A Level students celebrate star grades as university places run out - Video and school-by-school results

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Independent schools across the region have reported major successes in the level of pupils picking up the new top grade - in line with predictions that privately educated students would be three times more likely to achieve A*s than those in the state system.

St Peter's School in York, Sheffield High School for Girls and Bradford Grammar School all saw around a fifth of the exam entries resulting in A*s.

Nationally one in 12 A-level exams scored an A* today as concerns continued to be raised that hundreds of thousands of students could miss out on a university place.

Today's record-breaking A-level results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland showed that the pass rate has risen for the 28th year in a row - with more than one in four entries 27 per cent gaining an A grade.

A total of 9,302 exam entries 8.1 per cent were awarded an A*, according to figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications.

This exceeded predictions, based on last year's results, that around seven per cent would get an A*.

The results also show girls achieved more A*s than boys.

But while sixth-formers across the country were celebrating many are still facing a struggle to win a university place.

By the end of June, more than 660,000 people had applied to start full-time undergraduate university courses.

It has been predicted that between 170,000 and 200,000, including sixth-formers and older learners, could miss out this autumn as universities face multimillion-pound cuts and pressure on places.

Clearing - the process that matches students with vacant university places - opened this morning, but it is expected to be short.

Many universities are already saying they are full, and students who drop one grade could find they are turned away.

Maths students were top of the class in today's A-level results with the highest proportion of candidates gaining the coveted new A* grade.

Questions designed to "stretch and challenge" even the most able students helped exam boards to decide who deserved the new top grade.

Almost one in five - 17.2 per cent - of the students who took A-level maths exams were awarded an A* - around 13,244 people - while three out of 10 - 29.9 per cent received an A* for further maths, around 3,493 students.

To win an A* a student has to score an A overall, plus at least 90% in each of their papers in the second year of their course.

The figures show that girls got more A* grades overall than boys (8.3% compared with 7.9%), but boys got more A* grades in science and maths-based subjects.

Science has seen a resurgence this year with biology entries up 4.3%, chemistry up 3.7% and physics up by 5.2%. The numbers taking maths continued to rise with an extra 4,526 entries, and an extra 1,209 for further maths.

But modern foreign language entries continue to fall, with the numbers entering for French down 3.4% and German down 3.8%. Going against the trend is Spanish, which has seen a 4% increase.

The results show that traditional subjects are firm favourites with students, with English, maths, biology, psychology and history the most popular choices this year.

Jim Sinclair, director of the Joint Council for Qualifications, said: "This is a day for celebration. The results reflect the hard work and dedication of students and their teachers, supported by students' parents.

"The successful introduction of the new A* grade and the increased entries for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects are good news."

The highest percentage of A* grades was awarded for further maths where 29.9% of the 11,682 candidates received the mark.

Almost 8,000 boys took the exam with three out of 10 (30.7%) getting A* compared with 28.2% of the 3,728 female students.

And 17.2% of the 77,001 candidates for maths gained an A* - 17.3% of 45,737 boys and 17% of 31,264 girls.

The lowest percentage of A* grades was awarded in media, film and TV studies where just 1.8% of 33,375 candidates were awarded the top mark - 1.4% of 15,363 boys and 2.1% of 18,012 girls.

Just 7.4% of the 89,320 candidates taking an A-level English exam were awarded A* - 7.5% of 26,927 boys and 7.3% of 62,393 girls.

Andrew Hall, chief executive of the examining board AQA, said candidates from comprehensive schools, which are responsible for 43% of A-level entries, gained 30% of the A* grades awarded.

Students from independent schools, which are responsible for 14% of entries, also took 30% of the A* grades awarded.

Further education and sixth-form colleges, which enter 30% of candidates, saw students receive a fifth (20%) of A*s awarded.

Mr Hall said the new way of assessing students was not designed to make A-levels harder.

"There is a myth to slay here: the A-level was not meant to get harder," he said.

"What was introduced was some more complex questions to show the really strong students how much better they could perform within the A-grade."

He said the grade was introduced in response to calls from universities and businesses, which wanted to make it easier to differentiate between high-performing candidates.

Mr Hall added: "It's nice to see the gap between boys and girls continuing to narrow."

He said he was also pleased to see a rise in the number of candidates taking science and maths-based subjects, which he described as "a real resurgence".

Asked if the continuing rise in top results meant exams were getting easier, Ziggy Liaquat, managing director of exam board Edexcel, said that was not the case.

"The 100 metres is not getting any shorter but people are running faster and faster," he said.

Universities minister David Willetts told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that 380,000 people now have a definite place at university, which is "slightly ahead of this time last year", and that clearing places are also available.

But he predicted that some candidates with three A grades might not get into the university of their choice.

After describing last year's figures as "shocking", when 3,500 people with three A grades did not go on to university, Mr Willetts was asked whether the same thing could happen again.

He replied: "It could be, because the most competitive universities really are very competitive indeed, so it does mean that there are people who can really do very well indeed and get three As at A-level and not find that they have got a place at those intensely competitive universities - which is why they are often advised to have one insurance offer for a slightly less competitive university, or they can think about doing the things that would make their CV even more distinctive and stand out for universities next year."

Mr Liaquat said it is important that people do not keep looking back, comparing this year's results with those from the past and coming to the conclusion that exams are getting easier.

He said teaching has changed and students have been helped by new technology.

It is more important to look at how current UK students fared compared with those from other countries, he added.

Mr Hall said he is pleased that boys appear to be closing the gap on girls with top grades.

He said the introduction of the AS-level encouraged boys to work more consistently throughout the two-year course.

He said the stereotype was that girls worked more consistently through the course, using his own family to illustrate his point.

"I didn't do a great deal of work in my lower sixth, many moons ago. My daughters did. What I see in my nephews is they have started working much earlier because the AS gave them a wake-up call," he said.

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the exams were tougher this year.

In previous years, candidates would be taken through each part of a question, whereas now there is a question and students are expected to provide analysis, Dr Dunford said.

He added: "The 2010 cohort is the best qualified that we have ever had. It is deeply frustrating that so many will not be able to get into university this year."