Phillipson pledges to close attainment gap
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has said she will not “stand by and accept the entrenched inequalities” that blight the life chances of many young people.
The government’s plans for turning around the attainment gap between white working-class children and their peers will be set out in the autumn.
Pupils who are receiving their A-level and level 3 vocational and technical qualification results were in Year 8 when schools closed because of the pandemic.
This cohort of school and college leavers received their GCSE results in 2023, the first year that grading was returned to pre-pandemic levels in England.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, exam regulators returned to pre-pandemic grading in 2024, a year later than in England.
Clarkson speaks out
Jeremy Clarkson has penned a tweet to students who may not have achieved what they wanted this morning.
He wrote: “If your A level results are disappointing, don’t worry.
“I got a C and two Us and here I am today, installing lights for a helicopter landing pad in my garden.”
Clarkson has sought to reassure A-level teens with an annual tweet about how his life worked out despite getting poor grades.
Students opening results
Thousands of students across the country have began opening their results.
Months of hard work have now come down to this nail-biting moment as teenagers look to see what they have achieved.
Record numbers have secured their first-choice university places this year, according to UCAS.
Students receive their A-level results at The Latimers Arts College in Barton Seagrave, Northamptonshire. Picture date: Thursday August 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire
