Grade thresholds for A-Level and GCSE examinations have been lowered to avoid a dramatic fall in results after the Government brought in tougher tests for students.

Officials had hoped the exam shakeup would increase standards in England's schools that would see them compete with education powerhouses in east Asia.

This year more than 200,000 students in sixth-forms across the country have been subject to more difficult A-Level exams.

Grade thresholds for A-Level and GCSE examinations have been lowered to avoid a dramatic fall in results (file image)

But now, with pupils set to receive their results on Thursday, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulations (Ofqual) has revealed that grade boundaries have been lowered to ensure schools see similar marks to last year.

The organisation's chief regulator, Sally Collier, told The Sunday Times: 'The most important thing for our students is that they get the praise they deserve for having undertaken new courses of study, whether A-levels or GCSEs, and we recognise the work schools have done to get there and we are not detracted from that.'

Universities and schools had feared that exam results would be extremely volatile this year with pupils missing their grades and being forced to apply for degree courses through clearing.

But critics of the decision to lower thresholds have argued that it defeats the object of the Government's reforms, which cost millions of pounds.

Professor Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University, said: 'The whole point was to make the exams harder and identify the most able kids who could then thrive at top universities, not to perpetuate a broken system in which nearly all get prizes.'

Ms Collier admitted that grades would fall if the threshold was not lowered but stressed that the decision had been made to ensure marks reflected the efforts of pupils.

Schools have expressed fears that they have been unprepared for the new system citing a lack past papers and marking schemes.

Officials had hoped the exam shakeup would increase standards in England's schools that would see them compete with education powerhouses in east Asia (file image)

Ms Collier said: 'In any period of reform, with teachers teaching new stuff, doing it for the first time and fewer sample materials, you would expect grades to fall but we are protecting those students.'

Meanwhile GCSE students will be less likely to achieve top marks in their exams after the grading system was changed to a 1 to 9 mark scheme.

A significantly less amount of pupils will receive the top mark of 9 in core subjects compared to thousands of those who received A and A* grades under the old regime last year.

GCSE students will receive their grades on August 24.