Pupils at an inner city state school were celebrating after 55 teenagers got the A-level grades needed for them to study at Oxbridge, which is more than the offers made to Eton College students.

The majority of pupils at Newham’s Brampton Manor Academy in east London are from ethnic minority backgrounds, in receipt of free school meals (FSMs) or will be the first in their family to attend university.

Sam Dobin, Brampton’s sixth form director, said he was “delighted” that 55 of its students are now set to study at Oxford or Cambridge University this year, which is more than leading independent schools.

At Eton, where Boris Johnson studied, 48 pupils secured Oxbridge offers, a fall from 69 last year.

Commenting on the publication of A-level results, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:

“The challenges of the awarding process this year were significantly exacerbated by minister’s delay in drawing up contingency plans.

“Whilst schools have done a tremendous job in picking up the pieces left of minister’s last-minute decision-making, many teachers were left running on empty with teacher workload at breaking point at the end of last term. We cannot afford a repeat of this confusion and chaos for yet another year.”

Dr Roach called for mitigations and contingency plans for 2022, including “a slimmed down package of subject content” and “the provision of a choice of subject topics across all subjects and qualifications” in order to reduced the pressures on pupils and teachers.

He said: “In looking ahead to plans for qualifications in 2022 the NASUWT has made it clear to ministers and regulators that mitigations and contingency plans will still be needed. Such mitigations should include a slimmed down package of subject content

“Teachers and young people need a system for next year’s qualifications which is realistic and responsive to the continuing challenge of the pandemic on students’ education.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has claimed that he cannot remember the results of his A-levels.

As hundreds of thousands of students received their A-level grades, Mr Williamson vividly recalled the day 27 years ago when he received his results.

But pressed on what they actually were, he insisted that his memory failed him, although he acknowledged he did not get top marks.

“I didn’t get three A*s, it’s fair to say,” he said when pressed by LBC’s Nick Ferrari.

“I have forgotten, it is so long ago. It is 27 years ago.

“You probably can’t remember what was happening last weekend.”

The overall pass rate (grades A* to E) for this year’s A-levels was 99.5 percent. This is down very slightly from 99.7 percent in 2020.

But the number of those achieving a C-grade or higher has increased.

Some 88.5 percent of pupils received a C or above, up from 88.0. percent in 2020 and the highest since at least 2000.

Girls have extended their lead over boys in the top grades. The proportion of girls who got A or higher was 46.9 percent, 4.8 percentage points higher than boys (42.1 percent).

Last year, girls led boys by 3.2 percentage points (39.9 percent girls, 36.7 percent boys). Boys briefly took the lead in 2017 and 2018, following a long period in which girls had been ahead.

Girls have also extended their lead in the highest grade, A*.

The proportion of girls who got A* was 19.7 percent, 1.3 percentage points higher than boys (18.4 percent).

Last year the gap was just 0.2 points (14.4 percent girls, 14.2 percent boys).

A union has congratulated A-level students and teachers while calling for more support from the DfE.

Deborah Lawson, Assistant General Secretary of the Voice Section of the Community Union said: After eighteen months of interruption – lockdown, self-isolation, in-school and virtual learning, preparation for exams and teacher assessed grades; to everyone involved across the UK, from teachers and support staff through to parents and carers – we want to say a huge well done.”

She added that fears around “grade inflation” and “’pass all’ culture” had led students to worry about the value of their grades in years to come, but that we “the immense challenges of the last year and a half “ should not be downplayed.

She said: It is important to recognise the adversity that has been overcome and to commend this year’s achievement for the genuine success that it is.

“Our teachers have often spoken of their difficulties over the last year, feeling unsupported left without plans, information and resources often until the very last moment. We hope to see more than kind words from the Department of Education, but genuine gratitude and more support going forward.”

Dr Nick Smith, courses director and founder of distance learning provider The Oxford Open Learning Trust has offered advice for students who didn’t quite get the grades they’d hoped for.

He said: “First of all, check out the UCAS clearing system as many institutions will still have places available. Its website will show whether your course is available somewhere else, but it’s also worth giving them a call.

“If you feel that you’ve been given a grade that is too low, you can also appeal by contacting your school, who will then inform the exam board. The board will examine evidence provided by the school and decide whether any changes are needed.

“Universities are expecting a high number of appeals this year, with grades calculated by teacher assessment rather than exams, and this is why results have been released earlier, to allow for this process.

“You also have the option of exploring other learning pathways, like work experience or apprenticeships. Gap years are also a possibility, allowing you to travel or volunteer, but make sure you check international travel restrictions if heading abroad.

“Alternatively, you could take a break from traditional education but carry on learning by either resitting your A-levels or studying new ones while working.”

Labour has criticised education secretary Gavin Williamson for suggesting universities should not charge full tuition fees unless they return to face-to-face teaching.

Peter Kyle, the shadow schools minister, blamed the lack of in-person teaching on Mr Williamson himself.

The Labour frontbencher said: “The reason there hasn’t been much face-to-face teaching is because Gavin Williamson has been preventing it for the last period.

“Just bear in mind that I had vice chancellors calling me saying pubs were open, restaurants were open, people were allowed to gather outside, but universities were prevented from government policy, from Gavin Williamson, from having seminars inside again.”

Gavin Williamson has suggested universities should not be charging full tuition fees if they are failing to deliver what students “expect”, including in person-teaching.

Pressed on Sky News on whether it was appropriate for universities to be charging full fees while students were learning online, the cabinet minister said the government had made clear all institutions can move back to face-to-face teaching, adding: “That’s what we want to see”.

He later added: “If universities are not delivering what students expect then actually they shouldn’t be charging the full fees.”

Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has the full story:

Record numbers of students have achieved an A grade or higher in teacher-awarded A-level results this year, after exams were cancelled for a second year.

Nearly half of students (44.8 per cent) were awarded an A or A* this summer, up by 6.3 per cent on last year, according to the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).

The uplift in top grades reflects the fact the grading process gave all students a chance to do their best, only being assessed on what they had been taught across multiple pieces of work, the Department for Education said.

Our reporter Matt Mathers has the details: