Almost half of teachers now lack confidence in A level grades, according to a study conducted by YouGov for Ofqual.

The research finds that confidence in the A level system overall remains generally high, with an average of 68 per cent saying they had faith in the system. Yet this masks sizeable variation – headteachers reported confidence levels of 81 per cent, yet among the public, this figure plummeted to 59 per cent.

Even though educators were more likely to trust the A level system, that faith was slipping in some areas. Just over a quarter of heads, teachers and students said they had less trust in A levels than they did the previous year. Worryingly, that decline was sharpest among A level teachers, a third of whom said their trust had weakened. However, with an overall confidence rate of 81 per cent they remained ahead of the rest of the respondents.

A levels were seen in general as “trusted qualifications”, but concerns remained about the accuracy of grading and marking. Just 45 per cent of heads said they had confidence in the accuracy of A level marking, while a similar proportion felt the accuracy of marking had fallen in the past year. On the other hand, students and teachers were far more likely to trust in the quality of marking.

Confidence was generally lower on the subject of GCSEs. Students had the highest confidence in the GCSE system, yet even that only stood at 61 per cent. Heads reported 55 per cent confidence, while a similar percentage of teachers agreed. Just half the members of the public studied trusted the GCSE system – and just 45 per cent of parents could say the same.

At the same time, just 38 per cent of headteachers had confidence in how accurately GCSEs were marked and nearly eight out of ten said they suspected not all GCSE students are awarded the right grade. Students and teachers were more likely to trust the quality of marking.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, across all groups of respondents for both GCSEs and A levels, it was constant change in the exam system that was most commonly cited as a cause for concern, although poor exam marking and grading were also among the worries.