Imposing VAT on independent school fees could result in pupils getting worse A-level results next year if they are forced to move schools, experts have warned. Speaking to iNews, Sarah Cunnane, head of media and communications at the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said the organisation is "very concerned" about pupils leaving during exam years as it could mean they "may not be able to see their courses through to the end". Ms Cunnane said it is "too early" to make inferences about how the tax would affect A-levels results overall, but added: "All the evidence shows that changing schools part way through a year and part way through an exam diet leads to worse results for those children because it’s interrupted schooling." She continued: "What we’re likely to see in the coming years is a danger that some subjects may disappear from curriculums in independent schools, which is a real shame. Often, they’re offered out not just to the pupils at those schools, but in partnership with local state schools as well." The deputy head of a leading independent school in London also told the paper that for pupils in exam years, this would be "very disruptive" to their learning and the implications for their results could be "serious". By Connie Dimsdale.

Bridget Phillipson has suggested independent schools are closing or struggling with their finances because of parental choice. In an interview with Sky News, the education secretary said: "Private schools are businesses that can make choices about how they manage their budgets, the level of fees that they charge, and ultimately, it’s about how attractive they are to families in terms of the numbers of students that are sent there... Some of the examples that are being discussed are schools that were already experiencing big budget shortfalls, weren’t attracting the same numbers of students that they might like to attract, and that’s what’s driving what we see here." Chief executive of the ISC Julie Robinson told The Times: "Independent schools have been under a series of financial pressures for some time and these are bound to take their toll. There are a number of schools [that] otherwise would have been able to weather the current economic climate [that] will find VAT and the loss of business rates relief to be a bridge too far. This will be made more acute by the acceleration of the government’s plans to place a tax on education." By Nicola Woolcock.

The number of pupils achieving top A-level grades has increased to become the highest on record outside the Covid pandemic, despite efforts to curb grade inflation. The share of A*s and As has risen to 27.8 per cent this year, up from 27.2 per cent in 2023. The Telegraph also reports that independent school pupils in England remain the top performing set of students, with almost half (49.4 per cent) of all A-level entries by independent school pupils achieving an A* or A, up from 47.4 per cent last year. According to the data, boys have also widened their lead in achieving the top possible marks this year, with their share of A*s rising 0.4 percentage points to reach 9.5 per cent, against girls’ 9.1 per cent. However, girls slightly edged boys to lead the overall share of A*s and As, with 28 per cent of female A-level entries earning the top two grades, compared to 27.6 per cent of boys. By Poppy Wood and Ollie Corfe. 

The Daily Mail reports the Class of 2024 could be the "smartest" group of school leavers ever after achieving top A-level results. ISC chairman Barnaby Lenon is quoted, saying: "This cohort did well in their GCSEs and have been well prepared for their A levels. I am happy to accept that the small improvement in A level grades is reasonable in these circumstances." By Eleanor Harding, Julie Henry and Jordana Seal.

The Independent reports the gap between independent and state school pupils achieving grade A and above in all subjects is now 27.1 percentage points, compared to 25.4 percentage points last year and 24.8 percentage points in 2019. By Millie Cooke.

Yesterday's exam results have shown the North-South divide in the number of top-performing A-level pupils remains "significant", with more than 31 per cent of pupils in London and the South East achieving an A or A* grade in their subjects, compared to 24.6 per cent across the North. The percentage point gap is now 6.5, compared to 4.4 in 2019. By Steve Robson, iNews.

Tes includes a feature on how well each subject area has performed. Top grades have broadly increased in most subjects, although results are very slightly down from 2023 in English literature and English language. By Jasmine Norden. 

A record number of students took A-level maths and further maths this summer and the percentage of top grades rose. Over 100,000 pupils sat the A-level maths exam, the first subject ever to surpass that milestone, while further maths has emerged as the fastest-growing A level. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

The Telegraph invites readers to use its interactive tool to find out how their child's grades compare against the wider cohort in the various subjects they sat. By Ollie Corfe and Mariana Hallal.

Analysis by Tes of the tables, graphs, charts and infographics published by Ofqual and the Joint Council For Qualifications (JCQ) has uncovered the key trends from this year's A-level results day. Findings include the number of exams that were sat as well as the most popular subject combinations. By Dan Worth and Ellen Peirson-Hagger.

A-level grade boundaries, which show the minimum mark a student needs to get a certain grade and are released on the same day as exam results, are explained by Faiza Saqib and Albert Toth in The Independent.

Numerous schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations have been mentioned across today's coverage.

Tom Lawson, headmaster of Eastbourne College, has a letter published in The Times in which he argues the university admissions process is "ripe for reform". He writes: "Swathes of uncertainty could be taken away from both the candidate and the university’s decision-making process by switching to a post-qualification system, meaning that everything would be simpler and more accessible." 

In a separate letter to The Times, Mark Steed, principal and CEO of Stamford School, argues: "The toxic masculinity that schools are witnessing is undoubtedly the product of allowing young teenagers access to social media platforms." He adds that schools have an important role to play in combatting harmful online influencers, "not only by addressing toxic behaviour head on but also by supporting parents". The letter can be found a third of the way down the page.

Some of the most vulnerable children are more likely to be rejected for mental health support than their peers, according to new research from the University of Cambridge and National Children's Bureau. The findings suggest children from the most deprived areas were about two times more likely to be turned away from services than those from the least deprived areas. By Lewis Adams and PA Media, BBC News. 

Headteachers in Scotland will be given government support to introduce mobile phone bans in schools. Under new guidance, pupils could be required to hand in devices before classes or be banned from using them on school trips as part of efforts to tackle disruptive and bullying behaviour. BBC News.

Simon Cane-Hardy, the head of senior school at Gordonstoun, has welcomed new powers to ban the "constant distraction" of mobile phones from the classroom, explaining how every part of school life has been transformed since Gordonstoun restricted mobile phone use six years ago. On his school's experience, Mr Cane-Hardy told The Times: "Academic focus is much better and, since 2017, we’ve seen a marked improvement in our academic results, which is partially attributable to our mobile phone policy." By Jeremy Watson. This story is also covered by Alan Young and Katrine Bussey in The Scotsman.

A piece in The Times explores the phenomenon of teenagers taking smartphone-free gap years to learn independence and social skills before starting university. The article mentions Downe House, one of the schools organising trips abroad during which students leave their phones behind. Genevieve Ford, the school's deputy head of pastoral, is quoted, saying: "Some parents deliberately signed their daughters up for that very reason. Our teenagers do not have a chance to be without phones; there is such a pressure to be on social media. They are at risk of becoming slaves to their screens. The girls who went felt liberated." By Sian Griffiths. 

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