A Level results

This year's A-level results show, for the first time in over two decades, a decline in the proportion of A and A* grades awarded.

The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) a membership organisation for the various exam boards, show that 26.6% of test papers were awarded A grades – a drop of 0.4 percentage points from last year’s results.

Furthermore, in the third year that the classification has been used, the number of A* grades awarded fell from 8.2% in 2011 to 7.9% this year. However, for the first time since the A* was introduced, this year has seen male students outperform their female counterparts, with the number of A* grades issued to boys at 8.0 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent for girls.   

At A grade (cumulative), girls performed more strongly than boys, achieving 27.2 per cent of A grades issued,  compared with 25.8 per cent for boys. At B grade (cumulative), girls significantly outperformed boys by 4.5 percentage points (54.7 per cent against 50.2 per cent).

The cumulative percentage of A level grades A*-E increased by 0.2 per cent from 97.8 per cent to 98.0 per cent.

About 335,000 students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have received their results today.

Read the full break down of results here and the press release from the JCQ here.