Independent schools in the UK have leaped ahead in grade performance at A-level this year. Figures released by the Independent Schools Council show that over half of all entries for A levels in the independent sector have achieved an A* or A grade.

This year’s A-level exam results from over 32,000 candidates at 467 Independent Schools Council (ISC) schools show that over 19% of independent school pupils were awarded the grade A*, rising 0.9 percentage points on 2010. This compares with a national average of just over 8%.

Westminster School topped the league with a total of 285 A* grades. Tonbridge School for boys came a close second with 234, which means 39% of all grades awarded to Tonbridge boys were A*.

Nearly 53% of students from independent schools achieved at least an A grade, nationally 27% of entries were awarded at least an A.

Preliminary findings show that well over 6% of private school candidates (2,078 pupils) were awarded three or more A* grades.

ISC Deputy Chief Executive Matthew Burgess said: “Once again, these excellent results reflect the hard work by many thousands of pupils and the excellent teaching in the independent sector. In a year of increased competition for Higher Education places, independent school pupils have delivered year-on-year improvement with more than half of all entries achieving an A* or A grade. This is a tremendous achievement and we congratulate each and every pupil.”