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There are some indications in initial A-level results that private schools may have widened the gap with state schools A quarter of a million A-level candidates receive their results today amid some indications that private schools may have widened the gap with state schools. The Girls’ School Association, which represents heads of independent girls’ schools, said that of the first schools to announce their results, 32.9% of grades awarded were at A* level and 70% at A and A*. In last year’s results, for all private schools, 17.9% of entries were awarded an A* and just over half secured the two top grades. The Girls’ School Association figures were from just 18 schools, and the proportions may shift when results are published later on Thursday. In the GSA results, 61.9% of grades for combined sciences were at A and A*, and the A* pass rate for maths was 48.6%. The A* grade is being used to discriminate between the best candidates at an increased number of universities this year. Oxford is demanding the grade for 15 of its courses, while students applying for some courses at Bristol, Exeter and Sussex have been asked for it. Last year, the only universities to require an A* were Imperial, Cambridge, UCL and Warwick. The publication of results will trigger a scramble for the remaining places available in clearing. The number of applicants to UK universities has risen to 673,570 this year, a record high and a rise of 1.3% on 2010. There were around 487,000 undergraduates accepted at UK universities last year, and a similar number of places available this year. Around 210,000 candidates lost out on a place at university last year. Commenting on the girls’ school results, Caroline Jordan, who chairs the GSA’s education committee, and is also headmistress of St George’s, Ascot, said: “These are great emerging results which means that today girls educated in our schools are celebrating getting into the most prestigious universities, many of them to study medical, science and language courses. They have also proved themselves to be team players and taken part in a multitude of extra curricula activities throughout their time at school, they are well placed to be the leaders of tomorrow.” Students from low-income families will be less likely to be offered places at top universities next year, according to a study published on Thursday. The Higher Education Policy Institute, a thinktank, analysed the government’s university reforms which were unveiled in a white paper in June. As part of the changes, English universities will, from next year, have an 8% cut to the number of places they offer to students achieving less than two As and a B in their A-levels. However, they will be allowed to recruit an unlimited number of students with two As and a B or better. The thinktank warns that these reforms will damage social mobility because bright pupils from low-achieving schools and homes may be just as capable as their better-off peers, but are less likely to achieve two As and a B. The universities that take the largest share of poor students will be most affected by the 8% cut because they tend not to have many students with two As and a B, the thinktank says. Its study also predicts that middle and low-ranking universities will be forced to dramatically reduce their average tuition fees for next year to less than £7,500. The government is proposing to make extra places available under this threshold. At the moment, the estimated average annual tuition fee universities and colleges will charge next year is £8,393. Within a year or two, all but the most competitive universities will have to charge £7,500 or less, the thinktank expects. It says this will create a two-tier and “polarised” system under which bright, poor students would attend further education colleges and universities that lacked “kudos and the social capital of the more competitive institutions”. The thinktank predicts that in future years, top universities will be engaged in an “arms race” whereby they continually compete for AAB students by offering ever more generous scholarships and financial inducements. Responding to the analysis, universities minister David Willetts said: “The intent of our higher education reforms are clear: we are putting students at the heart of the system with a financing system that is fairer and affordable for the nation. “While we expect universities to offer good value for money, students will have the information to decide what course and institution is right for them. “Institutions will have to work much harder to attract students and be explicit about the quality of their teaching and the type of experience they offer.” Higher education A-levels Schools Jeevan Vasagar Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk