'Time to BREAKDANCE!': Hundreds of A-level pupils share their delight after record numbers achieve top grades and are set for university in September
- Ecstatic teenagers across the UK have revealed their delight at receiving top A-level results today
- Thousands of students are set for university in September as teachers set grades for a second year
- Nearly half of all A-level students received A* or A, with 44.8 per cent of UK entries awarded top marks
- Total number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen five per cent on the same point last year
- Gavin Williamson defended this year's grade inflation, saying students 'deserve to be rewarded'Ecstatic teenagers across the UK have revealed their delight at receiving top A-level results today, with thousands of students set for university in September as teachers set grades for a second year following the cancellation of exams due to Covid restrictions.
Hundreds of thrilled students shared funny GIFs of celebrating footballers, break-dancers, a skit from Family Guy and even a cheering Jeremy Clarkson on Twitter today as they revealed that they received the grades necessary to meet their first-choice university offers.
Teenagers had spread good luck messages as they suffered a sleepless night yesterday ahead of results day, with one writing: 'Funny how I said I wasn't nervous but here I am awake at 5.45am #alevels2021'. Another said: 'Me laughing to cover the fact I can't sleep because I know I'm not gonna get into my dream university and am too nervous'.
It came as the total number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen five per cent on the same point last year, with 435,430 taking up places so far, initial Ucas figures show, but on the most popular courses up to a third of students may be rejected or have to go through clearing due to the number of people getting the required grades.
Nearly half of all A-level students received A* or A from their teachers, with more than two in five - 44.8 per cent - of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade this summer - up by 6.3 percentage points on last year when 38.5 per cent achieved the top grades.
According to an analysis by Ofqual, 6.9 per cent of students in England were awarded three A*s this year - compared with 4.3 per cent in 2020 and 1.6 per cent in 2019, the last time they sat exams, as critics warned the education system had descended into the 'wild west of grading'.
Overall, the proportion of entries awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 19.1 per cent - the highest proportion since the top grade was first introduced in 2010.
Girls performed better than boys at the top grades, and female maths students overtook boys for the first time in the number of A* grades achieved, figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show.
Youngsters who miss out on the grades needed to meet their university offers are likely to face greater competition for a place at leading institutions as there could be fewer selective courses on offer in clearing. But unions representing school leaders and teachers have urged parents and students against using law firms to challenge their results.
Gavin Williamson today defended this year's record high A-level grades after it was revealed nearly half of this morning's results are expected to be A* or A - but the Education Secretary admitted there may still not be exams next year with teachers deciding the results again.
But critics are concerned that middle class parents with 'sharp elbows' might have the upper hand when it comes for appeals, with the 'have nots' suffering disproportionately this year because they are more likely to be marked down and not appeal their results.
Robert Halfon, Tory chairman of the education select committee, said: 'There's likely to be grade inflation. The Government has got to make sure the appeals system is fair and easy to engage in and not just accessible to those with barristers for parents.'
Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Williamson said: 'Because of the extraordinary conditions we have faced as a country, we announced in January that exams would not go ahead this year - it would have been unfair on students who had already given up so much in the battle against coronavirus.
Ecstatic teenagers across the UK have revealed their delight at receiving top A-level results today, with thousands of students set for university in September as teachers set grades for a second year following the cancellation of exams due to Covid restrictions
Scenes of joy at Newcastle High School For Girls as pupils receive their A Level results this morning
Leila Jarvis hugs her mother (name not given) after receiving her grades at Kensington Aldridge Academy in London, as students receive their A-Level results
Students at Archbishop Blanch School in Liverpool, after they receive their A-Level results
Faith Bryant (left) and Abbie Hollis at Archbishop Blanch School in Liverpool, as students receive their A-Level results
Students celebrate at Brampton Manor Academy in London, as they receive their A-Level results
Students at Nottingham High School get their A level results today
Students at Archbishop Blanch School in Liverpool, receive their A-Level results
Left: Students at the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET) embrace after receiving their A-Level results in north London. Right: Ffion Young (right) hugs her friend Sara Rafique after opening their A Level results at Ffynone House school on August 10, 2021 in Swansea
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson defended this year's grade inflation, saying students 'deserve to be rewarded' after another year of disruption due to the Covid crisis
In total, more than two in five, 44.8 per cent, of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade this summer - up by 6.3 percentage points on last year when 38.5 per cent achieved the top grades, and one in five of all results was an A*, another record
Seventy per cent of private school students have been given an A* or A this year - compared to around 39 per cent for a non-selective comprehensive school'Their hard work, however, deserves to be rewarded with a qualification. We must support these students in looking to the future, because their whole lives are in front of them.'
