THE proportion of A-level students with A grades is expected to hit a new high when results are released this week.

Examiners expect that almost 22% of papers will earn A grades, compared with 9% 20 years ago. It is the 22nd successive annual rise in the proportion of A-grade results.

The results are likely to be cited as further evidence that A-levels have been “dumbed down”. Some universities have introduced their own tests because they say A-levels cannot help to differentiate between exceptional candidates.

David Miliband, the schools minister, is expected to say in a speech on Tuesday that better grades reflect improvements in schools rather than lower standards. Nevertheless, ministers are likely to face pressure to change A-levels by splitting the top mark into four sub-grades or by giving admissions tutors students’ grades on each of the six separate papers comprising each A-level.

Many students have trouble securing offers at their chosen university despite top grades. Lucy Barnett, a sixth-former from Charterhouse, the independent school in Surrey, wants to study medicine. She was rejected by her four chosen universities despite 11 GCSEs (nine A-star and two A-grade), four A grades at AS level and three predicted A-grade A-levels.

It is not only Oxbridge that is turning away A-grade applicants. Several top universities — Warwick, Nottingham, Bristol, Durham and Birmingham — can fill their places in law, history or English many times over with such applicants.

Joel Reindorp, a sixth-former at the independent Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ school in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, said he had friends who were turned down by all their preferred universities.

“The majority of students (at Haberdashers’) are predicted three A grades. They apply to Oxbridge and the majority are rejected. Three As at A-level means very little,” he said.

However, triplets Lil, Helen and Kate Armstrong, 18, of Truro College, are among those predicted to get three A-grade A-levels and all have conditional places at Cambridge.

Academics complain that changes to A-levels in 2000 — when the exam was split into six papers — fuelled the increase in the number of high grades. Schools allow sixth-formers to resit first-year papers up to four times in order to bump up their final mark.

In 1985 9.5% of papers earned the top grade, but rapid increases followed a decision to lift the cap on the number of A grades awarded. The system was changed to reflect the standard of work, rather than having a fixed proportion pass at the various levels.

Geoff Parks, director of admissions at Cambridge, sees a pattern to retakes: “Some students resit AS levels in the first year to squirrel away marks on easier papers. Second-year papers are harder.”

The glut of well-qualified sixth-formers means that universities have up to 20 applicants for each place on law courses. Many are introducing their own tests for medicine, law, history and English.

Geoff Lucas, academic secretary to the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, said: “We would like to see more difficult material introduced into A-level. That would give more scope for the outstanding students to demonstrate their excellence.”

Ministers are waiting for a report from Mike Tomlinson, former chief inspector of schools, on the 14-19 curriculum. He favours a diploma to replace A-levels closer to the International Baccalaureate.

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