Increase in top grades at A-level

More than one in four UK A-level entries were awarded the top A grade this year, results show.

Figures from the exam boards showed 25.3% of entries were graded A, up from 24.1% last year.

The improvement in A grades in independent and grammar schools over the past five years has been double that in state comprehensives.

The national pass rate rose for the 25th year in a row, with 96.9% graded A to E, up from 96.6% last year.

Girls continued to outperform boys in every major subject except for modern foreign languages and further maths.

Statistics published by the Joint Council for Qualifications relate to more than 800,000 A-level entries and more than 1.1 million AS-levels.

About 310,000 candidates have been getting their individual results, mostly in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, some 50,000 of them online.