Record top grades for Wales’ A-level students
Reports from education editor Abbie Wightwick, Ruth Mosalski, Robert Dalling, Thomas Deacon, Katie Gupwell, Robert Harries, Bronte Howard, Marcus Hughes, Anna Lewis, Ian Lewis and Lydia Stephens
WALES has achieved record top marks in this year’s A-level results, with the highest ever number of A*s awarded since the grade was introduced in 2010.
It is the second year running Wales 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.
The top marks come as Wales completes its reform of A-levels this
year. In contrast, 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 harder.
The main figures from yesterday’s provisional results are:
■ attainment of top grades has increased – A*-A passes rose from 26.3% in 2018 to 27%, a historic high;
■ A* passes are at 9.1%, also an historic high;
■ results remained stable at A*-C, with the overall pass rate of 76.3% still at the highest level since 2009;
■ Wales has made improvements in ranking for all grades and is ranked first for A* compared to the English regions and Northern Ireland;
■ and amongst core subjects, Maths has the highest pass rate at A*-A, with 45.2% achieving those grades.
Overall Wales has made improvements in ranking for all grades. Meanwhile, boys continued to outperform girls at the top grade this year while girls outperform boys at all other grades.
Education Minister Kirsty Williams said: “We’ve seen a positive set of results this year with a historically strong performance across the board for all grades. The record number of A*-A shows our top performing students are really flourishing and reaching their full potential.
“I’m also pleased to see the continuing increase in the number of students taking science subjects,
which will help meet the demand in many of our key industries into the future.
“It’s a big day for everyone collecting their A-level results and I want to congratulate the students, as well as our fantastic teachers and school staff, for all their hard work that’s led up to today.”
As Wales outperformed England and Northern Ireland with top grades, the Minister sought to reassure students that Wales’ reformed A-levels are of equal value.
In England and Northern Ireland 8.2% of boys and 7.5% of girls achieved A*s and a total 25.5% of entries were awarded an A or A* grade this summer compared to 27% in Wales.
Wales also outperformed England for the first time at A*-C by 0.9 percentage points.
Ms Williams said: “What we do via our independent exams regulator Qualifications Wales, working with exam boards across the UK gives us absolute confidence that A- levels sat in the Welsh system is equivalent to England and Northern Ireland. There is no suggestion at all that exams here are easier.”
Under reforms in England A-levels are now linear and there are no AS levels counting towards the final result. In Wales A-level qualifications consist of Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and A2 units. The AS is a stand-alone qualification and also contributes 40% towards the full A level qualification.
The minister said yesterday’s results showed work to improve results of top performers is paying off
Action has been taken since a reactively poor set of A-level results in 2015 which led to the launch of the Seren network, among other things, to increase numbers of students from Wales going to Oxbridge and top Russell group universities.
Responding to a fall in entries for arts and humanities subjects compared to STEM, she said students were taking subjects needed for jobs.
Ms Williams said: “Arts and humanities are still incredibly popular but today’s students are looking to future careers, know they require science qualifications and are responding.”
She said curriculum reform in Wales in the coming years will have an impact on qualifications but “nothing in our curriculum reform will prevent students post-16 being able to pursue A-level subjects”.
Suzy Davies,.Welsh Conservative shadow education minister, said: “I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that results had improved in Wales, and as well as thinking of all the students who have worked so hard for this, I thought immediately of our dedicated teachers in Wales.
“Despite facing a funding crisis in Welsh schools, caused by a flawed Welsh Government funding system, teachers remind us again today of the tremendous value of their work as they go above and beyond for our young people.
“I wish all those who collected their grades this morning the very best of luck with their next steps. While the number of students taking A-levels has fallen by 5%, I hope that is due to greater interest in vocational alternatives rather than disillusionment with the idea of further education.
“We must remember, today, that
there are numerous opportunities out there for all A-level leavers. Whether university hasn’t worked out or isn’t for you, young people should be helped to seek support for their next steps through bodies such as UCAS, Careers Wales, and the UK Government’s apprenticeship finder.”
