Southwark's A-level results exceed national figures

18 August 2022

Southwark Council is proud to announce exceptional improvement in A-level performance compared to 2019 amid a return to normal summer exams.

This year's A-level students are the first to sit exams since the outbreak of COVID-19, which severely disrupted the school assessment system.

Today’s early indications show that Southwark students have achieved a set of impressive A-level results, exceeding national figures by between 0.8 to 5.6 percentage points across the various grade ranges.

Results show a 14.6 percentage point increase in Southwark students being awarded the top grades of A*-A (from 25.1 per cent in 2019 to 39.6 per cent this year). There was an even larger increase (16.7 percentage points) in the number of students being awarded an A*-B grade: from 51.1 per cent in 2019 to 67.8 per cent this year. Students being awarded A*-C also increased by 8.8 percentage points: from 77.1 per cent in 2019 up to 85.9 per cent this year.

Nearly all A-level exam entries (99.2 per cent) were awarded a pass grade, up by 1.3 percentage points from 97.8 per cent in 2019.

This comes as Southwark has the fourth highest number of schools that are good and outstanding in London. 97 per cent of schools in Southwark are good and outstanding with this number expected to rise further in September.

The Joint Council for Qualifications says A-level grades received by UK students are down on the past two years but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. The gains made nationally (0.9 to 11.1 percentage points) are smaller than the improvements seen in Southwark on average (1.3 to 14.6 percentage points).

Cllr Jasmine Ali, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Education, said: “Massive congratulations to all our A-Level students for their extraordinary results. Not only do they represent two years of your hard work, but you are the first students to sit formal summer exams in three years. What an incredible achievement to exceed the national figures across all grades despite the havoc caused by COVID-19. It’s testament to the outstanding resilience and commitment of young people, school staff and parents across the borough.”

Young people who are thinking about their next steps in education, training or work can join Southwark Council’s mailing list to receive news on job vacancies and career information in and around Southwark.

Visit www.southwark.gov.uk/nextstepmailinglist for more information.

Page last updated: 18 August 2022