Tens of thousands of A-level pupils may miss out on first choice university

University admissions will be hardest in living memory' after government asked regulators to set grade boundaries

• Fears A-level grade crackdown could harm pupils' mental health

Tens of thousands of A-level students are at risk of losing a place at their preferred university next week after new analysis found a sharp fall in top grades compared with last year.

Amid warnings that this year's admissions round would be the hardest in living memory", research suggests a fall of 10 percentage points in the number of A and A* grades in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, following the reintroduction of exams this summer.