Bethan Sayed AM, Plaid Cymru’s shadow minister for post-16 education and skills, said: “These incredible results prove that Wales has in its young people an abundance of potential, talent and skill and I pay tribute to each and every student for their hard work and to all the staff and school teachers for their tireless effort in ensuring our young people achieve their goals.”
The National Association of Head Teachers Cymru urged caution comparing A-level results year on year.
“Comparisons between 2019 results and previous years require great caution, with so many variables altering – including the entry patterns – simplistic comparisons simply do not ell the full story,” said NAHT Cymru director Rob Williams.
“Also, although it might be tempting this year for Wales, the radical changes taking place in England render any useful comparison almost impossible.”
David Evans, Wales secretary of the National Education Union Cymru, congratulated students and teachers on the A-level results.
He said: “Of course, such results could not be achieved without the effort and dedication shown by education professionals across the country.
“Their hard work has paid dividends despite the serious shortfall in funding experienced throughout Wales’ schools and colleges.
“It is only right that we recognise the teachers, lecturers, teaching assistants and support staff for the fantastic job that they do on behalf of our youngsters in very demanding situations.”
Neil Butler, NASUWT national official for Wales, said: “This is a good day for the students and teachers in schools and colleges across Wales, and we praise their efforts and commitment.
“In spite of big challenges, teachers should be congratulated for continuing to ensure that all students gain the knowledge and skills they will need to unlock future opportunities in the world of work or further study.”
IN Carmarthenshire, an 18-year-old student battled a visual impairment to secure a place at the University of Kent to study religious studies.
Queen Elizabeth High School pupil Thea Williams took extra time to do her A-level exams.
She had A in maths and 3A* in geography, religious studies and Welsh Bacc.
Thea’s achievement at A-level is all the more important after she fought to sit her GCSEs two years ago.
For those exams she had to study using mostly audio revision techniques.
Her condition, congenital nystagmus, means her eyes continuously move involuntarily, meaning while she has vision, focusing can be difficult.
She had extra time in her exams and was able to type her papers instead of hand-writing them.
She said: “I hope other youngsters who have an impairment or disability know that help is there for them to achieve and to fight for it.”
The number of Carmarthenshire students who achieved success in their A-levels increased again this year with over a quarter of all grades awarded (25.1%) either A* or A.
More than three-quarters (75.3%) of entries were awarded grades between A* and C, while 97.5% were between A* and E.
At Ysgol Bro Myrddin in Carmarthen almost 90% of pupils picked up results between A* and C.
School head Dr Llinos Jones said: “It was another day to cele
brate the success of all our pupils in Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin when the Year 13 cohort received some excellent results. The school doubled the number of candidates that achieved 3A*-A to 26%, with 12.5% of the pupils achieving 4 A*-A. 87% of the pupils gained A*-C overall and 99.6% obtained A*-E.”
At Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford top performances were achieved by twin sisters Cody and Esta Broadhurst with identical grades, both achieved 3A* and 1A grades each.
Cody achieved her 3A* in chemistry, biology and Welsh Bacc, with an A grade in maths, while Esta achieved her 3A* in chemistry, biology, maths and her A grade in Welsh Bacc.
Cody moves on to Bath to study biochemistry, and Esta travels to Queen Mary University of London to study medicine.
At Ysgol Dyffryn Taf in Whitland, 100% of students achieved two or more grades A*-E.
At Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn, Newcastle Emlyn, 18% of grades were either A* or A with 45% of grades between A* and B. Meanwhile, 65% of grades were between A* and C.
At Queen Elizabeth High School, in Carmarthen, nearly a third of A-level students achieved A grades or above, with 14% of pupils achieving three A grades or above in their exams. 13% of all grades were A* and over half of all grades were B or above.
