The proportion of top A-level grades achieved by England’s pupils dropped by more than 26 per cent this year, as results fell to near the same level as pre-pandemic 2019.
Overall, more than 67,000 fewer A* and A grades were awarded this summer, despite an increase in entries of more than 20,000.
This year, 26.5 per cent of grades issued were at A or above, down from 35.9 per cent last year and far below the peak of 44.3 per cent in 2021.
But this is still slightly higher than the 25.2 per cent in 2019.
