A-LEVEL JOY FOR SOUTH WALES PUPILS
12 PAGES OF RESULTS, INSPIRING STORIES AND CLEARING INFORMATION
A-LEVEL students have done the city proud for another year – recording results higher than the all-Wales average.
The provisional results, announced yesterday as sixth-formers around the nation found out how they performed in this summer’s exams, came as figures showed Wales recorded its highest ever proportion of A* results.
Education leaders in the city said 29.5% of A-level results for 2018 were graded A* to A, compared to the Welsh national average of 26.3%.
This year’s overall pass rate (grades A* to E) in the capital is 98.3%, remaining higher than the 97.4% all-Wales average.
For entries graded A* to C, the 2018 figure stands at 78.3%, compared to a 76.3% average for Wales.
Sarah Merry, Cardiff council’s cabinet member for education, said: “Well done to all the students who collected their results [yesterday].
“I know that an awful lot of hard work and dedication has been put in over the course of the last two years, and everyone deserves to be congratulated.
“This year’s group of students should be extremely proud to have continued the trend of Cardiff ’s results being above the Welsh national average and I wish them all the very best for the future.
“I also want to thank all the staff in our schools for the work they have done to help, support and guide their students throughout their time in sixth form.”
Across Wales, 8.7% of grades were A*, representing the best outcome since the grade was introduced in 2010.
But there was a slight dip in the overall pass rate of A* to E.
Education Secretary Kirsty Williams claimed yesterday’s results showed Wales’ education reforms were working.
Speaking as she visited pupils at Cardiff’s Ysgol Glantaf, she said: “I think these results can give us encouragement that the system has coped very well with new sets of A-levels being introduced and that students in our schools and colleges are working really hard to ensure that we see a raising of standards.
“It is particularly encouraging to see a rise in numbers taking ‘Stem’ [science, technology, engineering and maths] subjects.”
But opposition parties in Wales called on the Welsh Government to address “shortcomings” in teaching recruitment and teaching quality.
The provisional results relate only to A-levels from all exam boards. The BTEC and Welsh Baccalaureate results will be factored into the final ratified figures.
How schools in Cardiff performed:
Bishop of Llandaff
■ 78% of students achieved at least three or more grades A*-C
■ 22% of students achieved three or more A*-A grades ■ Overall pass rate of 99% Headteacher Marc Belli said: “I wish to congratulate all of our students on their remarkable examination results.
“They have worked incredibly hard to achieve their success and the rewards are fully deserved.”
Ysgol Glantaf
■ 37% of students gained at least two A*-A grades;
■ 100% of students achieved the L3 threshold - or equivalent to two A-levels;
■ 50% of all students also gained the top A*-A grades in the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate
Headteacher Alun Davies said: “The school is extremely pleased with results here at Glantaf.
“They reflect the hard work of both students and staff who are to be congratulated on their success.”
Cardiff High
■ 11% of entries were A* ■ 82% of entries were A*-C Headteacher Steve Jones said: “It’s been another outstanding year. We’ve had over 500 entries at AS and A2 which states a huge amount of commitment from pupils and staff.
“We’re particularly pleased with the new specifications this year at AS with students particularly in science and