School is well and truly back in session across England, with a new cohort of sixth form students embarking on their A Level studies this year.
It was only in August that we found out how 2024’s secondary school leavers who sat their A Levels earlier this year fared. The total number of top A* grades awarded actually rose a little, while the overall pass rate dipped - although it remained in line with normal fluctuations.
However, performance gaps between England’s different regions do appear to have lingered on. When it comes to the proportion of A and A* grades awarded from total entries by region this year, Greater London students took out the top spot, with 31.3% of papers sat awarded an A.
The South East was a close second, with 30.8% As, while the rest, in order are: the East of England at 27.5%; the South West at 26.9%; the North West at 25.5%; the West Midlands at 24.8%; Yorkshire at 24.6%; the North East at 23.9%; and the East Midlands at 22.5%.
But regions are made up of many different counties, and breaking results down a little further give a broader insight into performance. So what does Ofqual’s data say about how England’s different counties fared when it came to the percentage of A Levels sat awarded an elusive A* top grade?
Here are the 10 highest and lowest performers from across the country:
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17. Northamptonshire
Then comes Northamptonshire, once again in the East Midlands. A total of 5.7% of its 9,660 A Level results earned an A* this year - compared to the nationwide average of 9%. | Adobe Stock
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18. Staffordshire
Kicking off the bottom three performing counties is Staffordshire, in the West Midlands. A total of 5.5% of its almost 10 thousand A Level results earned an A* this year - compared to the nationwide average of 9%. | Adobe Stock
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19. Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire, in the East of England, shares its spot with Staffordshire. It too had 5.5% of its 9,465 A Level results land an A* this year - compared to the nationwide average of 9%. | Adobe Stock
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20. Isle of Wight
The very lowest performing county when it comes to top grades is the Isle of Wight. Just 2.9% of its A Level results earned an A* this year. However, just like Rutland in first place, it is important to note that it only had a relatively small number of students sit the exams, with just 1,205 results total. | Adobe Stock