A parting of the ways: attainment and reward in Music A level grading

For some time, I have wanted to sit down in a darkened room with a load of statistics on Music at A level and the time to understand them. It is well known that Music A level, with all that it brings our students, is in decline. I think this is a huge problem for our subject, for schools and for all our young people whether they take music after Year 9 or not. I wanted see whether data on A level grades offered any insights into the issue.

I have spent much of last ten days looking at these statistics and arguing fruitfully with two mathematicians about what they mean. This is what I believe I can say with confidence:

• Pupils taking Music are drawn from the high end of the attainment spectrum.
• Despite this, pupils get fewer A*/A grades in Music than in their other subjects.
• This impacts on everyone doing Music, but particularly comprehensive schools.

So, many cups of coffee later, let’s go.

Pupils taking Music are drawn from the high end of the attainment spectrum

This point came from looking at the data on ‘hard’ subjects^[1]. Ofqual’s comparison data enables you to find answers to questions such as:

‘In 2025, which student was likelier to get an A*/A in Maths?’

• the student who also took Physics
• the student who also took Music

The answer, I think surprisingly and significantly, is Music. This is also true in 2024 and holds true across the years in a number of combinations of the ‘hard’ sciences and humanities (80% of the cases I looked at in 2025).^[2][3]

This points to Music students being generally high attaining. What can a wider subject comparison tell us?

What could explain this? Why would 26.4% of students who take Music with Maths get A*s in Maths compared with 16.7% on average? How is it so consistent across Maths, the Sciences, Humanities, English, Art and Languages?

This data strongly suggests that students taking Music come from a subsection at the high end of the attainment spectrum.

Pupils get fewer A*/A grades in Music than in their other subjects

So how does this play out when looking at Music grades, a subject in which A*s and As are awarded at lower than national average rates? ^[6]

Bringing points 1) and 2) together here is my claim:

Taking Music makes it likely that you are a very high attaining student. This is recognised most strongly everywhere but in Music results themselves.

This impacts on everyone doing Music, but particularly comprehensive schools

The negative effects of 1) and 2) are real for every music teacher in every school. The impact is particularly strong in comprehensive schools.

There are only three subjects where the independent sector accounts for 50% or more of the A*s awarded: Classics, Drama and Music.^[8]

In 2025, 50% of A* grades in Music went to independent schools (c.180/1270 compared to c.180/3515 in the state sector). This is similar to 2024, 2023 and 2019^[9] and is hugely out of whack with the averages across all subjects.

With c.55 A*s in grammar schools^[10], there were c.125 A*s in Music in the wider state sector, an average of less than one A* per Local Education Authority.

Let’s talk about bell curves.

I’ve never been surprised that Maths students receive more A*/A grades than average because of my perceptions of the profile of students who take Maths. Using diagrams purely to illustrate a point, if the blue area is ‘everyone ever’ and the left-hand red bell is ‘all students with high enough grades to take A-levels’ then Maths students seem to be further to the right, like the red right-hand bell (but not as extreme) and they are rewarded accordingly with higher grades.

In 2025 students taking Music outperformed the national averages in 31 out of 32 of their other subjects (that Ofqual makes comparisons for. The exception was Spanish).^[11] What else could explain this other than that they are drawn from the high end of the attainment spectrum? Unlike Maths, however, A*s and As in Music are below the national average.

A subject that systematically rewards above average pupils with below average grades is on a hiding to nothing. This is felt most keenly in comprehensive schools and if this case stands, then the grade boundaries for Music should change over time to reflect accurately the attainment of Music A level students in comparison with their other subjects.

The wider picture

I think the problem with grading at A level is even bigger than the data here suggests. With such small numbers we have a situation where an elite cohort of fabulously talented, hard-working and advantaged students can both be small in number but large enough to wipe out the possibility of students in typical schools getting A*s (in 2024 21% of A*s in Music went to just 20 schools compared to 1.7% in Maths, 5% in Biology and 7.4% in English)^[12]. This is a situation that has likely worsened as numbers have fallen unevenly.^[13]

To illustrate quite how hard it is to get an A* I think it’s worth seeing a pen portrait of a student and one of mine has kindly given permission to be written about.

What does even a Grade 7 violinist do in the face of this? Or an equally good student in a school with only one music teacher? Grade 7 is a fabulous achievement that will have taken the student countless hours over years and years. When this student, or a superb drummer or singer, can also creatively compose and competently analyse music they should be handsomely rewarded. Failing to do so achieves the truly awarding-winning consequence of undermining both equality of opportunity and the rigorous ambitions of the A level course at the same time.

How this plays out

I wasn’t sure whether to write about how I have found this as a teacher in a comprehensive school for 20 years but I think it is probably important. My agenda is that I believe completely in ambitious, exacting, liberating comprehensive education and, for me, realising this vision with good A level results, as I have done at GCSE, has been one hell of a challenge marked by some 'close but no cigar' years.

To turn out A*AAC this year I:

• Marked the paper for the board last year.
• Had a lot of CPD on composition (which I have taught very little at A level) from the Head of Music with the best grades in the state sector.^[14]
• Had the advantage of (four great) students having access to the new Elemental platform I’m building, which was ready in time for revision.
• All in a school, with 3 excellent music colleagues, that is hugely supportive of music.

This is not a realistic model for fixing the problem. Good musicians from all backgrounds in every school should have access to the top grades at A level if they work hard. Attainment should be more generously rewarded.

Without a change I think it is likely we will see ever fewer state schools able to produce a Grade 7 violinist (or gig ready drummer etc). Our musicians need a school culture which nurtures their talent, whether it be as performers or creators but the problems in the relative grading of A level Music flow down to the wider musical life of the school:

• It is already hard to deliver great music because lots of schools give music teachers normal ‘loading’ based on class numbers.
• But maybe half the job is running ensembles, concerts, trips etc.
• You need the KS5 course to justify having enough teachers to run everything.
• But schools often won’t fund A level due to low numbers.
• And SLTs often won’t take a punt on a tiny subject where high attaining students get worse than average grades.
  

In conclusion

I think good music makes school life better. I truly believe that schools are happier places with ambitious and inclusive cultures of music making. This is not easy to achieve but many teachers give themselves fulsomely to the task of making it happen. They should not face invisible barriers to success when compared with other subjects.

The grading of Music A level is a challenge for high performing students in elite schools. It is a disaster for talented musicians in comprehensive schools. I hope this article can be the start of a conversation to make this change.