Overall, 79% of 18-year-old pupils in the UK receiving a decision today have gained a place at their first choice university.

16, 530 students who received free school meals (FSM) have also gained a place at university which is a 60% increase from 2019.

In a sign that grading is returning to normal, this year, 27.2% of UK entries for A levels achieved a grade A and above, slightly higher than 25.4% in 2019, before the pandemic. 76% of UK entries achieved a grade C and above, in line with 75.9% in 2019.

This year has seen Mathematics continue to be the most popular A Level since 2014 as well as record-breaking numbers of A Level entries in Computing, producing over 16% more entries than last year. The data from this year’s results day show 34.8% of entries from free schools and 25.4% of entries from academies getting a grade A or above – compared to 22.0% of entries from Local Authority maintained comprehensive schools.

Around 3,400 T Level students received their results today as the second ever cohort completed the new, high quality technical qualification. 90.5% of T Level students achieved a Pass or above.

T Levels offer a wide range of progression options as many of these students will also go on to do apprenticeships, and UCAS has today revealed that 1,220 T Level students have been accepted into university, demonstrating the value and reputation of these qualifications.

Over 250,000 certificates were awarded for those completing their Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

“Congratulations to everyone receiving results today. There are more opportunities than ever before so whatever your results, I’m sure you will have a bright future ahead of you.

“It’s fantastic to see the number of young people accepted to university – including to their first choice – continue to be up on the years before the pandemic, while thousands more go off to exciting apprenticeships and the world of work.

“As always, there are a wide range of fantastic options for those who did not get the results they hoped for, and students can find out more by visiting the UCAS website or through the National Careers Service.”

If students have not received the grades they were hoping for, there are thousands of high-quality courses available through Clearing. This morning there were nearly 29,000 courses available, many of which are at the most selective universities. Clearing opportunities can be accessed through this link: https://www.ucas.com/clearing-launch

For those who do not wish to go through Clearing, students can call the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900 for advice on their next steps.

There are also options available other than university. Apprenticeships offer people of all ages and backgrounds the chance to gain the skills they need to build successful careers, while making sure employers can access the skilled workforce they and our economy need to grow.

For more information and to explore all the other exciting options available to young people go to: Get the Jump: explore your education and training choices | National Careers Service

Almost £5 billion has been made available to help pupils to recover from the impact of the pandemic, including over £1.5 billion for the National Tutoring Programme and 16-19 Tuition Fund, which have supported millions of students in need of extra support. Nearly four million tutoring courses have now been started through the National Tutoring Programme, including over 1.3 million so far this academic year.

Nearly 180,000 18-year-old students in England have had their place at their first choice of university confirmed. This is the largest number ever on record for an examination year, a 20% increase on 2019, when exams were last sat.

Overall, 425,830 students of all ages and domiciles will be going onto university, including a record number of 18-year-olds from a disadvantaged background for an examination year. The gap between the most and least advantaged progressing to university has narrowed to a record low (from 2.29 in 2019 to 2.26 in 2022, and from 2.32 in 2021.)

The first cohort of T level students received their results today, with over 92% achieving a pass or above. Many have already secured their first job or an apprenticeship in areas like mechanics and digital product design, and 370 students, 71% of those who applied, have so far been placed onto a university course, demonstrating the flexibility and appeal of these courses.

This is the first year that students have taken summer exams since 2019. As part of the Ofqual transition period back to pre-pandemic grades, AS, A level and Vocational and Technical Qualification results received today will be higher than in 2019 in recognition of the disruption students experienced during their exam years.

Exams were taken with support and adaptions in place, including advance information of topics for A levels, and longer assessment windows for vocational and technical qualifications.

Grades will be lower than 2021 when exams did not go ahead and grades were determined by teachers, as schools and colleges remained closed to most pupils until March.

36% of entries for A levels are at grade A or above in the UK – up from 25% in 2019, and down from 45% in 2021, reflecting the target set out last autumn.

Statistics published today also show:

• 83% of entries for A levels are at grade C or above – up from 76% in 2019, and down from 89% in 2021, reflecting the target set out last autumn.
• The gap between the proportion of top grades (A*, A and above and B and above) in independent schools and academies in England has narrowed compared to 2021.
• 92.2% of T Level students in receipt of results this year achieved a Pass or above, with 31.9% achieving a Distinction and 2.7% a Distinction*.
• Over 240,000 certificates awarded to a wide range of students who have undertaken Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications used for progression in a similar way to A levels, with results broadly similar to previous years.
• 87.7% of undergraduates for this year at UK universities are from the UK compared to 12.3% of international students. This compares to 14.7% of international students in 2019.

Education Secretary James Cleverly said: “I want to congratulate students getting their results today and say a big thank you to the teachers who helped them get to this point. These students have experienced unprecedented disruption over the last couple of years, and such excellent results are a testament to their resilience and hard work.

“Our plan this year was to ensure that students could sit their exams for the first time since 2019, be graded fairly and move on to the next stage of their lives as we return to normality after the pandemic.

“We have now seen the largest number of students on record for an examination year – including a record 23,220 of disadvantaged 18-year-olds – going on to university, while many others will take their next steps in further training or the world of work.

“Regardless of what those next steps are, I wish all students the very best on this exciting new chapter in their lives.”

179,690 18-year-olds in England gained their first choice of university place, 21,670 their insurance. This compares to 149,670 getting their firm choice and 19,300 getting their insurance choice in 2019.

The Government has been working with the higher education sector to ensure that universities have been making offers that reflect the grades students have received today.

Universities have been encouraged to be flexible in their decision-making on admissions for students who narrowly miss their grades or terms of their offer and they have a wealth of experience supporting young people throughout the application process, including through the changing circumstances with recent results cycles.

Medicine and Dentistry are hugely competitive courses, and consistently have far more applicants than there are places available. Despite more cautious offer making this year so universities can avoid oversubscription, the government expects all places on these courses to be filled for 2022/23.

For those students going onto higher education in September from the lowest-income households, on top of the standard cost of living support package, the Government has continued to increase support for living costs on an annual basis. This means that these students now have access to the largest ever amounts in cash terms. The Government also asked the Office for Students to protect the £256 million available to support disadvantaged students and those in the need for the current financial year.

If students have not received the grades they were hoping for, a record number of places are available through UCAS, as well as a range of high quality vocational and technical options. Students can call the National Careers Service on 0371 468 0468 for advice on their next steps.

To help future students recover from the impact of the pandemic the Government has invested nearly £5 billion including £1.5 billion for the National Tutoring Programme. Over two million courses have now started through the National Tutoring Programme, including 1.8 million so far this academic year across an estimated 80% of schools.

The Department for Education and Ofqual will evaluate the arrangements this year, before finalising 2023 arrangements as early as possible in autumn. The intention is to return to the carefully designed and well-established pre-pandemic exam arrangements as quickly as possible, given they are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do.

Sunderland College will be rolling out prestigious new T Levels from a new cutting-edge immersive environment, after the Government confirmed it will fund the transformation of a space within its Bede Campus. The 1920s Bede Building (pictured left) will see its old hall undergo a complete refurbishment, with the inclusion of a sophisticated, 360 degree immersive visualisation ‘dome’ created within it, that will allow students to train in a number of virtual reality environments.

The dome, a fully integrated immersive solution, will create virtual realities for students studying in several technical disciplines. The major refurbishment will also include the creation of an amphitheatre-style seated area, and a number of innovation suites and flexible spaces for employer led training.

North East firm Malcolm Hollis has been appointed to oversee the major development and a construction partner Engie has been has been appointed to deliver the designs – which were developed by North East architect, Seymour Architecture. Work will commence in January and will be completed in October 2021.

Ellen Thinnesen (pictured right), chief executive of Education Partnership North East, which includes Sunderland College, said: “I am absolutely thrilled that we have secured funding to develop what will become a leading technical skills and digital innovation centre. The centre will be game changer for our college and most importantly for young people and employers from across our region.

“Bede is a stunning campus, that has already benefitted from major capital investment over the last few years to ensure that, behind its beautiful red brick façade, we’re able to offer first-class educational experiences. . This latest investment will raise the bar yet again, and the plans we have for the new centre will position us right at the cutting-edge of education. The new centre will be a fantastic regional asset that will ensure our T Level provision is exceptional and we are able to increasingly deliver a valuable pipeline of students to meet regional skills shortages.”

The new centre will allow the college to develop student’s knowledge, understanding and skills in a shared VR facility offering flexible applications for all T Level disciplines – for instance, health students might learn CPR in a simulated football stadium, where the sights, sounds and reality of an emergency response situation are recreated by digital 360 degree technology, a learning environment radically different to the confines of a traditional classroom. Similarly, T level students studying construction will be able to shape the way a health and safety worksite scenario unfolds in response to their decisions. And supported by the college’s technical team, employers will be able to recreate their manufacturing plants within the centre using 360 degree immersive technology for training of existing or future employees.

Sunderland College will begin delivery of its new T Level provision from the new centre from September 2021. T Levels will offer a new and unique curriculum, which will include employer led education and technical training for students, within industries such as construction, digital, health, science and education.

As well as exceptional facilities, the college will ensure its offer is anchored by close links to employers, and will shortly be announcing new strategic partnerships to support the development of the digital innovation centre as a vibrant business hub ensuring employers are at the heart of the next generation of talent.

“We want this facility to be a collaborative space, where businesses co-design and co-deliver education to ensure that we maximise the value of this space. We’ll be working with partners from a range of industries to simulate their working environments, and ensure every T Level student leaves us with unmatched theoretical knowledge, and authentically developed skills enabling through digital technologies, meaningful employer partnerships and industry placements”.

“We’re a future-focused college, and this new centre will absolutely exemplify that – it’s a place where education and business will converge.”

As well as being an innovative centre for T Level training, the college will open a small sensory environment within the centre where T Level students will gain real work experience supporting the delivery of digitally informed immersive therapies for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Ellen added: “This will be a truly life-changing space for children and young people with SEND, and we are determined that the centre will deliver maximum advantage to people from across the city of Sunderland and wider region.”