The share of A-level students in England receiving top grades has fallen much more sharply than in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Just 26.5% of exams taken by students in England were graded A* or A this year, down from 35.9% last year.
That marks a near-complete reversal of the grade inflation seen during the pandemic, with the share of top grades in England now just 1.3 percentage points above the level in 2019.
Grades in the devolved nations, by contrast, remain well above their pre-pandemic levels. More than a third of papers in Wales were graded A* or A (34%), up from just 26.5% in 2019. In Northern Ireland, 38% achieved top grades - compared to just 29% before the pandemic.
The use of teacher assessments instead of exams during the pandemic led to a major increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with grade inflation persisting last year.
Exam regulator Ofqual had instructed exam boards in England to this year aim for the share of top grades to be similar to the share awarded in 2019.
The share of exams failed in England has risen to 2.7% - the highest figure since 2008.
Failure rates in Wales and Northern Ireland, by contrast, were lower than rates seen in the two years before the pandemic.
