Gavin Williamson on Tuesday claimed he had forgotten his A-level results after being asked about his performance in his exams.

       The Education Secretary gave a radio interview on LBC as hundreds of thousands of students across Britain received their grades. Almost half have been awarded A or A* grades in the absence of exams, with the results determined entirely by teachers.

       Asked by presenter Nick Ferrari how he had performed in his own exams, Mr Williamson said he remembered "seeing the grades on there and feeling absolute delight".

       "It was so long, it was 27 years ago ... I've forgotten, it was so long ago," he said when asked what the grades were. Mr Ferrari responded by asking whether Mr Williamson's results were a "state secret".

       Tuesday's results showed that students received an even higher share of the top grades than last summer.

       It is the second year in a row that exams have been cancelled because of the pandemic, with teachers' predicted grades replacing the controversial algorithm used and subsequently scrapped by exam chiefs last year.

       Almost one in five students (19.1 per cent) received an A* grade this year, more than double the 7.8 per cent of pupils who got an A* in 2019.

       Writing for The Telegraph on Monday, Mr Williamson said it was a time to "celebrate students and teachers and worry about a return to formal exams later".

       "Any debate about the system we've used this year should not undermine or question the value of the grades students will be getting," he wrote. "We should congratulate them all for their resilience and determination not to allow the pandemic to be a barrier to their futures."