A-level results in North show one in 10 pupils awarded at least one A*

Close to one in 10 students who received their A-level results in Northern Ireland on Thursday achieved at least one A* grade, the exams body has reported.

This was a 1 per cent increase in the result from last year when students were able to sit their exams, reported the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).

One-third of students achieved at least one A-A* grade in their results, the CCEA also reported, which is a 2.3 per cent increase in the results on last year.

For the first time in living memory due to Covid-19 students were unable to sit exams and instead they were given estimated grades.

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The CCEA said 96.7 per cent of grades were the same, or within one grade of the assessments put forward by schools.

The exam board said some schools were more generous or more severe in their assessments of their students and in such cases grades were adjusted downwards or upwards accordingly.

It added that overall 37 per cent of estimated grades were lowered and 5.3 per cent were raised.

The CCEA said the standardisation process ensured that standards were maintained and grades continue to reflect the same value as those in any other year.

There has been controversy in Scotland where it was contended that its assessment system was unfair and resulted particularly in the results of pupils from working class areas being disproportionately downgraded. That led to a U-turn with the results predicted by teachers alone being used to assess grades.

The North's education minister Peter Weir said that the system in Northern Ireland was "robust and fair" while the CCEA said the results were "based on a combination of teacher professional judgment and statistical modelling" including comparisons with AS results – which are exams students do in Northern the year before their leaving A-level exams.

Nonetheless, the CCEA assessment is likely to lead to criticism by parents and students.

As an example, one father called into BBC Radio Ulster's Stephen Nolan programme on Thursday to complain that while his son's teachers had predicted three A grades for him, he got two Bs and a C based on the CCEA assessment. "I don't think he ever got a C in his life," said the father.

The CCEA chief executive, Justin Edwards, and Mr Weir defended the assessment method. Mr Edwards said had teacher assessments alone been applied, the A-grades would have increased by close to 12 per cent.

An estimated 25,000 A-level and AS students received their results on Thursday morning. In an email to school principals before the results were received, the CCEA said there would be “anomalies” in some of the grades awarded. Student could appeal in such cases.

Mr Weir said: “For those not happy with the outcome I would emphasise that the results today are provisional, and there is an appeals process available.”

Mr Weir said it “was important that this year’s awards were comparable to those awarded in past years and recognised as equally valid to avoid any long-term detrimental impact on the future prospects of this cohort of young people”.

In the A-level results at the A* grade, 9.8 per cent of students achieved the top grade, a 1 per cent increase from last year. A* - A grade increased 2.3 per cent to 33.2 per cent. There was also an increase in the A*- E pass rate, of 0.8 per cent to 99.1 per cent.

Girls again out-performed boys with 10.3 per cent of female students attaining A* grades compared to 9.2 per cent A* grades for males, and 35.2 per cent A*-A grades for females compared to 30.5 per cent A*-A grades for males.

The five most popular subjects for all students were maths, biology, business studies, religious studies and chemistry.

Maths was the most popular subject for boys, biology for girls.