A-LEVEL STUDENTS MAKE THE GRADE
12 pages of results, inspiring stories and clearing information
A-LEVEL students across South Wales enjoyed a bumper crop of grades yesterday, as Wales achieved the highest ever number of A*s awarded since the grade was introduced in 2010.
And sixth-formers in Cardiff managed to go one better, by out-performing the Welsh average.
It is the second year running the nation has pushed up the top mark with 9.1% of all grades awarded at A*, compared to last year’s 8.7%, the previous record.
Meanwhile, results for Cardiff show 31.5% of A-levels taken in the city this summer were graded A* to A, compared to the all-Wales figure of 27%.
Entries resulting in A*-E grades rose 98.6%, up 0.3 percentage points from last year.
For entries graded A* to C, the 2019 figure is 80.9 % compared the Wales-wide figure of 76.3%, an increase of 2.6 percentage points.
The city’s Cathays High School said it had had its most successful year for results.
With results at A* to A, A* to B and A* to C grades described as “significantly better than in previous years”, deputy headteacher Stuart Davies said: “We are delighted with our results this year and with the hard work and dedication of students and staff in realising their potential.
Coinciding with the completion of Wales’ reform of A-levels this year, the results come as the proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher has fallen to the lowest for more than a decade in England and Northern Ireland.
Wales has outperformed the English regions and Northern Ireland at A* and at A* to A, although increasing differences in exams across the borders make comparisons hard.
Cardiff Council said its 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.
Here’s how schools in Cardiff performed: Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School
A*-A: 34%
A*-C: 84%
A*-E: 99%
Head teacher Marc Belli said: “Many congratulations on your well-deserved outcomes. Also, my thanks to our dedicated staff who go above and beyond to support all our youngsters. I wish all our departing students great success. Keep us informed of your progress. “
Cantonian High School
100% pass rate
A*-C: 67%
There was also a 100% pass rate for vocational qualifications and 75% achieved A*-C in the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate of the Welsh Baccalaureate, equivalent to A-level.
Headteacher, Diane Gill said “I am again incredibly proud of the achievements of all our sixth form pupils today.”
Cardiff and Vale College
The college is celebrating more students than ever before achieving their AS and A Level qualifications.
The number students who passed increased by 2%, while the number achieving A to C grades was up by 4%. Nearly 600 students achieved A* to C grades, 146 of them with A and A*s. Physics saw 100% of students pass while more than 75% of learners on art and design, photography,
English language and literature, film, history and economics gained grades of A* to C. 100% of students studying French achieved A* to C.
Among top achievers are Reduan Soroar, who gained A*s for biology, psychology and maths and Lauren White achieved an A* in English language, an A in psychology and an A in sociology and is going to King’s College, London, to study Psychology.
Adam Heit achieved a B in business, a C in politics and a D in Welsh Baccalaureate and is off to Buckinghamshire New University to undertake pilot training.
CAVC Head of General Education Yusuf Ibrahim said: “We have a real commitment to continually improve the quality of education for our students and these A-level results are a strong foundation on which to build. We have a number of subject areas where more than three quarters of learners secured A* to C grades and we had more learners than ever.”
Cardiff High School
A*-A: 40%
A total of 39 Year 13 students achieved three or more A* and A grades.
Nearly 100% achieved at least three A-level qualifications at grades A* to E.
Among the school’s high-fliers, Lukas Lacey-Hughes is off to St Catherine’s College at Oxford University to study English literature; Grace Charles got three A*s in biology,
maths and PE and is off to study professional dance and musical theatre in Bird College in Kent – after choosing between dance and medicine.
Meanwhile, James Price and Morgan Tucker are off to celebrate their results in style – by heading off the Green Man festival with a group of other students. James got 3As in history, economics and English and is off to UCL to study English. Morgan also got 3As in geography, history and economics and is to study history in Manchester.
Cardiff West Community High
All students taking A-levels and vocational qualifications this summer got three or more at grades A* to C or equivalent and 65% achieved three A* to C grades or equivalent including the Welsh Baccalaureate.
Head of sixth form Rhyddian John said: “I am delighted that the vast majority of our students have secured places at the university of their choice.”
