Almost 100,000 fewer top A-level grades could be awarded this year, expert warns

Published

2 years ago

August 7, 2023

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There could be nearly 100,000 fewer top A-level grades awarded this year compared with 2022, an education expert has suggested.

Professor Alan Smithers’ report says almost 50,000 students could miss out on getting the A* and A grades they could have expected last year if this summer’s grading returns to pre-pandemic standards.

He predicts around 10% of grades will be an A* and around 27.5% will be an A this year, compared with 2022 when 14.6% of grades were an A* and 36.4% an A.

In 2019, 7.8% of grades were an A* and 25.5% were an A.

The government has said the number of A* and A grades awarded in England should fall back to pre-pandemic levels as exams return to normal.

Prof Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, expects the number of top A-level grades to fall significantly but not by quite as much as the government requested, as was the case last year.

The expert says teachers developed a “taste for awarding top grades” in some subjects during the COVID pandemic which markers will be “reluctant to relinquish”.

He said: “During the teacher assessment years, many students and their parents will have developed unreasonable expectations.

“Whatever the extent to which top grades are brought down this year, the drop will lead to a lot of disappointment and probably a huge increase in the number of appeals.”

Prof Smithers also said disruption from teacher strikes may have led exam boards to be more lenient.

He said the percentage of top grades in performing arts and practical subjects increased sharply during the pandemic when grades were based on teacher assessments.

That figure rose less steeply for science and maths because pupils studying those subjects were already getting more top grades before the pandemic.

However, last year more top grades were awarded for music and performing arts than physics and chemistry despite the return of exams, suggesting a “profound change” which may make it more difficult to cut the number of top grades awarded back to 2019 levels.

This trend led to girls receiving far more A* grades than boys, who had previously had the edge because far more of them studied subjects where pupils can “manifestly amass right answers”.

If more A* grades continue to be awarded for arts and humanities than before the pandemic, this could mean boys do not regain their lead.

Pupils in Northern Ireland expected to get best results

Prof Smithers said he expects pupils in Northern Ireland to get the best results, as they have done for many years, followed by those in Wales and then England.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This year, GCSE and A-level grading is largely returning to normal, in line with plans set out by Ofqual [which regulates exams] almost two years ago, to make sure qualifications maintain their value and students get the opportunities they deserve.

“This means national results are expected to be similar to those in pre-pandemic years, and a student should be just as likely to achieve a particular grade this year as they would have been before the pandemic.

“The number of top grades also has no bearing on the number of university places available.”

A spokeswoman for Ofqual said: “This year we expect exam grades to go back to similar levels to 2019, which was the last year before the pandemic.”

Politics

Chancellor to hold tariff crisis talks with top City executives

Published

7 hours ago

April 8, 2025

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Chancellor to hold tariff crisis talks with top City executives

Rachel Reeves will seek to gauge the unfolding impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz on Wednesday when she holds talks with some of the City’s top executives.

Sky News has learnt the chancellor will hold talks with bosses from companies including Hargreaves Lansdown, Legal & General, Lloyds Banking Group and M&G amid ongoing volatility in global financial markets.

Insiders said the talks had been convened to help frame the Treasury’s financial services growth and competitiveness strategy.

However, they acknowledged that the fallout from US tariffs, while not directly affecting most City employers, would feature prominently on Wednesday’s agenda.

“The chancellor will use this meeting to show leadership, building on her statement to the House earlier today, and reiterating that the government will act decisively to take the right decisions in our national interest and protect working people,” a Treasury insider said.

Ms Reeves would stress a commitment to working with international partners to reduce barriers to trade, while pursuing the best possible bilateral deal with the US, they added.

Charlie Nunn, the Lloyds boss; Antonio Simoes of L&G; and Dan Olley, Hargreaves Lansdown’s chief, will all attend the talks.

It will be the latest in a string of meetings the chancellor has held in recent weeks in a bid to boost economic growth.

Her budget last October sparked a furious backlash from the business community, while last month’s spring statement raised fresh fears about the possibility of further tax rises later this year.

None of the companies invited to Wednesday’s meeting would comment when approached by Sky News.

