talking to some students before, they said they practiced exams so that they could get the feel for what exams were like because they hadn’t done exams before.
“But I think it’s a brilliant, you know, testament really to their hard work and their determination how well they’ve all done.”
Gap between most and least deprived pupils widening
The academic gap between the most and least deprived pupils in the country has widened, an education charity has said.
Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, said: “The overall picture today is one of growing disparity between the most and least well off young people.
“There are significant regional differences in attainment, with top grades falling most in the North East while they have increased most in London and the South East, in line with patterns of regional prosperity.”
Gillian Keegan defends the A*-E pass rate as it falls to lowest level since 2008
Speaking at the City of London Academy in Islington, the Education Secretary defended the falling pass rate by claiming As and A*s are higher than 2019.
She said: “So I think the pass rates do differ and you know, obviously, the exams differ, the cohorts differ, but what I will say is this year’s exam results are fantastic results.
“Brilliant in terms of destinations – people being able to go on to universities – we’ve had three million young people look at apprenticeships now we’ve got them on the Ucas site as well and 350,000 of them have gone on and clicked on to look at more detail of that to get the applications etcetera.
“There are so many more opportunities for young people and I just want to say congratulations to them, they’re fantastic. Well done, and enjoy where you’re going to next.”
Students receive T-results for second year
Students in England have received their T-level results in the second year that the qualification has been awarded.
Overall, 3,448 students were awarded results on Thursday for the Government’s flagship technical qualification – which was introduced to be broadly equivalent to three A-levels.
Among the second cohort of T-level students, 90.5% achieved at least a pass.
Last year, 991 students were awarded T-level results in the first year. The first courses started in September 2020 in construction, digital, and education and childcare.
This year, T-level students are receiving results for a further seven courses.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/a-levels-results-day-latest-2023-clearing-pass-fail-rates-grade-inflation-b1101183.html
