Examiners expect the results, which will be released to schools on Thursday, to show a pass rate of more than 96% at grades A to E and the proportion of A grades to approach 23%.

It is likely to revive criticism that A-levels are exams almost nobody fails, with so many students with A grades that universities can no longer rely on it to differentiate between candidates.

To counter the complaints of falling standards, advisers to Ruth Kelly, the education secretary, are working on proposals to stretch and identify the brightest pupils by introducing tougher questions.

The package, to be announced in the autumn, will propose that the brightest A-level candidates should attempt an extra set of harder questions at the end of the normal exam.

If they pass the optional, half-hour “extension paper” they would get an A grade with “distinction” or “merit” — and gain an edge over other candidates in the race for places at the best universities.

Kelly is also proposing to cut the number of modules within the A-level from six to four, which is expected to make it harder for pupils to bump up their grades by continuously retaking small segments of the exam.

It will move the A-level closer to its traditional form, when candidates sat their exams in one burst at the end
of two years.

From 2007, universities will also be provided with the grades of each candidate in each of their modules so they can identify and reject borderline A-grade candidates who might drop to a B in just one of the units.

The moves come as universities prepare for an unprecedented rush for places this summer as students try to beat next year’s introduction of top-up fees of £3,000 a year, an increase of £1,800.

Applications are up by more than 8% and top universities are thought to have turned away a record number of applicants with predicted straight As because of the increase.

About 25,000 more students have applied this year than in 2004, but the government has provided funds for only 11,000 extra full-time places.

Of these, more than half are for foundation or access courses for applicants who need an extra year to prepare for university. The figure alsoincludes additional postgraduate places.

It means the scramble for places for those who do not attain their grades will be even more intense, and revive claims that the system has become even more of a lottery.

Alan Smithers, professor of education at Buckingham University, said: “The A-level was originally designed to be a university entrance test. These days it is not a test that allows outstanding candidates to demonstrate their ability, hence you find some of the best are unfairly denied places at their chosen university.”

A new ICM poll commissioned by the think tank Reform highlights a decline in public confidence in A-levels. Half those questioned thought A- levels had got easier over the past 10 to 15 years.

The rise in the pass rate has partly been fuelled by a shift in candidates from “harder” subjects such as maths and science to “softer” subjects such as psychology, up by almost 5,000 to 47,000 in one year.

As part of the shake-up, ministers are also expected to require sixthformers to write a mini thesis, which universities would be able to read to assess candidates.

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