Exam results statistics show (yet) 'another record year'.

Devon teenagers are this morning opening the post or checking their emails to find out their A-level results. Figures this morning show students across the country have scored another record-breaking year of A-level results, with one in 12 exams achieving an A* grade.

With the release these statistics, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) somewhat predictably reported that overall this year, the pass rate rose for the 29th year in a row, with 97.8% of A-level entries receiving at least an E – up from 97.6% last summer.

However, while the proportion of top grades rose, the percentage of exams scoring at least an A stalled for the first time in 15 years. In total, 8.2% of entries were awarded an A* this year, up 0.1 percentage points from 8.1% last year, the first year the grade was introduced.

More than one in four (27%) exams achieved at least an A, the same percentage as in 2010. The last time this percentage plateaued was in 1996 and 1997, when 15.7% of exams were awarded at least an A.

Universities Minister David  Willetts (who earned the nickname 'Two Brains' while in opposition) stressed the importance of "traditional" A-level subjects for university admissions.  As the results were published he controversially suggested that "subjects such as dance and media studies should not be recognised as core academic subjects"

He added in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that Ucas, which processes university applications, needs to "signal the importance of some A-levels more than others" and that "the message is often hidden behind a tariff point model"..

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