The number of top A-level grades has increased marginally, as the most popular subjects have been revealed.
Hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their exam results on Thursday – with the number achieving A* grades up 0.4% from last year, to 9.3%, and the number of A*-A grades up 0.6% from last year, reaching 27.8%.
It was the first year the entire UK returned to pre-pandemic approaches to grading, exam authorities said. While England returned last year, Northern Ireland and Wales only did so for the first time in 2024.
Students receive their A-level results at Solihull School in the West Midlands.
Pic: PA
Grades were broadly similar to last year, but some subjects saw noticeable differences in entries, with STEM subjects surging in popularity.
Further Maths experienced the largest increase – up 19.9%.
Maths itself became the first subject to break 100,000 students taking it up, a rise of 10.2% from last year to 107,427.
Physics saw a 12.3% increase and Computer Science entries were up by 11.3% as well.
The top 10 most popular subjects – which didn’t change from last year – were:
• Maths (107,427)
• Psychology (78,556)
• Biology (74,367)
• Chemistry (62,583)
• History (47,297)
• Business Studies (44,961)
• Sociology (44,359)
• Art & Design subjects (43,668)
• Physics (43,114)
• Economics (40,451)
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There were some movements in regional inequalities of grades, with London displacing the South East as the highest-performing area in terms of A*-A grades.
The West Midlands saw the biggest increase in top grades, up 1.92% but the North East rose 1.82% – meaning it is no longer the lowest performing region.
The East Midlands grew the least in regards to top grades.
A*-A grades in Wales and Northern Ireland have fallen sharply this year but this was said to be down to a return to pre-pandemic grading in both nations.
The number of disadvantaged students securing a place at universities also hit a record high, according to UCAS.
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