HEADteachers have fiercely rejected claims by business leaders that A-level standards are slipping.

Today's A-level results have hit a new record with the 18th consecutive annual rise in pass rates up 0.7 per cent to 89.8 per cent.

At the same time the controversial AS-levels, branded a "shambles" by headteachers for overburdening students, have also been hailed a success by the Government and examiners.

But employers have once again attacked the high A-level pass rate labelling it "grade inflation all round".

Ruth Lea, head of policy at the Institute of Directors, said: "We congratulate students for their success and hard work but, from an employer's point of view, the A-level now is not the A-level of 20 years ago.

"I just wish people could concede this point and move on because we have this sterile debate every year."

The remarks have been widely condemned by headteachers, unions and the Government.

David Heaton, principal of Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington, said: "Most businesses look to improve their performance on a continuous basis and it is disappointing, if not unsurprising, to have such cynicism from the Institute of Directors.

"It is also dispiriting to all those students who are pleased with their achievements. We should be celebrating their success rather than undermining it."

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said: "Any organisation that seeks to argue that the results signify a deterioration in standards should be treated with the contempt it deserves."

This year's A-level results show that the girls have maintained the lead they have opened up over boys in recent years.

The girls pulled further ahead in terms of A-grades, out-performing males by 0.8 per cent, up from 0.6 per cent in 2000.

But not all students will be receiving their grades today. One in five AS-level candidates has decided against taking up or "cashing in" their grades this summer, preferring to wait for the outcome of the A2s in 2002.

Sixth formers are expected to take four or five AS-levels before selecting three A-levels, or A2s as they are now called, in the second year.