New data has shown that Rutland has the highest proportion of top-performing A-level students in England, with nearly 40% of its results consisting of grades A or above. The findings come from an analysis by tuition provider Teachers To Your Home, based on 2024 data from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation.
Rutland topped the list with 39.7% of its A-level results being A grades or higher. Students in the small East Midlands County excelled particularly in subjects such as Art and Design, where 63.2% of students achieved an A or above, compared to a national average of 32%. Biology was also a standout subject, with 41.2% of Rutland students receiving top marks, significantly surpassing the national rate of 27.1%.
| Rank | County | Percentage of Results at Grade A or Above |
| 1 | Rutland | 39.7 |
| 2 | Surrey | 35.6 |
| 3 | East Sussex | 34.4 |
| 4 | Hertfordshire | 33 |
| 5 | Oxfordshire | 32.8 |
| 6 | Buckinghamshire | 32.4 |
| 7 | Cambridgeshire | 32 |
| 8 | Warwickshire | 31.8 |
| 9 | Berkshire | 30.7 |
| 9 | Greater London | 30.7 |
| 10 | Hampshire | 28.8 |
| 10 | Shropshire | 28.8 |
Surrey came in second place, with 35.6% of its A-level results being A grades or higher. The county saw particularly strong performances in Biology, with 37.7% of students achieving an A or above, again outperforming the national average of 24.3%.
East Sussex followed in third place, with 34.4% of results achieving grades A or above. The county’s students showed particular strength in Mathematics, with 55.3% receiving an A or higher, well above the national average of 41.5%.
Hertfordshire secured fourth place with 33% of students achieving top grades. The county performed particularly well in Geography, where 31.4% of students received an A or above, compared to 24.2% nationally. Meanwhile, Oxfordshire, in fifth place, saw 32.8% of its results at grade A or above, with notable achievements in English Literature (19.1%) and Chemistry (17.8%).
Further down the list, Buckinghamshire took sixth place with 32.4% of A-level results being A grades or higher. The county excelled in Computer Science, where 10% of students achieved A* grades, nearly double the national average of 5.7%. Cambridgeshire followed in seventh place with 32% of students achieving A or above, with a standout performance in English Language at 22.6%, compared to the national rate of 11.5%.
Warwickshire, in eighth place, saw 31.8% of its students achieve A or above, while Berkshire and Greater London tied for ninth place, with 30.7%. Hampshire and Shropshire shared tenth place, each seeing 28.8% of their A-level students achieve top grades.
The Isle of Wight recorded the lowest proportion of students achieving grades A and above, with just 15.8%.
Gillian Dixon, CEO of Teachers To Your Home, commented on the results: “It’s encouraging to see a rise in top grades across England, with 27.6% of A-levels marked A* or A in 2024, up from 26.5% in 2023. However, the absence of any northern counties in the top ten highlights potential disparities in resources and performance across regions.”
Dixon added that understanding the subjects with the highest and lowest proportions of top grades could help education leaders better support students and allocate resources where needed.
