UK 2024 A Level Results Analysis Tool

It has now been three years of exams since the disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For English students, the 2023 guidance from Ofqual was that grades would return to their 2019 levels. In contrast to previous years, therefore, we are not anticipating any large changes to the overall proportions achieving each grade in 2024.

This blog explores the initial JCQ 2024 A level data for the UK and you can use the tools below to dig deeper into trends over time and subject grade breakdowns.

Grade breakdown over time

While outcomes were broadly in line with 2023, the proportions of students achieving the top grades (A* and A) increased.

Explore changes over time in our interactive tool

NB. You can compare 2024 directly with prior years by using the “Year-on-year Comparison” tab

A few key findings

1. At 9.3%, the proportion of entries across all subjects achieving an A* grade rose from 2023 and was 1.6% points higher than the equivalent proportion in 2019. Similarly, at 18.6%, the proportion achieving an A grade was above both 2023 and 2019 levels.
2. However, this increase was not uniform across subjects. While 18 subjects saw a rise in the proportion of entries achieving an A*, 21 subjects saw a decrease. The rise in top grades in Other Modern Languages entries is particularly high, with the proportion achieving an A* increasing by 15.6% points.
3. A B grade remains the most likely outcome for students, at around a quarter (26.1%) of all subject entries.
4. Welsh First Language was the only subject to see a fall in the proportion of entries achieving an A* grade in 2024 compared to 2019, though this has very small numbers and is therefore not included in the tool above. However, there were six subjects which saw a fall in the proportion of entries achieving an A grade in comparison to 2019.
   • These were Law, English Language, Sociology, Other Sciences, Classical Subjects and Other Modern Languages (likely due to the large increase in A* entries).
     

A level grade breakdown by subject

Research on subject choice suggests that students are choosing a narrower range of subjects compared to previous cohorts. The proportion of students choosing arts and humanities subjects is falling and students are now far more likely to choose all their A levels from a singular subject group, such as the social sciences or STEM subjects.

Mathematics continues to be the most popular A level choice, at 12.1% of all entries. The number of students choosing Business Studies has been steadily increasing, from 4.2% of entries in 2019 to 5.1% in 2024.

Explore this year’s A level grades by subject in our interactive tool

A few key findings

1. At 38.7%, other modern languages had the highest proportion of entries achieving an A* grade. This is an increase of 21.3% points from 2023.
2. Further maths also saw particularly high proportions of entries achieving the top grades. Nearly three in every five (58.4%) entries achieved an A* or A grade, an increase of 4.9% points from 2023.
3. Of the ten most popular subjects, Business Studies had the smallest proportion of entries achieving an A* or A grade, at 16.1%.
4. In contrast, English Language entries saw lower grades, with only 2.3% of entries achieving an A*, and 57.8% achieved a C or below.