London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Private schools in England give pupils top grades in 70% of A-level entries

Private schools in England give pupils top grades in 70% of A-level entries

Teacher-assessed grades in lieu of exams benefit those at independent schools as gap with state education widens
The gap between private and state school A-level grades has grown to its widest in the modern era as part of a record-breaking set of results in which black pupils and male pupils also received lower grades than their peers.

After a year of disruption and school closures during the pandemic, nearly 45% of A-level entries across England, Wales and Northern Ireland were awarded top grades of A or A*, up from 38% in 2020 and 25% in 2019.

But teacher-assessed grades, which replaced exams across the UK, disproportionately benefited those at independent schools, where the proportion of top grades rose nine percentage points to 70%, compared with six percentage points elsewhere.

The gender gap also reached its highest level in 10 years, with the rate of A* and As standing at 46.4% for girls versus 41.7% for boys – a further reversal of the trend seen in 2017 and 2018, when boys last outperformed girls in exams.

In maths, female pupils overtook their male peers for the first time in the proportion of A*s as the gap overall widened across all subjects other than Spanish and German.

Jill Duffy, the chief executive of the OCR exam board, said “girls tend to perform better in more continuous assessment” but added: “We also know the pandemic has had wider impacts not just on education but also on mental health, and recent reports have suggested that has hit young men more than females.”

As school leavers celebrated the results and secured university places, or entered the clearing system, in record numbers, the head of the exam regulator, Ofqual, vowed that formal exams would return next year.

Simon Lebus, the interim chief regulator of Ofqual, defended the process used after the scrapping of national exams in January by the education secretary, Gavin Williamson. Lebus said it would have been unfair for students to have sat exams because of the “significant disparities” in teaching between schools before and during lockdown.

He said: “The pandemic will have had different impacts on students’ opportunities to learn, and the mechanisms we normally use to secure standards over time have not been deployed this year.

“We expect to get back to exams and formal assessments next year because although exams are not perfect, they have proven to consistently be the best way of assessing what a student knows, understands and can do.”

Lebus said Ofqual and the Department for Education would announce early in the autumn a joint consultation on how exams would proceed next year. But experts warned that A-level candidates, by 2022, would have faced significant disruption to their learning over the past two years.

Ministers are reportedly looking at changing the way A-levels are graded as a way to curb the recent inflation, with a senior DfE source telling the Daily Telegraph a numerical grading system could be implemented: “There is debate to be had about that … We are not ruling it out.”

Among the schools celebrating on Tuesday was Brampton Academy in Newham, east London, where 330 in the school’s selective sixth form won places at Russell Group universities. It included 55 pupils who got places at Oxford or Cambridge and one who was accepted by Harvard. In 2014, just one Brampton student received an Oxbridge offer.

Figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications showed there was a more than 20 percentage point gap in the proportion of top grades between independent schools and state schools in 2019, the last year when formal exams were taken.

This year the gap widened to 31 percentage points between independent schools and comprehensives in England, while the gap between independents and state sixth form colleges was even wider, at 35 percentage points.

David Robinson, of the Education Policy Institute, said the widening gap could be due to the greater disruption and lost learning time endured by many groups, with the chances of black students gaining A* or A grades declining, alongside those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Lost learning has affected different groups differently and that’s probably why students from disadvantaged backgrounds are among the most affected,” Robinson said.

Private school pupils might have also benefited from parental pressure on teachers, while the higher level of prior attainment in independent school pupils was a contributing factor.

“Even controlling for prior attainment, students from disadvantaged backgrounds were worse off by at least a tenth of a grade compared to those from more affluent backgrounds, even among students with the same GCSE grades,” Robinson said.

Kate Green, the shadow education secretary, said that while students deserved to be congratulated for their hard work, “the Conservatives’ chaotic last-minute decision making has opened the door to unfairness”.

She added: “The increase in A grades is 50% higher among private schools, while black students, students on free school meals and in areas of high deprivation, are being increasingly out-performed by their more advantaged peers.

“The government’s measly recovery plan will see half a million students leave school this summer without any support to recover lost learning or boost their wellbeing.”

Analysis published by Ofqual said there were “lower outcomes” for black candidates, those on free school meals, and those with a high level of deprivation.

Regional breakdowns showed that two-fifths of all grades achieved by students in London were A or above, after a bigger increase than other parts of England and double the increase in the north-east.

Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said: “It is deeply concerning to see widening socio-economic divides in this year’s A-level results, confirming our worst fears – the pandemic has exacerbated educational inequalities outside and inside the school gates.

“The government urgently needs to set out its plans for a return to a national exam system from next year that is fair to all pupils irrespective of what school they attend or home that they come from.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×