Sir William says that the exam system could be simpler and quicker with marks rather than grades

Replacing grades with a specific mark for each subject could be a more accurate and simpler system for A-levels, says a former exam chief.

Sir William Stubbs, a former chairman of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, says arguments about "grade inflation" and the complexities of setting grade boundaries could be removed if pupils were given a percentage mark for each subject.

It would also provide universities with a more straightforward and transparent way of distinguishing between pupils applying for places.

This could become possible if there was a transfer to a system in which pupils received their A-level grades before applying to university.

This "post-qualification application" system has been proposed as a fairer system by a government adviser and is under consideration by the Department for Education and Skills.

'Abolish grades'

And Sir William says that it would be an opportunity to make the A-level results more transparent and to tackle the arguments about grade inflation. Last year, Sir William lost his exam watchdog job in the row over disputed A-level grade boundaries.

"If students applied to university on the basis of their actual results, then they could do it on the basis of their actual marks - and you could abolish grades," said Sir William, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"You would no longer need the complex system that awarding bodies boards go into now to separate students into different grades.

"That would make it a very much simpler system for awarding bodies to produce results and it could shorten the time between the exams and the issuing of results."