BBC Mar 17, 2010

By Sean Coughlan BBC News education

The number of students getting three A grades keeps rising

It was once a rare achievement - but getting three A grades at A-level is now achieved by one in six of typical A-level students, say researchers.

The proportion of pupils in England achieving three A grades at A-level has almost doubled since the 1990s, according to exam board research.

Cambridge Assessment says that among pupils taking three or more A-levels in 2009, 17.5% achieved three grade As.

There has also been a short-term increase - up from 15.2% in 2006.

The figures will raise questions about "grade inflation" and concerns that universities find it difficult to distinguish between so many pupils getting top grades.

They also show the advantage of independent school pupils in the chase for university places - with one in three A-level candidates in independent schools achieving three A grades.

Higher proportion

The research also shows that while more girls take A-levels than boys - and a majority of A grades are achieved by girls - a higher proportion of boys achieve three grade As than their female counterparts.

Published by Cambridge Assessment, the study reveals the growth in the proportion of students achieving three grade As.

In 1996, among a much smaller number of A-level students, only 8.8% of pupils achieved three grade As. In 2009, the proportion had reached 17.5%.

Among all A-level students - and not all of them would have taken three exams - the research says that 13% achieved three grade As.

Looking at the wider population, the research estimates that about 4% of the total year group of 18-year-olds achieved three grade As.

The study from the exam group shows that about a third of 18-year-olds are taking A-levels - with three the most common number of A-levels taken (although one in five now takes four A-levels).

Among "typical university applicants" taking three A-levels, there has been a steady rise in pupils achieving three grade As, from 15% in 2006 to 17.5% in 2009.

There has also been a corresponding decline in students getting E and U grades.

The figures show the much greater likelihood of achieving top grades at independent schools - where 33% of A-level candidates achieve three grade As. In comparison, 26% achieve this at grammar schools and 8% in comprehensives.