THE expected record pass rate for A Level students in Kent and elsewhere this year has sparked the annual row over standards.

The Schools Minister, David Miliband, has hit back at claims that exams are being down-graded, saying that was the "biggest myth in education". But some critics are calling for an overhaul of the system.

Mr Miliband said a threefold increase in students getting two passes or more over the past 30 years was a sign of "meritocracy".

Thursday's A-level results are expected to beat last year's record 95.4 per cent. Last year, 21.6 per cent of A-level students got an A grade and the number is expected to be higher this time.

David Thomas, chief executive of the Careers Research Advisory Centre, has called for tougher marking by exam boards", describing rising grades as "rather alarming".

But Ellie Johnson Searle, director of the Joint Council for Qualifications, said A-levels remained an international "gold standard".

Around 250,000 students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive their results on Thursday.

Some Kent students aren't so sure there is a need for an overhaul of the system, as they told KM-fm...