A-level results show first rise in top grades in six years

Students from the King Edward VI high school for girls in Edgbaston, Birmingham, share their results.The published national results of 2017’s exams show that in the bulk of subjects the proportion of A and A* grades awarded went up to 26.3%, a rise of half a percentage point compared with 2016.Experts from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) – which represents the exam boards – said it was “not possible to draw accurate conclusions at this stage” for the diff