Every region of England has seen a year-on-year increase in the proportion of A-level entries awarded A and above, the 2024 exam figures show.
All regions also saw a higher proportion of entries awarded A* or A this year than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
London saw the highest proportion of entries awarded A and above, at 31.3%, up 1.3 percentage points from 30.0% in 2023.
The East Midlands had the lowest, at 22.5%, up 0.2 points from 22.3% in 2023.
The gap between these two regions was 8.8 percentage points, up from 7.7 points last year.
In 2023, north-east England had the lowest proportion of entries awarded A or above, at 22.0%, while south-east England had the highest, at 30.3%: a gap of 8.3 points.
But this year the gap between these two regions narrowed to 6.9 points (north-east England 23.9%, south-east England 30.8%).
Meanwhile, the proportion of entries awarded A and above in Wales and Northern Ireland has fallen sharply year on year, as these nations complete the return to pre-pandemic levels of grading.
In Wales, the figure has dropped from 34.0% in 2023 to 29.9%, while in Northern Ireland it has decreased from 37.5% to 30.3%, though both of these are still above the 2019 pre-pandemic figures of 26.5% and 29.4% respectively.
Here are the percentages of A-level entries awarded the top grades (A*/A) by nation and region, with the equivalent figures for both 2023 and the pre-pandemic year of 2019:
– North-east England 23.9% (2023: 22.0%; 2019: 23.0%)– North-west England 25.5% (2023: 24.1%; 2019: 23.5%)– Yorkshire & the Humber 24.6% (2023: 23.0%; 2019: 23.2%)– West Midlands 24.8% (2023: 22.9%; 2019: 22.0%)– East Midlands 22.5% (2023: 22.3%; 2019: 21.0%)– Eastern England 27.5% (2023: 26.6%; 2019: 25.6%)– South-west England 26.9% (2023: 26.3%; 2019: 25.8%)– South-east England 30.8% (2023: 30.3%; 2019: 28.3%)– London 31.3% (2023: 30.0%; 2019: 26.9%)– England 27.6% (2023: 26.5%; 2019: 25.2%)– Wales 29.9% (2023: 34.0%; 2019: 26.5%)– Northern Ireland 30.3% (2023: 37.5%; 2019: 29.4%)– All 27.8% (2023: 27.2%; 2019: 25.4%)
Here is the A-level pass rate (entries awarded A*-E grades) by nation and region:
– North-east England 97.6% (2023: 97.6%; 2019: 98.3%)– North-west England 97.6% (2023: 97.4%; 2019: 97.9%)– Yorkshire & the Humber 97.3% (2023: 97.2%; 2019: 97.8%)– West Midlands 96.8% (2023: 96.8%; 2019: 97.1%)– East Midlands 96.6% (2023: 96.9%; 2019: 97.4%)– Eastern England 97.1% (2023: 97.3%; 2019: 97.6%)– South-west England 97.4% (2023: 97.4%; 2019: 97.7%)– South-east England 97.3% (2023: 97.5%; 2019: 97.8%)– London 96.9% (2023: 96.9%; 2019: 96.8%)– England 97.1% (2023: 97.2%; 2019: 97.5%)– Wales 97.4% (2023: 97.5%; 2019: 97.6%)– Northern Ireland 98.5% (2023: 98.8%; 2019: 98.4%)– All 97.2% (2023: 97.3%; 2019: 97.6%)