Northern Ireland A-level students have pulled further ahead of pupils in Britain as exam standards hit an all-time high, it emerged today.
Nearly a third of all sixth formers received top grades, with girls again outperforming boys, and almost every pupil passed, leaving England and Wales in the shade.
Exam chiefs in Belfast claimed a dedicated teaching staff played a key part for the unrivalled results.
Mr Gavin Boyd, chief executive of the Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), said: "I'm not saying we are smarter. I'm suggesting very, very strongly we are much better prepared for examinations.
"We are very well used to the system here and we have a group of teachers who are very, very focused on getting the best possible results for their candidates."
Out of 30,000 A level entries in Northern Ireland, 97.4 per cent achieved A-E passes, compared with 96 per cent in England and Wales. The number of top grades went up by 1.5 per cent to 30 per cent - a larger rise than the 0.8 per cent increase that took the national figure to 22.4 per cent.
The gender divide remained intact, with 31.7 per cent of girls awarded A grades while only 27.8 per cent of the boys matched them.
Female students in Northern Ireland were 8 per cent ahead of the national figure for top results.
PA
