Mary Curnock Cook, the head of UCAS, has warned that teachers are intentionally exaggerating the predicted A-level grades for their students in order to get them into top universities.

As university offers in the UK often hinge on predicted results, the government has always struggled to solve the problem of inaccurate forecasting by teachers. The problem however has been exacerbated hthis year after the cap on student numbers was lifted by the Conservative government. Due to this more universities than ever are accepting students that miss their predicted grades, and in doing so are rewarding exaggerated predictions.

Research shows that there has been a 9% increase since 2010 in students being predicted at least an AAB as they enter the admissions process. Couple this with the startling statistic that more than half of accepted students last year missed their results by two or more grades and it's clear that higher education has a problem on its hands.

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