As students across the UK receive their A-Level results, attention turns to the future. Last year, more than one in four (28.3%) of UK A-level entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up from 27.8% in 2024. This was the highest proportion of top grades outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22. Grades range from A* to E, with U (unclassified) for those below the minimum standard. Another record number of students are expected to secure places at their first-choice universities.
Stars who studied in Liverpool
Liverpool's universities have educated many celebrities and notable figures across sectors including music, sport, and acting. Here are 15 famous faces who studied in the city before finding fame.
Claire Foy graduated from Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in 2006 with a degree in Drama and Screen Studies. Originally from Stockport, she earned critical acclaim for portraying Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's The Crown. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the BAFTAs 2024 for All of Us Strangers. Her screen debut was in the pilot of Being Human (2008), and she played the title role in Little Dorrit (2008).
From sport to screen
Beth Tweddle, considered one of Britain's greatest gymnasts, graduated from LJMU in 2007. She co-founded Total Gymnastics in 2009 to encourage young people to take up the sport. She received an MBE in 2010 and became an LJMU honorary fellow in 2012. She competed at three Olympic Games, winning bronze in the uneven bars at London 2012, and was the first British gymnast to win a World and European Championships medal.
Molly McCann graduated from LJMU with a degree in Sport Development. She won 14 of her 22 MMA fights over a 10-year career before retiring last year. She returned to boxing, making her debut on September 13 2025 in Belfast against Kate Radomska, and has won every boxing match since.
England footballer Nikita Parris, part of the Lionesses' Euro 2022 winning squad, graduated from LJMU in 2018. She now plays for London City Lionesses. She recalled her earliest football memories: "My earliest football memory would probably be playing in the garden at the age of four or five with my brothers and my neighbour at the time, Marcus. He had the biggest garden so he created a football pitch and all the boys would go and play while I sat on the wall watching. Then one day they invited me to play and from that moment I have never wanted to do anything else but play football."
Business and entertainment icons
Nisha Katona studied law at LJMU before working as a barrister for nearly 20 years. She then founded Mowgli, one of the UK's fastest-growing restaurant chains, with its first restaurant opening on Bold Street over a decade ago. She is a regular broadcaster and has written books on entrepreneurship, women in leadership, and hospitality.
Vicky Pattison graduated from LJMU in 2009 with a drama degree. She appeared in reality TV shows before winning the fifteenth series of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. She has been a TV fixture since appearing on Geordie Shore at age 22.
Caroline Aherne studied Drama at The Liverpool Polytechnic in the 1980s. She became a BAFTA-winning writer and actress, known for Mrs Merton and The Royle Family, which she co-wrote with Craig Cash. She also wrote The Fattest Man in Britain (2009) and The Security Men (2013), and narrated Gogglebox. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014 and passed away in 2016 at 52.
Music, literature, and more
Phil Selway graduated from Liverpool Polytechnic (now LJMU) in 1989. He is the drummer for Radiohead, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The band has sold over 30 million albums and won multiple awards, with albums like OK Computer and The Bends achieving multi-platinum status.
Dame Patricia Routledge, born in Tranmere, studied English Language and Literature at the University of Liverpool. She is best known for playing Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances (1990-1995), winning a British Comedy Award. Over her career, she appeared in nine films, 66 TV shows, and 56 stage performances, earning a Tony Award, an Olivier, and OBE, CBE, and DBE honours.
Phil Redmond, creator of Brookside and Hollyoaks, first studied Quantity Surveying at Liverpool Polytechnic. He was appointed Honorary Professor of Media Studies in 1989 and awarded a Fellowship in 2010 for his contributions to LJMU.
Anna Maxwell Martin, BAFTA-winning actress known for Motherland, Good Omens, and Line of Duty, studied history at the University of Liverpool, graduating with a BA (Hons) in 1998. In 2025, she won the International Emmy Award for Best Actress for Until I Kill You.
Chris Lowe, co-founder of Pet Shop Boys, studied architecture at the University of Liverpool from 1978, receiving a BA with Honours in 1981. The duo had four number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart in the 1980s and continue to sell millions of records.
Professor Carol Ann Duffy, former Poet Laureate, graduated from the University of Liverpool with a degree in Philosophy in 1977. She was the first woman to be appointed Poet Laureate in 400 years.
Victoria Derbyshire studied English Language & Literature at the University of Liverpool. She started at the BBC as a reporter in Coventry & Warwickshire in 1998, later co-presenting on BBC Radio 5 Live and covering major stories like 9/11 and the Paris Concorde crash. She hosted the Victoria Derbyshire programme until January 2020 and has presented on Newsnight, BBC News at 9, and BBC World News.
Emma Hayes, head coach of the United States women's football team, graduated from Liverpool Hope in 1999. She said: "When I think about the years, the days, the weeks, the months I've put into a career, I'd like to think become an expert in in many ways. And of course, I feel proud to be honoured by a place that shaped that narrative. For me getting to university was a major achievement. I didn't come from a household where anybody went to uni. And so getting here felt like my gold medal anyway. So to relive it again, but at another juncture of my life fills me with a lot of pride."
