Universities fix results in 'race for firsts' Prof John Thornes, from Birmingham University, who carried out the study, analysed how degree classifications were calculated and found the rules were often bent to boost numbers. He said that using degree levels as a "marketing ploy" in this way could eventually lead to the top awards becoming meaningless. The research, published by the Royal Geographic Society, found that nationally two thirds of students were awarded a first or 2:1 in 2012, compared with one in three undergraduates in 1997. Gareth Williams, emeritus professor at the Institute of Education, London, said universities faced a "race for firsts." Earlier this year, official figures showed that 61,600 students - more than one-in-six - left university in 2012 with the best possible grade. That meant the number of first-class degrees has soared by 16 per cent in just 12 months, and has tripled in the last 13 years. According to HESA, 17 per cent of students - 61,605 - gained a first last summer. This was up from 15.5 per cent - 53,215 - a year earlier. Numbers have tripled since 1999 when just 20,700 graduates were awarded first-class degrees. The increase in top degrees has been partially put down to a sharp rise in the undergraduate population, although the latest figures show that the hike in firsts has dramatically outstripped overall student numbers. GRAPHIC: Warning over 'grade inflation' as first-class degrees double