A-Level students receive more A and A* grades this year: Keralites too excel: GCSE results tomorrow

LONDON Aug 11: A-level students have received more A and A* grades this year than ever before after exams were cancelled for a second time due to the coronavirus pandemic. A-level, AS-level and GSCE exams were cancelled in January due to the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19. Instead teachers used mock results, coursework and in-class assessments to determine students’ grades this summer.

More than two in five sixth formers (44.8%) were awarded A or A* grades this year, which is up 6.3% on last year’s 38.5%. The number of students with A* grades has also risen dramatically – by 19.1% – which is the highest figure since A*s were introduced in 2010.

The secretary of state for education said that grade inflation was justified this year because of the pandemic and the system would not return to normal next year.

A record number of students have been accepted on to UK degree courses this year, Ucas figures show. In total, 435,430 students have had places confirmed on an undergraduate course in the UK, up 5% on the same point last year, according to data published by the university admissions service. A record 395,770 students have been accepted on their first choice full-time undergraduate course in the UK, up 8% from 365,500 in 2020.

Keralite students in the UK too had a huge success with many achieving As and A*s. Reports say that most of them are looking to do Medicine in top notch universities.

Meanwhile, Year 11 students will collect their GCSE results tomorrow (Thursday 12 August), from 8am. Students will be given grades determined by teachers, rather than exams, with pupils only assessed on what they have been taught during the pandemic. All four nations – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – adopted a system of awarding grades this summer based on teacher based assessment.