PUPIL'S RESULTS:Some 35.4 per cent of the students earned a grade A compared to a UK average of 25.9 per cent.
The improving trend in A-level results means that the performance gap between Northern Ireland and Britain has widened from last year's figures of 33.2 and 25.3 per cent respectively.
A higher proportion of Northern students also achieved a pass mark in the UK's equivalent of the Leaving Certificate, with 98.2 per cent achieving grades A-E, compared to a UK-wide figure of 97.2 per cent.
A similar picture is apparent in marks for AS-levels, which are taken in the students' penultimate school year and count towards their final A-level grade. Some 31 per cent of Northern students achieved an A grade and 95.2 per cent an A-E pass in their AS-levels. These are well ahead of the UK figures of 18.7 and 88.2 per cent.
Girls again outperformed boys in most subjects but the gap has narrowed somewhat, with 2.5 per cent more girls than boys achieving an A grade, compared to 3.9 per cent last year.
In spite of fears from some quarters, traditional subjects remain as popular as ever. Biology was the most popular subject, taken by just over 10 per cent of students, followed closely by English, maths and religious studies.
Languages also remained popular, with higher numbers than last year taking French and German. Slight falls were recorded in Irish and Spanish.
This is the 26th consecutive year in which exam results have improved across the UK, and as before, there have been accusations that exams are getting easier. Anne Marie Duffy, director of qualifications at the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments (CCEA), insisted this was not the case. "They are not getting easier," she asserted in a statement yesterday.
The numbers taking A-levels in the North dropped for the third year running this year - 30,020 students sat the exam, down 2.6 per cent from last year. This figure is in line with a continuing decline in numbers in Northern schools, bucking the UK trend.
The CCEA has a helpline to assist those who think their marks are less than they should have been on 028-90261620. There is also a free counselling service for those despondent at their results. Lifeline counsellors are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week on Freephone 0808-8088000.