Science A-Level top grades rise from last year

Statistics from Ofqual have revealed students' performance in this year's A-Levels, showing that multiple subjects saw a rise in the proportion of top grades awarded compared with both last year and 2019.

In science, for example, the proportion achieving top grades in biology was 27.1 per cent, compared with 25.9 per cent in 2023 and 23.5 per cent in 2019.

In chemistry this year, 32.2 per cent of students received an A* or A. This was higher than in 2023 when 31.1 per cent achieved the top grades, and higher than in 2019, when it was 28.4 per cent.

In physics, 31.5 per cent of students achieved the top grades. This was an increase from last year when 30.8 per cent were awarded an A or A*, and also from 2019, when top grades were given to 27.5 per cent of entries.

Ofqual also found that music, drama, art and design saw a rise in the highest grades.

In drama, 21.8 per cent received the top grades in 2024 compared with 20.8 per cent last year and 18 per cent in 2019.

Modern foreign languages also saw more top grades awarded compared with 2023 in Spanish, French and German.

Some subjects saw a very slight increase in top grades. Maths, for example, saw only a 0.5 per cent increased compared to last year as 41.5 per cent of students got an A or above.

However, in English literature, the proportion of entries getting top grades was down slightly - at 25.2 per cent compared with 25.4 per cent last year. It was still above the 24.1 per cent of entries awarded top grades in 2019.

Proportions receiving A* to C in English literature remained the same as last year, when 82.9 per cent received a C or above.