The Alpha males
A-level lads beat the girls for first time in 17 years
BOYS have beaten girls at gaining A* and A grades at A-level for the first time since 2000.
With 26.6% of lads achieving at least one of the top marks, they jumped 0.5% ahead after being 0.3% behind in 2016.
But many students are counting the cost of tough changes – with results falling in A-levels that were given a major shake-up by the Government.
There was an overall 0.5% dip in pass grades in these 13 subjects, such as English. The revamp included coursework being removed in favour of final exams. The overall pass rate, including subjects not in the shake-up, fell 0.2% to 97.9%, according to the Joint Council for Qualifications.
Jill Stokoe, of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said pupils had done well despite the “rushed-in exams”.
Chris Keates, of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said schools were forced to cope with the “turbulence” caused by yet more cuts to resources and the “upheaval to syllabuses”.
The proportion of top grades rose but the number of pupils gaining passes fell for the first time in three years.
And the number of students accepted into university has dropped.
A school that lost several pupils in the Grenfell Tower fire beat national expectations in AS-levels by a whole grade.
Kensington Aldridge Academy, which is at the foot of the 24-storey block in West London, was forced to close amid the devastation in June. Head boy Kai Chappell, who helped the relief effort, said: “I’m really happy and proud of my results, and there are lots of smiling faces around which is great to see.”
Cecily Bloom, who used to be the voice of kids’ TV character Peppa Pig, was among those celebrating A-level results yesterday. The pupil in Hampton, South West London, achieved three A*s and is intending to study medicine.