Whenever I visit universities and meet students, I am struck by how hard they work. There are also many examples of excellent teaching at our universities. So in some ways we should not be surprised that more students gain a first class honours degree these days. But the level of increases we are seeing is hard to justify.

The latest statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that, across England, 28 per cent of students graduated with a first in 2018, up from 20 per cent in 2014. That’s a big leap in four years. The figures echo recent research published by the Office for Students. Our analysis showed that significant and unexplained grade inflation is widespread in our universities and colleges.

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