Results for A-levels, T-levels, BTecs and other vocational qualifications are out. And this year, they've come at a time when all eyes are on what teenagers decide to do next. Universities are keen to get them through the door.
As they grapple with their finances, they know that every filled seat in a lecture hall comes with tuition fee funding. The new prime minister, meanwhile, wants to carve out clear routes into technical jobs that can rival the well-established path of A-levels and a university degree. For teenagers, considerations about the immediate and long-term cost of university, as well as the availability of other options, are all in the mix.
Here are the standout things you need to know. About 40% of 18-year-olds in England receive A-levels every summer, and this year top A-level results across the whole of England, Wales and Northern Ireland have risen for a third year running. Overall, 28.5% of grades were marked at A* or A, up from 28.3% last year.
The results are still much lower than they were in 2020 and 2021, when exams were cancelled and results were based on teachers' assessments. After that, there was a concerted effort to bring them back down. Grading in England returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 – prompting a big fall in top grades – while Wales and Northern Ireland followed suit in 2024.
The proportion of top grades across the three nations combined has been slightly creeping up since that drop in 2023. The proportion of A-levels marked at A* and A was: 30.7% in Northern Ireland, up from 30.3% You can see how results were in your local area using the look-up tool below. A record number of 18-year-olds in the UK have been accepted into university, according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) - with more than ever getting into their first choice.
The steepest growth has been in acceptances to what Ucas calls "higher tariff" universities. These are the most selective institutions, like those in the Russell Group. They have taken on 5.5% more UK 18-year-olds than last year, and many are still advertising courses in Clearing.
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