UK: Warning over A* for admissions

Top universities risk undermining confidence by using the new A* A-level grade for admissions, a minister has warned, reports BBC News. England's Higher Education Minister David Lammy said universities might unfairly reject pupils whose schools failed to predict accurately they may get an A*. The A* grade will be awarded for the first time in 2010 for marks over 90%.

Last month Cambridge said prospective undergraduates would need at least one A* and two As from next year - but said it would not rely on predicted grades.

The proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade last year - currently the highest grade - was almost 26% on average across all subjects. Top universities, with many more applicants than places, have been saying for some time that they find it hard to distinguish between the best candidates.

The government decided to introduce the A* to tease out the very brightest. Lammy said a review was being conducted into the reliability of A* predictions.
Full report on the BBC News site