Sixth-form pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to receive the best set of A-level results on record when they collect their grades, with more than one in four entries predicted to achieve at least an A grade. Experts forecast several thousand more top grades than last year, which would mark the highest level outside the Covid-19 pandemic years, when exams were cancelled and grades inflated by teacher assessment. The rise is also expected to push university acceptances to a new high, at a time when institutions are especially keen to recruit domestic students because income from international students has fallen due to visa rule changes.

Last year 28.3 per cent of entries achieved an A or A*, up from 27.8 per cent in 2024 and 25.4 per cent in 2019, while 9.4 per cent achieved an A*. Ucas chief executive Jo Saxton said record numbers are expected to secure places through Clearing, with more than 22,800 courses still recruiting, including 3,530 at 18 of the 24 Russell Group universities. Professor Alan Smithers of Buckingham University attributed the likely rise to a shift towards subjects such as maths rather than grade inflation, though Birmingham University said it would introduce a minimum entry requirement of three Bs to safeguard standards, and education secretary Lucy Powell highlighted increased maintenance loan support for new students.