The publication yesterday of this year’s A-level results comes as a shock and disappointment for many school leavers. Some 73,000 fewer A* and A grades were awarded compared with 2022, as exam boards tightened the marking to counter the huge inflation of grades during the pandemic. As a result, it appears fewer students will be offered their first choice of a university place and thousands fewer will go to university at all.
The first thing to be said is that all those who passed their exams, and especially those who earned distinctions, must be congratulated. This year’s cohort has suffered unprecedented disruption to their education. The Covid pandemic closed schools across the country for the best part of two years, depriving students of classroom teaching,
