The gap in A-level achievement between private and state schools has widened, The Independent has reported.

This year, almost half (49.4%) of A-level entries at independent schools were awarded A and above, compared with less than a quarter (22.3%) at comprehensive schools and 26.5% of entries at academies. This is a wider gap than last year.

89.8% of private school entries were graded C and above, compared to 76% for academies and 73.4% for comprehensives.

Talking to PA, Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at Exeter University, said: “This year’s results reveal one of the most troubling trends in the post-pandemic era – a widening divide in top A-level grades between private and state school students.

“It is simply not acceptable that private school pupils are more than twice as likely to secure top A or A* grades compared with their state school counterparts.

“The problem for today’s generations, and a government committed to dismantling barriers to opportunity, is that the social mobility dials are currently pointing in the wrong direction.

“Amid Covid upheavals, rising child poverty and record levels of school absenteeism and mental health needs, it’s a marvel that so many teenagers have excelled in their studies.”

Ofqual’s chief regulator Sir Ian Bauckham told PA that Ofqual is interested in “those geographical or regional disparities, and gaps between the achievements of students in independent schools and state funded schools.”

He added: “I don’t think any of us who have worked in education – and I’ve worked in education for nearly 40 years – is complacent or happy about that. We are all absolutely focused on making that better.

“And that’s about improving resourcing, it’s about improving facilities, it’s about improving teaching, it’s about improving everything that contributes to a student’s learning journey and reaching the point where they’re assessed.”