The average A-level grade awarded to students at independent schools this summer was an A, according to official data published by the Department for Education. The figures for last summer’s A-level qualifications confirm the rampant acceleration in grades awarded by teachers in England, replacing formal exams that were scrapped earlier this year after the government announced a second national lockdown. The collated results published by the DfE confirm that independent schools awarded top grades to their pupils at a higher rate than students achieved the last year formal exams were taken. The average grade in 2021 was an A, a full grade higher than the average of B awarded in 2019. In comparison, teachers at state-funded schools in England this year awarded B grades on average, compared with the C+ gained through exams in 2019. The DfE has said it will not publish results for individual schools or construct league tables for this year or last year, because of the unusual circumstances. But while independent schools awarded the highest average grades, several other school types showed even faster rates of grade inflation: sponsored academies, free schools and University Technical Colleges (UTCs) all showed more rapid improvement. The average rise at sponsored academies – schools that have been taken over by a sponsor or trust after poor performance – was from a C+ in 2019 to a B this year, while students at UTCs increased their average A-level grade from a D+ to a B-. The DfE said the results from 2021 were “not comparable” to 2019 or previous years. “The increases seen in the headline statistics likely reflect the changed method for awarding grades rather than demonstrating a step-change improvement in standards,” it stated. The collated GCSE results published by the government show there was less of an acceleration in grades than in A-levels. Nearly 52% of pupils gained a strong pass of 5 or above in GCSE English and maths this year, more than eight percentage points higher than in 2019 when assessment was by exams. But school leaders were concerned that even as average GCSE grades were rising, the “disadvantage gap” between pupils who had been on free school meals and their peers was continuing to widen. Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “The coronavirus pandemic impacted all pupils but some were more able to continue their learning than others, and we have seen a widening disadvantage gap as a result. The government could have ameliorated some of this by acting faster to ensure all children have equal access to technology and connectivity in order to continue learning remotely. “The fundamental issues creating disadvantage must be addressed by government if we are to make a real difference in the future.”