Cathays High
A*-A: 33%
A*-E: 95%
A*-C: 83%
All of the school’s year 13 A-level students got into university and 90% got into their first choice university.
Cathedral School
The most common grade at the fee-paying independent school was A and 25% of students achieved exclusively A*/A grades. Pass rate: 100%
A*-A: 46%
A*-B: 73%
Dariyan Khan secured the highest possible results with four A*s in computing, maths, further maths and physics and will read maths at Imperial College London,
A former Brazilian Jiujitsu European Champion Silver medal winner, Dariyan said: “I am so happy with my results. It was definitely worth all of the hard work and hours of revision.”
Fitzalan High
A: 25%
A*-C: 85%
13 students achieved three or more A*-A grades with eight students achieving four or more A*-As and over 14 students achieving three A*-As.
Two brothers from the school who moved to Cardiff from Iran four years ago with very little English, have also done exceptionally well with nine A*s between them.
The eldest brother, Amin, has got into Oxford to study physics and his younger brother Mehran has been accepted to study dentistry at Bristol University.
Assistant headteacher Jo Kemp said: “We’re thrilled with our A-level results. This is certainly one of our best years, even on the new threshold measures, with some record achievements. Yousuf Bakshi celebrated two As and two A*s and he’s our first student from Fitzalan to go to Harvard University where he’ll be studying computer science. He will even stay in the same dorm as Bill Gates did in 1975!”
Howell’s Co-Ed College
Students at the independent school were awarded more A*s than ever this year. A*-A 52%
A*-B 80%
In total, 25% of the year group achieved all As and A*s.
“This is a fantastic achievement for the students, particularly considering the new, more challenging, A-level specifications,” the school said.
Llanishen High
Results for individual subjects: Physics: 50% of grades A*-A. Chemistry: 47% of grades A*-A. Maths: 40% of grades A*-A.
English Literature: 42% of grades A*-A. Economics: 36% of grades A*-A French: 50% of grades at A*-A Geography: 50% of grades at A*-A
All English literature, physics, music and politics A-levels taken were awarded grades of A*-C.
High-flying students include Megan Brown, Alice Cann, Leah Coulter, Ben Crocker, Ollie Dell’Armi, Alys Murphy, Jo Radulovic, Gwyn Rich and Jazmin Stacey who all achieved four A* to A grades.
Tom Jenkin who secured the 3 A* grades needed to study veterinary science at the Royal Veterinary College in London. Radyr Comprehensive
A*-A: 48%
A*-B: 71%
A*-C: 87%
A*-D: 96%
A*-E: 99.6%
A total of 38 year 13 students achieved at least three A grades with 20 students achieving at least four A grades.
There was a record number of successful Oxbridge applications with five of Rady’res students securing places.
Whitchurch High
A*-B: 61%.
A*-A: 33%
Two students, Anna Reynolds and Anna Ruddock, achieved four A* grades. A further eight students, Jenni Colcombe, Sophie Gwilt, Chloe Howcroft, Daniel Howcroft, Arash Hushyar Yazdian, Ewan John, Beatriz Silva and William Thomas all achieved three A* grades.
Anna Reynolds who will now go to study veterinary medicine at Cambridge, Sophie Gwilt will study English at Oxford, Gracie Wheeler who will study earth sciences at Oxford and Beatriz Silva who will study general engineering at Oxford.
Raihaan Biju will study Medicine at Imperial College.
Ysgol Glantaf
Pass rate: 99%
A-A*: 40%
A total 36% of students gained at least two A*-A grades and 57% of all students also gained the top A*-A grades in the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate with a 100% pass rate for this qualification.
Notable achievements include a student with 5A*s who is off to Bath University to read computer science, two students with four A*s who are off to Oxford University and a student with three A*s and an A who is going to Oxford.
Ysgol Plasmawr
A*-A: 38.1%
A*-C: 85.2%
A*-E: 100%
At the school, 22.2% of students attained three or more A*-A grades and 70% of students attained three or more A*- C grades.
Carys Bill, Elin Preest and Gwen Williams got the grades they needed to go on to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
■ No details were provided by Bro Edern, King’s Monkton, St John’s College or Corpus Christi schools by the time of going to press