Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the high level of A*s at A-level on university admissions for students.

Students can and should feel proud of their results this year. The 2021 admissions cycle saw a large increase in applications from English students compared with 2020 and 2019 and the latest data (as at 28 days after A level results day) shows record numbers of English students have been accepted to higher education (HE). The number of English students being placed onto their first choice is up by more than 26,000, or 9% compared with 2020. 24% of disadvantaged English 18-year-olds were accepted to HE this year. This is up from 23.3% in 2020.