A-level results 2013: Overall pass rate up by 0.1%

For the second consecutive year, the number of top grade passes at A-level dropped. This year, it is down by 0.3per cent.

10:51 16 August 2013

A-level results for 2013 are out. The good news is, the overall pass rate is up by 0.1per cent to 98.1per cent. There were 300,000 exam takers this year. However, the number of top grade passes at A-level dropped for second year in a row. This year, it is down by 0.3per cent.

At the time of writing, there are already 385,910 students that were accepted in different universities while the remaining 250,000 would-be students are still hunting for places.

Today’s result revealed that more would-be students are taking science and math subjects. It also revealed that the take-up of languages continued to decline. With the exemption of Spanish, which increased by 4.1per cent, German and French declined by 11.1per cent and 9.9per cent respectively.

Director of the JCQ Michael Turner said: "The continued rise in subjects such as the sciences, maths and the extended project will be welcomed.

"However, that so few students take a language at A-level is disappointing and although Spanish continues to show growth, the overall trend remains downwards."