University scramble and overseas carer hire spree

Pictures of jubilant A-level students and a couple of pupils looking somewhat surprised feature on several of the front pages.

But the Times warns that record appeals to exam boards are looming, after top A-level grades fell by 60,000 from last year.

The Daily Mail says 43,000 students are now “scrambling” for a place at university in what it calls a “clearing frenzy”. It puts the situation down to a “post-pandemic crackdown on grade inflation” and a huge rise in foreign student numbers.

The Independent says a “north-south divide” has emerged in A-levels.

It says analysis by Labour – based on Ofqual figures – shows that top grades dropped further in the north-east of England, compared with the south-east, over the past year. The Independent calls it a “blow” to Downing Street’s levelling up agenda.

It reports on the ordeal of an 87-year-old man whose family says he waited for 15 hours outside for an ambulance to take him to hospital, after a serious fall at his home in Cornwall on Monday night. David Wakeley’s son-in-law tells the paper: “The system is just broken.”

Health authorities in Cornwall say that “like other parts of the country” their “health and care system continues to experience pressure”.

The Times reports that thousands of foreign workers will be hired for Britain’s care homes this winter.

The paper says there are fears of a “winter crisis”, with more than 160,000 vacancies in the sector. It adds that countries such as India and the Philippines are likely to be the target of a “hiring spree”.

The Daily Telegraph says that the effects of lockdown may be killing more people than are dying of Covid.

The paper has analysed recent official excess death figures and says virus fatalities were outstripped by other conditions such as cancer. It raises concerns about deaths linked to delays and the deferment of treatment earlier in the pandemic, and says medics have called the figures “terrifying”.

The i newspaper focuses on the Conservative leadership race. It says that if Liz Truss becomes prime minister next month, she will be told by the Office for Budget Responsibility that she has billions of pounds less than she thought to fund her promised tax cuts.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that the City of London’s top regulators face a “big overhaul” if Ms Truss wins the Tory race.

Water bosses come in for criticism on the front of the Guardian and the Metro.

According to the Guardian, the annual bonuses paid to water company executives rose by 20% last year, despite most of the firms failing to meet sewage pollution targets.

The Metro pictures four chief executives alongside the headline “feeling flush”. The paper calls the pay increases a “scandal”.

Finally, the Sun reports that the Queen’s granddaughter – Lady Louise Windsor – has been working in a garden centre this summer, for little more than the minimum wage, while waiting for her A-level results.

The “cost of living crisis must be bad”, adds the paper.