A-level passes may fall due to degree offers

TOP A-LEVEL pass rates could drop this year in part due to the soaring numbers of unconditional degree offers handed out by universities, it has been suggested.

There are warnings that the hike in these guaranteed places could mean students have “taken their foot off the pedal”, leading to lower overall A-level results. Figures published by exams service Ucas showed that more than a fifth of teenagers have been handed at least one unconditional offer this year, amid intense competition between institutions to attract candidates.

In total, almost 68,000 of these offers have been made to 18-year- olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this year, up from less than 3,000 just five years ago.

The issue has sparked concerns from ministers and school leaders, who have argued the practice undermines the credibility of the university system and puts youngsters’ futures at risk.

University leaders said they are monitoring any impact unconditional offers might have on exam results. Ahead of A-level results day, Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, suggested the rise in unconditional offers could contribute to a fall in the proportion of exams awarded an A* or A grade. If those given a guaranteed offer “really take their foot off the pedal, they may not be getting the high grades that they might otherwise have done”, he said.

There have been major changes to A-levels in England, with a move away from coursework and modular exams.