Record number of top A-level grades

As more than 300,000 teenagers around the country were waking up to their results, national figures, for England, Wales and Northern Ireland showed that the pass rate had risen again - for the 27th consecutive year.

But teachers leaders' warned that new, tougher A-level exams could spell the end of record pass rates, and next year could see the first fall in decades.

As students were celebrating, thousands were left facing a desperate scramble for the last remaining university places, following an increase in applications this year.

Figures published by UCAS showed that 135,114 students were already eligible for clearing this year, because they have not met the grades required for their chosen university, have chosen not to take up an existing offer, or were not holding an offer.

More than one in four exam entries have been awarded an A grade (26.7%), and more than three quarters (75.1%) were given at least a C. The overall pass rate (grades A-E) was 97.5%, a 0.3% increase on last year, according to data published by the Joint Council for Qualifications.

Jerry Jarvis head of the Edexcel exam board said the awarding bodies had been engaged in "lots of discussions as to whether the grading system is capable of differentiation".

He said that many of the UK's leading universities were saying they have difficulty in choosing between applicants in certain subjects. "There's no question about it, it's a discussion about the value of the A-level, it's still a hugely trusted qualification. More and more students are making the grade, it's a consequence of success rather than a failure of the system itself."

Greg Watson, head of the OCR exam board, accepted that it may be time to "crank up the standard" to pick out the very best students.

A-levels are changing from September with the introduction of more analytical final exam questions and an A* grade, which would only be given to students who achieved a score above 90%.