First fall in top degrees for more than a decade

However, half of first-class degree awards still labelled “unexplained” by OfS

The proportion of students being awarded the top degree classifications has fallen for the first time in more than 10 years, data from the Office for Students shows.

An analysis of degree outcomes released by the OfS on 20 July reveals that 79.6 per cent of UK-domiciled undergraduates at English universities were awarded a first-class or upper second degree in 2021-22, down from 83.7 per cent in 2020-21.