What % get 4 A* at A level?

[houselikeashed]

I was just wondering how manny kids actually achieve this? And do they all go to Oxbridge?

3 A*s is common these days. Grades are nothing like they were some years ago, let alone decades ago when getting an A at A-Level was a real achievement. .

ironoaks
Natural Sciences I think.

I think the thing to remember is that Oxbridge is massively oversubscribed. Ds1 knows for Cambridge he has something like a 23% chance of getting in for his course.

Statistically for 2019
19,359 applied to Cambridge
4,694 were given offers
3,528 were accepted

I know STEP tests are done in the summer, whereas Ds's course the entrance exam is in November so they know before they start to interview whether you have passed or not.

Ds is doing 4 A levels, the 4th being further maths. Only a small percentage do more than 3 A levels, as that is all that is required for even medicine at the top unis.

DD got 4A * and got rejected from
Oxford. I'm sure everyone who applies is of that caliber. She is going to Imperial College instead who offered A * AA.

She got 4 A star and was offered AstarAA

Just rubbish, my son got this 4a*s and got rejected then went on and achieved a great result at St Andrews and is going to do a post grad at Oxford. Oxford entry is still very nepo and those who know the tricks get in etc. it is a lottery!!! But don’t let them bring you down - Margret Attwood 😊💕

Late to this but @Wonderwoman37 - Oxbridge is indeed a bit of a lottery to a degree, but to suggest it's 'still very nepo' is absolutely ridiculous! These universities actively seek to level the playing field and will look closely at candidates who might have advantages over others - private school kids are frequently given higher offers, for example.

Sorry your son was rejected - but for those who were accepted, nepotism wouldn't come into it!

what she said is slightly true, though it's not nearly as bad as it was a generation, much less two generations, back. Oxford publish the numbers every year, state school kids get 70-odd % of the A'A'A+ grades but only 60% odd % of the Oxbridge places. there are lots of reasons for this, including I think strength of applicants - a much higher % of really strong state school kids don't bother applying for one reason or another, whereas nearly all the really strong private school kids do.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/admissions-statistics/undergraduate-students/current/school-type

Hi @houselikeashed !

3 A stars and 4 A stars are more common with STEM subjects than with Arts-Humanities subjects at A Level.

[edited by MNHQ at poster's request]

Of students who took 3 A Levels, the % getting 3 A stars is about 2% according to this site. There doesn't seem to be any data on 4 A stars.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/infographic-a-level-results-2024/infographics-for-a-level-results-2024-accessible