Politics

Crypto execs expect global banking push into Bitcoin by end of 2025

Published

11 hours ago

April 8, 2025

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Crypto execs expect global banking push into Bitcoin by end of 2025

Despite the ongoing market meltdown on US trade tariffs, executives at major cryptocurrency firms Messari and Sygnum are bullish on institutional Bitcoin adoption later in 2025.

Speaking on a panel at Paris Blockchain Week on April 8, Messari CEO Eric Turner and Sygnum Bank co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said they expect a significant shift in the banking sector’s involvement with crypto in the second half of the year.

According to the executives, the global banking push into Bitcoin (BTC) services has great potential to happen in the second half of 2025 as regulators embrace crypto, including stablecoins and crypto services by banks.

“I think we’re probably looking at a muted Q2, but I’m really excited for Q3 and Q4,” Messari’s Turner said during the panel discussion moderated by Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, forecasting “really interesting” things coming to the crypto market in 2025.

Crypto adoption is not just about Trump

While some investors focus on the pro-crypto stance of US President Donald Trump, Turner emphasized that broader regulatory momentum is what matters most.

“When you look at the potential of having market structure regulation in the US, stablecoin regulation, and just the fact that across the board, not just President Trump himself, but the SEC and all these regulatory industries are really embracing crypto,” Turner said.

Banks, Paris, Bitcoin Regulation, Policy — Paris Blockchain Week’s panel with Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, Bancor co-founder Eyal Hertzog, Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger, Messari CEO Eric Turner, AWS fintech leader Alex Matsuo and Near chief operating officer Chris Donovan. Source: Cointelegraph

Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said international banks with US branches are also poised to enter the market once the legal landscape becomes clearer:

“I think it’s a matter of fact that US banks are preparing to be able to offer crypto custody and at least crypto spot trading services anytime soon.”

“I think by then I would agree with you, Eric,” he continued, projecting a continued phase of market uncertainty until the US establishes a clear regulatory framework.

Banks are no longer afraid of Bitcoin regulators

With the establishment of clear crypto rules for banks in the US, there will be a rush for crypto services by large international banks that are incorporated outside of the US but have a US-based presence, Eichenberger said.

“Some of them may have had their strategic plans in their cupboard to offer crypto-related services, but have been afraid that at some point they will be gone after by any of the US regulatory authorities,” he said, adding:

“Now I think there’s no one to be afraid of anymore in terms of regulatory authorities worldwide. So I think many of the large international banks will launch this year.”

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Politics

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Published

14 hours ago

April 8, 2025

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Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides.

Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5, with higher levies — such as a 34% tariff on Chinese imports — set to begin on April 9.

However, the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.

“In the end, almost all the other tariff negotiations and rhetoric are all about getting China to agree a deal,” Pal wrote in an April 8 X post, adding:

“That is the big prize and both China and the US understand it and need it. Everything else is negotiation posturing. China needs a weaker $ and the US needs tariffs.”

“Also, the US is trying to shut down China tariff arbitrage using other channels such as Mexico or Vietnam,” Pal said.

China retaliates with new tariffs

Considering China’s latest retaliatory measures, a resolution remains unlikely in the short term.

In response to US tariffs, China imposed a 34% tariff on all US imports effective April 10, media outlet Xinhua News reported on April 4. China’s foreign ministry also vowed to “fight till the end” against Trump’s tariffs, which it called “bullying” by the world’s largest economy.

China overtook the US in 2012 to become the world’s largest trading nation by the total value of exports and imports, surpassing $4 trillion in goods trade that year, according to The Guardian.

Crypto markets watch trade outcome closely

As the trade dispute continues to evolve, analysts say a potential agreement between the two global superpowers could serve as a key catalyst for recovery in digital asset markets.

Crypto markets have a 70% chance to bottom by June 2025 before recovering, Nansen analysts predicted.

Investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin will depend on the global tariff responses from other countries, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

“We have reached somewhat of a local bottom in regard to tariffs and the impact on prices,” the analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:

“Trump came out guns blazing, and we’ve mostly seen the worst from the US side, so we’ll see if other countries are willing to drop some of the tariffs because it’s very likely the US will do the same.”