More graduates with first-class honours than ever 

The annual statistics compiled by the HEA look at the number of students enrolled in each particular year, their route to higher education, their gender, and the qualifications they achieve. File picture

A higher percentage of students are now graduating from college with a first-class honours degree than ever before.

That’s according to annual statistics published by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), looking at enrolments. More than 24% of the class of 2020 received first-class honours, compared to 16.8% of all students graduating in 2014.