After 18 years of consecutive increases, A-Level passes have hit a new record high, results published today show.

Schools standards minister, Stephen Timms, declared "today a day for celebration" and praised students and teachers.

But the record pass rates have led to renewed allegations of "dumbing down" and claims of "grade inflation across the board".

Girls have maintained a high-grade lead over boys with students in Northern Ireland and Wales performing better than those in England. The results put girls further ahead on A-grades, with females outperforming males by 0.8 per cent, up from 0.6 per cent in 2000. But the gender gap in terms of overall pass rates narrowed slightly -falling to 1.9 per cent from two per cent last year.

The provisional figures released by the Joint Council for General Qualifications show a rise in the pass rate of 0.7 per cent. Nearly 90 per cent of students passed this year - an increase on last years record high.

The proportion of A-grades went up 0.8 per cent to 18.6 per cent. However, the number of exams sat dropped from 784,990 in 2000 to 748,866 this year."For 50 years A levels have been a rigorous test of ability and they remain a crucial benchmark of quality. Our commitment to raising standards across the board in education has seen the pass rate improve again this year," said Timms. "Students realise the benefits of sheer hard work and endeavour to produce outstanding results."

But the record rise in A-level passes on the examination's 50th anniversary year has resulted in some saying standards are falling.

Figures showing that the proportion of entrants getting E-grade and above has risen by almost 12 per cent over the last decade and the number of A-grades has increased by nearly seven per cent in the same period.

Claire Fox, the director of the Institute of Ideas, believes that the A-level exam itself has been manipulated to suit government policy.

"Sceptics are understandably silenced for fear of offending all those thousands of young people who have worked so hard to get good results. But it is patronising to young people to pretend that an exponential increase in good grades means that they are getting a first class education while everyone knows that state schooling is in chaos," she said.

"Better A-level results conveniently allow the government and the educational establishment to boast that they are improving education. But pupils need to know that getting a qualification is not the same as getting an education."

Ruth Lea, the research chief of the Institute of Directors, has attacked "grade inflation". She is calling for restructuring of the secondary system along the continental lines of distinct academic or vocational "pathways".

"It's grade inflation all round, I don't think there's any doubt about that. 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," she said.

Teachers' leaders have hit back at those levelling criticism at the current system.

The general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Doug McAvoy, said: "Pupils and teachers are to be congratulated on another bumper crop of results. The sceptics should stop moaning and start celebrating along with our young people," he said.

David Hart, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said critics of "dumbing down" should be treated with contempt.

"Any organisation that seeks to argue that the results signify a deterioration in standards should be treated with the contempt it deserves," he said.

But Fox defended her criticism saying that A-level grades are now driven by government targets on education. She said they should not be defended in the name of a misplaced "egalitarianism".

"Rather than these results being a step forward for egalitarianism, I'm afraid they are a con. In order to reach the target of 50 per cent school-leavers attending higher education over the next two years, new Labour are prepared to move the goalposts as far as they need to achieve their aim," she said.

"They have abandoned aspiring to educate people to a level which will allow them to gain the fruits of the highest academic study, and instead patronise them by handing out more certificates at higher grades..

Paul Cottrell, the assistant general secretary of the Association of University Teachers, rejected claims that the expansion of higher education had hit academic standards although he called on the government to back improved grades with improved funding.

"It is nonsense for some commentators to detract from the real achievements of students by claiming that quality and standards have suffered at the hands of expansion. However, if the government wants to achieve its 50 per cent target of participation in higher education then they must address the twin perils of under investment and student hardship," he said.