Why can Eton have more than one sixth-form result?

Start with the subject entries

A pupil can take more than one examination subject. The entry total therefore counts awards or subject results, not individual pupils. The A-level and Pre-U tables below have their own entry totals and their own grade labels. A percentage is meaningful only together with that population.

In this example, the Pre-U record is explicitly a small, self-selected subject population. It cannot stand in for Eton’s whole sixth form, or for another school’s whole-cohort Pre-U results. The difference in coverage matters before the percentages are compared.

A combined headline needs its own definition

Historical publications sometimes place A-level and Pre-U results on a school-defined equivalence scale. Such a statement may be a useful description of that publication, but it is a different measure from native A-level A*. D1, D1–D2 and A* are not interchangeable labels.

The current worked figures use the separate tables held in the record. They do not reconstruct a combined percentage from an older dossier. Where a combined publication is held elsewhere in the evidence record, its own qualification mapping and denominator remain part of the evidence.

Make the comparison on a compatible basis

The linked comparison asks about native A-level A* shares over a declared period. It uses the same eligibility rules as the main comparison tool, including source disagreements and assessment regimes. A missing or excluded year remains visible; the article does not substitute a mixed-qualification headline to fill it.

After examining the result, try a broader grade band. A* and A*–A ask different questions about the distribution. Check eligibility again: a disagreement affecting one band need not affect every band in the same table.

Supporting evidence and limits

Open a record to inspect its full definition, publication references and the scope of any checks. A source reference alone does not verify a figure.

1. Eton College · 2019 · A-level results · official tables · 2019

   The A-level-only top-grade measure. Entries are examination subjects, not a pupil count.

   Publications conflict for at least one field. A check of another field does not resolve that disagreement.

2. Eton College · 2019 · Cambridge Pre-U results · 2019

   A separate Pre-U grade band and subject population. This denominator belongs to the Pre-U table only.

   No adequate source description or original-publication check is presently held in this public record. Any reference keys are retained for further research.

• This comparison cannot establish teaching effects or a particular pupil’s prospects.
• An equivalence used in a historical publication is not a universal conversion between qualifications.