More than a quarter of students get a First

MORE than one in four students now get a first- class degree following a rise of almost 50 per cent in five years.

Figures show 26 per cent of leavers gained a First in the summer – up from 24 per cent the previous year and 18 per cent in 2012/13.

In addition, there was a hike in the proportions gaining at least a 2.1, with three in four achieving this benchmark in 2016/17, up from just over two thirds in 2012/13. The data, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, suggests grade inflation is still rampant despite government warnings.

Experts claim the trend has come about because universities are in a heightened competition to attract as many students as possible. In September, former universities minister Jo Johnson warned grade inflation risked creating a ‘dangerous impression of slipping standards’.

Yesterday Alan Smithers, of the University of Buckingham, said: ‘Universities are rendering degree classes meaningless.’

A spokesman for vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK said: ‘Degrees are awarded based on assessment by academics, internal and external moderation and frameworks to ensure that high standards are upheld.’