Surge in GCSE top grades
The proportion of GCSE entries awarded top grades has surged to a record high after a U-turn meant results could be based on teachers’ estimated grades .
Hundreds of thousands of youngsters received their GCSE results on Thursday following major changes but around 200,000 Btec pupils will not get their final results following a last-minute review of grades.
More than one in four (25.9 per cent) GCSE entries in England scored one of the three top grades this year, up from just over a fifth (20.7 per cent) last summer, figures from exams regulator Ofqual show.
The percentage of exams graded level 9 the top mark has increased by 40 per cent from 4.5 per cent last year to 6.3 per cent this year.
It comes after GCSE and A-level students in England, Wales and Northern I...