Quarter of A-level students will scoop A* grade in advanced maths and Latin

Almost a quarter of teenagers taking Latin or advanced maths A-levels this summer are expected to achieve the new A* grade designed to identify exceptional students, research published today reveals. But just 1% of pupils entered for accounting and 2% of those sitting English language, film studies or media studies will be awarded A*s, the qualifications watchdog Ofqual predicts. Its researchers used last summer's marks to anticipate how many teenagers will score 90% or more in their final exams this year – the figure they need to be awarded the new grade. They expect 7% of all grades to be an A* – the equivalent of 61,802 subject entries. In further maths and Latin, 23% and 24% of entries are thought likely to be awarded the top grade. The proportion is even higher with Japanese, Russian and modern Hebrew, because the majority of pupils taking these subjects were brought up speaking them. In Japanese, Russian and modern Hebrew, 45%, 41% and 33% are expected to obtain an A*. But in performance studies, statistics, technology and design, business studies and ancient history, fewer than 3% of entries will get enough marks to achieve the new grade. The watchdog said this reflected the abilities of students choosing these subjects, not how hard the subjects are. The researchers found a similar pattern for entries awarded an A grade. Some 77% of entries in classical Greek are expected to achieve an A, while just 13% in media studies and critical thinking are. The A* is being introduced this summer because markers give one in four A-levels an A, and universities have pressed for a new way of identifying the very brightest pupils. Last year, 26.7% of A-level entries got an A grade, up from 25.9% last year. This year, researchers expect 27% of entries will get As. Ofqual's chair, Kathleen Tattersall, said: "The modelling shows that there will be differences between the proportion of candidates who achieve an A* grade in different subjects. "It does not mean that some subjects are easier or harder than others; rather, it highlights differences in the cohorts taking those subjects." Meanwhile, a new unit of an English language GCSE will test pupils on the rhetoric of political spin and the language of the likes of Alan Sugar. The OCR exam board is launching the unit in September. Sample questions include: "What was David Cameron's specific point when he said, 'That to me is the same old politics'?"