A new A-level record

The long wait for students' A-level results is over

If you're expecting your A-Level results today, then the good news is that this year's results are better than ever, with girls maintaining the edge over boys.

But critics say that an increase in passes suggests that standards are slipping making it easier to pass the exams.

Today's Guardian newspaper even described A-Levels as the 'no fail exam'.

Breakfast had comprehensive coverage throughout the programme including details of where you can go for help and advice

We heard from John Dunford from the Secondary Heads' Association - click on the link above to see that interview

That was followed by our interview with Professor Roderick Floud who is from Universities UK, the group representing Vice-Chancellors, he's also President of London Metropolitan University.

Mike Sergeant was at the City of Bristol College in Bristol.

That was followed by our interview with Schools' Minister David Miliband - click on the link above to see that.

Finally, we heard from Breakfast's Jules Botfield who was at a helpline centre in Cheltenham with Radio 1 dj Emma B.

This year's results, from more than three quarters of a million exams, show that boys are beginning to catch up with higher-achieving girls.

The pass rate has risen 0.6% from 2003 to 96% and 22.4% of entrants received an A-grade - up from 21.6% last year.

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Rejected claims

Examiners, head teachers and education ministers rejected claims that this was because exams were getting easier.

"Don't let anyone tell you that standards have dropped because more of you have done well. This is simply a myth," said School Standards Minister David Miliband, as results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland were published.

Higher grades

But because so many students are now achieving the highest grades, there are to be discussions this autumn about how universities can distinguish between the best.

A-level results 2004 96% pass, up from 95.4% last year A grades: 23.7% girls, 21% boys; last year 22.9% girls, 20% boys Fastest increasing subjects: Religious studies, law 69% of all results are A to C grades 40% of young people take A-levels Total A-level entries: 766,247

This could lead to universities being given students' individual percentage marks - rather than an overall grade.

Head teachers' leader David Hart said he could see no reason why universities should not be given this information.

And the director of the Joint Council for Qualifications, Ellie Johnson-Searle, said that such information was available if universities wanted this extra detail about students' exam performance.

'Denigration'

This year's results show that more students than ever have passed - with the 22nd successive increase meaning that 96% of students achieved a grade A to E, up from 95.4% last year.

But examiners were resolute that this was not an indication of "dumbing down" or "grade inflation".

Any other country would be celebrating the educational achievements of its students ... but we seem incapable of doing that Kat Fletcher, NUS president

Dr Johnson-Searle said the "grades awarded are absolutely a reflection of what students have earned" - and she denied that standards were lower or that there were "softer" subjects which would give higher grades.

This was supported by David Hart, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, who said improvements were the "result of better teaching and hard work by students".

The National Union of Students also attacked the "constant denigration" of improving results.

"Any other country would be celebrating the educational achievements of its students ... but we seem incapable of doing that," NUS president Kat Fletcher said.

Boys improving

Boys in particular have shown improvements this year - narrowing the gap with girls in both the number of passes and A grades.

Most popular A-level subjects English General studies Maths Biology Psychology

"Many secondary schools have put a lot of effort into raising attainment for boys - and inevitably it will flow through to results," said Mr Hart.

Measures had included putting boys into single-sex classes, he said. And the improving results showed that boys were getting the message that they could not be "lazy and complacent".

Declining A-level subjects Computing Information technology German Science Physics

There were further declines in the number of students taking French A-level - now down to 15,000 - and a slump in candidates for computer-related A-levels.

While "traditional" subjects such as English and maths remain among the most commonly studied, there are now more A-level students taking psychology than chemistry and more taking media studies than French.