Russian A-level tops new A* grade

Students who study Russian A-level are far more likely to obtain an A* grade pass than those who take media studies or computing, according to research published today.

The study, published by the Independent Schools Council, shows widespread variation in the number of pupils likely to be awarded the new A* grade when it introduced this summer.

The grade will be given to students who score at least 90 per cent – but the researchers looked at how many pupils would have been awarded the grade last year.

It showed that 51.6 per cent of those taking Russian and 50.1 per cent taking further maths would have been awarded the top grade compared to 13.3 per cent of those taking media studies and 8.9 per cent of those opting for computing or ICT.

Cambridge is one of the universities to say it would make an A* grade a condition of an offer.