Asked on Sky News what the contingency plans are for next year's exams, Mr Williamson said: 'In the last academic year we have conducted an extensive consultation as we move back to examinations, and in a few weeks' time as we go back into the winter period we will be doing another extensive consultation as to the contingency, which will be largely based around teacher-assessed grades, but we very much hope that we will be moving to a system of where we are able to move into the more normal pattern of examinations from next year, but always conscious that this pandemic, we have not always been able to predict the course of it, it has continuously changed, and it's absolutely right that we have contingencies there, as we always do.'
Asked if he was ruling out teacher assessments for this time next year, he said: 'What we are saying is you will probably have seen our consultation in the last academic year, we are very much planning to move back to examinations as a form of assessment, but we always have to have a contingency plan in place, and that's why we will be consulting in the next academic year on those plans.'
Mr Williamson has said 'employers can have real confidence' in the grades awarded to pupils.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: 'This is a culmination of 13 years in education, I think we should be incredibly proud of their achievements, incredibly proud of the grades that they achieve.'
He said: 'We do have a rigorous system of grading and awarding. People have been awarded this grade on the basis of evidence.
'We took a difficult decision, and that decision was children were to be assessed on what they had been taught. We have seen various amounts of disruption around the country and children's experiences have been different.
'But still, you have a very clear grading system, you still see children who are achieving A*s, As, Bs, Cs, have really achieved so very, very much, and I think employers can have real confidence in the grades that they get. Let's not forget this is an unprecedented year.'
This year, teachers in England submitted their decisions on pupils' grades after drawing on a range of evidence, including mock exams, coursework, and in-class assessments using questions by exam boards.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: 'Parents should be really warned not to hire lawyers to make the case for a different grade because it will impress no one, it won't impress the exam boards.'
She added: 'Dressing up an appeal in legal language is not going to bolster that appeal, or make it more likely to succeed. So if you don't want to waste your money, don't do that.'
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'There is certainly a worry that we are going to face more appeals than normal, but we just don't know yet.
'Although the appeal system is there to bring a further level of confidence, spurious appeals or hopeful appeals will probably be a waste of time because the system that's been brought in is a robust system for this year.'
He added: 'My only appeal to students and students' parents is that a lot of work has gone into this assessment, you should be able to rely upon the assessment so simply putting an appeal in for the sake of appealing in the hope that your grade might move would be the wrong thing to do.'
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said 'legal firms turning themselves into ambulance chasers and saying to parents for a certain fee they will run an appeal' was unhelpful.
He said: 'That seems to me incredibly misguided because appeals are there for anyone who wants to use them, but they're based on two things: did the school follow due process, and was the grade awarded a fair grade. That will be down to the awarding organisation.
'If you've got a concern then the process is there, but you really don't need to be sending money to lawyers.'
The Department for Education has said all A-level grades have been checked by schools as part of a quality assurance (QA) process - and one in five schools had a sample of their grades checked by exam boards.
Last summer, the fiasco around grading led to thousands of A-level students having their results downgraded from school estimates by a controversial algorithm before Ofqual announced a U-turn.
This year there will not be an algorithm used to moderate grades. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), said it could be more difficult to get on to a top course this year if grades are missed.
'It could be harder to get in than usual if you fall a grade or two behind your offer and if it is a competitive course,' he said. 'My advice would be to act swiftly if you need to find a place somewhere else.'
An analysis conducted by PA Media suggests that the day before results were due to be released, for applicants living in England, there were more than 26,000 courses with availability.
It shows that, as of Monday afternoon, 14 of the 24 Russell Group universities had vacancies on courses for English residents - around 2,390 courses between them - on the Ucas clearing site. The numbers of courses listed change frequently as different courses are filled, or become available.
At the same point last year, the day before results day, 17 of the Russell Group institutions had around 4,485 undergraduate courses listed on clearing with potential availability for students in England.
Last week, the head of the admissions service warned that clearing is likely to be 'more competitive' for students seeking places at selective universities this year due to uncertainty on teacher-assessed grades.
Clare Marchant, Ucas's chief executive, urged students receiving their grades to make a decision 'in a matter of days' rather than waiting weeks.
But she added: 'On Tuesday, I am expecting to wake up and have record numbers with their first choice.'
Last week, the Medical Schools Council, which represents 44 heads of medical schools across the UK, warned that some schools may still struggle to increase the number of students they admit despite the announcement that medicine and dentistry schools will receive funding to expand courses.
Students who want to study medicine will have the option to defer their places until next year or choose to move to a different medical school amid capacity constraints, the MSC said.
Last night, Ofqual's interim chief regulator Simon Lebus said that traditional tests only provided a 'snapshot' of a pupil's ability and the new system allowed a fairer assessment gauged over a longer time period.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Lebus admitted that grades may be slightly higher this year, adding: 'I think a good way to think of it is exams are a bit like a snapshot, a photograph - you capture an instant, it's a form of sampling.
'Whereas teacher assessment, it allows teachers to observe student performance over a much longer period, in a rather more complex way, taking into account lots of different pieces of work and arriving at a holistic judgment.
Students awaiting the grades which will get them to universities across the UK from this autumn said they 'didn't sleep a wink' last night, with nearly half of today's results expected to be graded at A* or A
Emelia Ambrose (L) is hugged by her friend Mali Jones after opening her A Level results at Ffynone House school on August 10, 2021 in Swansea
Students at Archbishop Blanch School in Liverpool, receive their A-Level results
Scenes of joy at Newcastle High School For Girls as pupils receive their A Level results this morning
A student at the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET) finds out his A-Level results in north London
Students at Nottingham High School get their A level results today
Lanre Dada poses with his grades at Kensington Aldridge Academy in London, as students receive their A-Level results
Students at Nottingham High School get their A level results today
Faith Bryant (back) and Abbie Hollis (front) are hugged at Archbishop Blanch School in Liverpool, as students receive their A-Level results'I think, from that point of view, we can feel satisfied that it's likely to give a much more accurate and substantial reflection of what their students are capable of achieving.'
Ms Bousted told the Times: 'I think there was a political decision to put teachers in the firing line. We think there will be a rise in the top grades but I've been assured by government that they won't say teachers have been too generous.'
Mr Lebus said that the watchdog wanted to create a system where every student was given a fair chance to show what they can do.
'I'm very confident that, when they get their grades on Tuesday and Thursday this week, they'll be able to feel satisfied that that's happened,' he told the broadcaster.
Mr Lebus said there have been three stages of checks to ensure students can feel they have been 'fairly treated', including Ofqual checking the policies that schools have for awarding grades and exam boards looking over them.
Headteachers had to submit a personal declaration that they believed grades to be accurate. Schools and colleges were asked to provide samples of student work to exam boards, as well as evidence used to determine the grades for the students selected, as part of quality assurance (QA) checks.
It comes as Tory peer Lord Lucas predicted that private school pupils will get short shrift in admissions because universities are prioritising the disadvantaged.
The editor of the Good Schools Guide said yesterday that institutes will be 'pretty cautious' about giving places to fee-paying youngsters who missed their grades as they had 'all the chances' to succeed.
Instead, they will give leg-ups to pupils who experienced 'challenges' such as having 'nowhere to work' during lockdown.
But despite alleged grade inflation, individual pupils could lose out and there is likely to be variability between schools.
Last night, Ofqual defended the system, claiming the results are 'more accurate' than if exams had been held mid-pandemic.
The Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'Students have worked incredibly hard during an extremely challenging time. We know exams are the fairest form of assessment but in their absence this year there is no one better placed to judge their abilities than their teachers.'
Suggestions that almost half of today's grades will be an A or A* were reported in the Times.
Mr Williamson wrote to all teachers, thanking them for their 'hard work' on grading. The Association of School and College Leaders stressed that qualifications had not been 'devalued'.
Lord Lucas said anyone not getting the grades they need for university should call the admissions tutor. But he said that 'tutors will say the hardest time has been had by state schools but by and large, independent schools have got through Covid pretty well'.
He added that institutes will be 'pretty cautious about giving extra space to someone from an independent school' as 'they've had all the chances' to succeed.
'I think admissions tutors will say the hardest time has been had by state schools but by and large, independent schools have got through Covid pretty well,' he said. 'They haven't had half the challenges of someone else who has nowhere to work, or doesn't have an online connection.'
Kate Green, Labour's shadow education secretary, said: 'Students have worked incredibly hard in extraordinary circumstances and should be proud of the results they are receiving today. They have done this in spite of a Conservative government which has let them down at every turn and shown no ambition for their futures.'
It came after Sir Keir Starmer warned that 'chaos and incompetence' in Government had created extra stress for those awaiting their results.
The Labour leader said Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Williamson had failed to act early enough to ensure this summer's results operations run smoothly.
'It frustrates me immensely that this week's big moment in so many young people's lives is being risked by the chaos and incompetence at the top of this Government,' he said.
The Department for Education said it recognises the 'unprecedented challenges pupils and students have faced' during the pandemic and that a 'rigorous system to ensure grades are fair' has been put in place.
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