The A-level gender gap has reversed as boys outperformed girls in top grades for the first time in seven years.

The proportion of boys awarded A or A* this year was 28.4 per cent, 0.2 percentage points higher than the equivalent figure for girls at 28.2 per cent.

Last year, girls across England, Wales and Northern Ireland led boys by 0.4 percentage points - with figures of 28 per cent for girls and 27.7 per cent for boys. 

Boys have also extended their lead over girls in the highest grade, A*. The proportion of boys awarded the top grade this year was 9.9 per cent, 0.8 points higher than girls.

Male students have traditionally led girls, scoring more A* grades than their female classmates every year between 2012 and 2019. 

But girls overtook boys between 2020 and 2022 - the years of the Covid-19 pandemic when results were based on teacher assessments instead of exams.

However, following a return to normal exams, boys reclaimed a 0.3-point lead in 2023. Last year, boys led girls by 0.4 percentage points (9.5 per cent for boys, 9.1 per cent for girls).

Figures released today also show that maths has held firm as the nation's favourite subject for the 12th year in a row, with 112,138 entries, up 4.4 per cent from 107,427 last year. 

But there is still a clear gender divide here, with boys significantly more likely to choose the subject. There were 70,255 boys' entries for maths compared to 41,883 for girls. 

Psychology remains the second most popular subject with 75,943 entries, but it is down 3.3 per cent from 78,556 in 2024.

Biology was once again the third most popular subject, with 71,400 entries, a fall of 4 per cent from 74,367.

Meanwhile business studies has entered the top five most popular subjects for the first time, ranking in fifth place and replacing history which has dropped to seventh.

Physics has also surged in popularity, jumping from ninth place to sixth after attracting an extra 1,843 students.

Chris McNamara, founder and CEO of Pathway CTM, an early careers support service, told the Daily Mail: 'Boys have made a return to the top of the table when it comes to A-level grades, taking the lead over girls for the first time since 2018. 

'The shift back towards more traditional, end-point assessment - with a greater focus on exams over coursework - has likely played a part in this, as this style often better suits boys.

'Almost half of A-level entries are now in STEM subjects, with maths remaining a firm favourite among male students. In maths, 40 per cent of grades were at A or above, compared to just 20 per cent in creative subjects like music, which tend to have higher female uptake.'

It comes as pupils on a whole are celebrating a bumper year for A-level results after scoring record top grades outside of the pandemic years.

This morning, 28.3 per cent of pupils got A/A* this year, compared with 27.8 per cent last year, and 25.4 per cent in 2019.

Outside of the Covid years of 2020-2022, when grades were vastly inflated due to teacher assessment, this is the highest proportion on record. 

In addition, 9.4 per cent of entries got A* grades this year – almost 1 in 10 – up from 9.3 per cent last year and 7.7 per cent in 2019 – making this also a non-pandemic record. 

The top results meant a record 439,180 were accepted onto degree courses, up 3.1 per cent on the same point last year.

Ofqual said this morning results are 'stable' and suggested any changes could be due to the fact that this year students are cleverer.

This is due to them being the first cohort since the pandemic to have GCSE grading returned to normal – so harder – putting less able students off taking A-levels.

And the overall pass rate – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – has also risen to 97.5 per cent this year, which is up on last year (97.2 per cent) and the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (97.6 per cent).

Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator of Ofqual, England's exams regulator, said the standard of work required to achieve grades has 'held constant' since 2023.

He said any changes were because a 'smaller, smarter cohort' of students had sat their A-level exams this year compared to previous years.

Sir Ian said: 'Students this year have got the grades they deserve, and their grade will hold its value over time because it represents a stable standard of achievement.'

The Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams. 

In 2022, grading was brought half way back to normal. 

This cohort of school and college leavers received their GCSE results in 2023, the first year that grading was returned to pre-pandemic levels in England.

This morning, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said there has been a 'steadying of the ship' after the disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: 'What we've seen is a steadying of the ship, both this year and last following some of the disruption that we saw during the pandemic.

'These are young people who have not had disruption in recent times, but have had the full normal assessment process.

'These are also young people who would have been the first to sit GCSEs under normal circumstances. So they've gone through the full regular GCSE cycle that you would have expected before the pandemic.

'So, this is a normal year, the kind of year that we would have seen before the pandemic hit.'

Mrs Phillipson also addressed the issue of 'yawning inequalities in exam achievement.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, she said: 'Alongside the post-16 white paper that we'll be publishing later on this year, I will also bring a big focus through our schools white paper on how we tackle these thorny generational challenges where white working-class kids across our country don't get the start that they deserve.

'Now the school system is an important part of how we respond to that, but I would say alongside it so much of this develops and opens up in the early years.

'The attainment gap that we see between less well-off students and better-off students opens up before the age of five.

'It's why early years has been such a priority, because if we get that right then we set up children to succeed, but we will take more action in the school system to ensure that those gaps that we see, those yawning inequalities, are addressed.

'It's something the last government failed to tackle. It is something this Government will grasp.'