I'm not sure I could claim to know that much more about it than anyone else. I've been on the university teaching side of things for five years now, but only in the first year of university really (and then only in a Scottish university, where entry is typically a year earlier than in England, so the material feels closer to that taught at A Level than in my own first year).
I think there are reports of grade inflation, and maybe they are true to an extent -- I just feel that the driving factor is naturally that student numbers as a whole are exploding, as too is the number of courses. No wonder, even in the absence of any other effect, that Masters students are more common.
Anyway, some courses are taught to Masters level from the start (with an option to graduate early, at BA level only). Others less so.
Peter Pedant's essentially given the game away on my own education, but just for the record, I picked up an MMath and a BA (Hons) at the same time (and got my MA (Cantab.) just under a year ago -- didn't even have to pay for it). History will have to be the judge of whether or not that puts me, or maggiebee, or pasta's daughter, on the same "superlative academic level" as the Masters students of yesteryear...