Some popular subjects have seen far larger declines in top grades than others in this year’s A-level results, but none have returned to anywhere near pre-pandemic grades.
The government had warned that results following this year’s exams, the first since before the pandemic, would be lower than last year’s teacher-assessed grades, but still higher than 2019.
But Schools Week analysis of results data shows significant disparities between subjects, with the year-on-year decline in A*s in one subject (Spanish) five times greater than another (English Language).
More than three times as many English Language students got A* grades as before Covid in 2019, whereas in maths A* grades were only up by less than half.
