A level Results

Good luck to all those A level students who are getting their results today. As with GCSE, I get to see the results 24 hours in advance, so I know that we will see a lot of happy faces this morning! The results are the best the school has ever seen by some margin representing a lot hard work by students and staff. The media are reporting a record number of places still available at the elite Russell Group universities. There were places on 3,451 courses at Russell Group universities last night, although these are expected to be rapidly filed through clearing. A quarter of all British applicants — more than 100,000 — have also signed up to a new service offered by Ucas giving permission for their results to be shared with universities that are still recruiting, which will further speed up the clearing process. Mary Curnock Cook, the chief executive of Ucas, said: “Most universities will have some courses with vacancies so there will be plenty of choice for students. Universities are well set up to take calls from interested students which means that although things move fast, it is usually easier to get through on the telephone.” The Mail reports that around 26% of today’s results are predicted to be A or A*s, with around 8% achieving the top grade, while the overall pass rate of A* to E is likely to be around 98%, the same as in 2014. However, the Telegraph says the number of pupils being awarded the highest marks is expected drop below 26% for the first time since the Government began efforts to halt "relentless" grade inflation five years ago. I will publish a press release later this morning.