Day of emotion for hundreds of thousands of students in England as they learn final school results

LONDON — For hundreds of thousands of final-year high school students in England, Thursday was a day of high emotion as they learned how they did in exams that will largely determine what they will be doing over the coming years.

Early morning nerves were followed by either joy or disappointment as students learned whether they achieved the grades required for their chosen university or other higher education option.

It's been quite a journey for this year's students, who have endured coronavirus lockdowns, remote learning and mask wearing.

“It’s been a little bit hard, but the teachers have been so good here and they’ve helped us get through it all quite smoothly," said May Drinkell, 18, from Suffolk in eastern England, who achieved the grades she needs to study physiotherapy at the University of East Anglia in nearby Norwich.

As is always the case, not everyone got the grades they had hoped for in their two-year A-level courses, usually three or four.

But this year, perhaps more were disappointed than usual, especially in England where the British government sought to get the results back to normal following three years of pandemic-related grade inflation. In 2020 and 2021, results across the U.K. were based on teacher assessments instead of exams, which led to substantially higher grades than usual. Though exams resumed last year, the results were similar to those in the preceding two years.

As a result of the efforts in England to return to pre-pandemic grading, the proportion of entries awarded top grades was down from last year. The other constituent nations of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — are not taking as swift a return to normality.

According to the Joint Council for Qualifications, 26.5% of results in England were the top two A grades, down 9.4 percentage points from last year. This was still higher than in 2019, the last year that exams were taken before the pandemic, when 25.2% were awarded the top grades.

Many students have voiced concern that they have been unfairly treated by the grading changes, but Education Secretary Gillian Keegan insisted that university admissions officers are fully aware of the differences between recent year groups. She noted that 79% of students got their first choice of university.

“There are so many more opportunities for young people and I just want to say congratulations to them, they’re fantastic,” she said at the City of London Academy in north London. "Well done and enjoy where you’re going to next.”