A-levels results 2021: record top grades and passes as thousands get their first choice university place

The UK’s sixth formers have returned a record crop of A-level results, with STEM subjects seeing the biggest rises in popularity, according to figures published today (August 10).

And girls have outperformed boys, with 57% of females achieving an A* or A in England — a reversal of pre-2020 results when boys tended to do better. The gender gap is at its widest since 2011, according to the Joint Council for Qualifications.

Overall, nearly 45% of A-level entries across the UK were given a top grade A* or A, after the continuing Covid pandemic forced the scrapping of exams for a second year running.

This year, teachers assessed their students’ grades, overseen by examination boards, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Schools were told to change fewer than 1% of teacher assessed A Level grades as a result of the external quality assurance process carried out by exam boards. The Scottish Qualifications Authority is to use similar procedures. Almost a fifth of entries were awarded an A*, compared with 14.3% last year.

Meanwhile Ofqual, the exams regulator, said there was no evidence of teacher bias in the assessment of vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) this year. Many vocational qualifications at Level 3 had seen an increase in the proportion of top grades being issued this year.

In England, almost nine out of ten — 88.2% — of the 750,000 A-level entries achieved a pass, up from 87.5% a year ago. The figures also show that almost 13,000 of candidates in England — or 7% — gained three A*s, compared with 7,700 in 2020 and 3,000 in 2019.

Mathematics emerged as the most popular subject with entries up from 14,979 in 2020 to 15,748. Biology was the second most popular with 70,055 entries, compared with 65,120 in 2020, with chemistry up from 56,100 to 59,978. Physics also saw a rise in popularity from 37,921 in 2020, to 40,741 in 2021.

All science subjects saw a rise in the proportion of top grades.

The record results mean that university places have filled fast, with fewer vacancies than usual available through the clearing process.

According to UCAS, the higher education admissions service, a record 435,430 students have been awarded a place at university, an increase of 5% on last year.

In England, nearly 35% of all 18 year olds will go to university this year, with increases in the proportions of students entering HE also recorded in Northern Ireland and Wales, and predicted in Scotland.

Among the biggest increases are entries to medicine and dentistry, up 23% on last year.

Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, defended the process used to decide grades this year. “We do have a rigorous system of grading and awarding,” he said. “People have been awarded this grade on the basis of evidence.” Employers can have real confidence in the grades that they get.”

According to analysis by the exam watchdog Ofqual, private schools saw the biggest absolute increase in top grades in England, with a 12.1 percentage point increase in A*s, compared to a 3.9 increase at state academies, a 5.8 increase at state grammar schools and a 1.9 at state sixth form colleges.