Head boy at the school Oliver John is following the footsteps of some of Hollywood greats such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Jim Broadbent, having secured a place at the prestigious Lamda drama school in London.
The 18-year-old from Carmarthen had 3As and distinction in performing arts at A-level.
At Ysgol y Strade, Llanelli, high-flying students gained 23 A* and 51 A grades across 23 subjects.
The most successful students at the school this year were Steffan Williams and Alex Knott. Steffan gained 4A*s while Alex gained 3A* and a B.
In Bridgend, at the Archbishop McGrath school, the class of 2019 maintained the amazing results from last year, placing the school’s A-level performance in the top 5% of schools in the UK.
Students secured places at universities across the country, including Universities of London, Durham, Exeter and Nottingham.
The school recorded 28% of all grades at A grade and above.
Standout pupils include Sophie Williams, who received three A*s and one A. She is going to study at the University of Nottingham.
At Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen, an overall pass rate of 97% was recorded with 56 out of 57 of learners achieving the Level 3 threshold. The number of passes at A*-C was 71%. There was an impressive improvement of learners achieving 3 A*-A
grades, which marks yet another year of excellent academic and personal achievements for learners at CCYD.
Among the best achievers were Rhodri Ellis, who achieved 3 A* and is now going to Bath University to study computer science and mathematics.
Head girl Megan Nicholas achieved 2 A* and an A and is going to Exeter University to study geography science.
Deputy head boy Kai Owens achieved 3 A grades and a B and is now going to Exeter University to study philosophy.
Jordan Jones achieved an impressive 3 A grades and an A* and is going to Swansea Univer
sity to study computer science.
One Coleg Menai Caernarfon student was not able to pick up his A-level results as he is currently on a commercial aircraft pilot training course with EasyJet.
Dewi Appleton-Davies, from Caernarfon, gained an A* in psychology, maths (A), English literature (A) and English language (A).
At the Pwllheli campus, Bryn Matheson Hughes, 18, from Rhyd Ddu, is also celebrating after hearing that he will be jetting off to San Francisco to study at the renowned Stanford University.
Bryn achieved an A* in maths, A* in physics, A in electronics, B in computer science, B in Welsh Baccalaureate and B in AS further maths.
Nathaniel Davies, 18, from Dolgellau, scooped 4 A*s in maths, further maths, chemistry and law, and will be going to study at Warwick University in September.
Adam Williams, the head of Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi, reserved special praise for Jack Gibson, who achieved four A* in biology, chemistry, physics and maths, while Beth Jones achieved three A* in biology, chemistry and maths.
Jack is going on to study physics in Durham and Beth will be studying medicine in Newcastle, while Niamh Hetherington, who also plans to study medicine, received three As in biology, chemistry and maths.
STUDENTS and teachers across Wales are to be congratulated on this year’s Alevel results, which saw recordbreaking performance at the top A* grade since it was introduced in 2010.
These results are a sign of welcome green shoots and show that determination to do better and action are paying off. The drive to push the most academically able to do their best is bearing fruit after Wales lagged behind on that score.
For the second year running top marks in Wales have risen with 9.1% of all grades awarded at A*, compared to last year’s 8.7%, the previous record.
Some politicians across the border have criticised Wales’ education system, especially after its relatively poor performance in international rankings.
On A-levels we are now nudging
past England and Northern Ireland, even if comparisons are tricky with sweeping reforms to the qualifications here and across the borders. Our record top results shine against the backdrop of a fall in the proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher in England and Northern Ireland, where they have dropped to the lowest in a decade this year. Wales has outperformed the English regions and Northern Ireland at A*, at A* to A and A*-C this summer – something unthinkable a few years ago.
Our teachers and students have worked hard. They have achieved these record-breaking results at the same time as dealing with a funding crisis and the major curriculum reforms being introduced in Wales.
If there was ever a time to reward our schools with the money and support they need it is now.
We must not lose the impetus and hard work that has gone into achieving these grades.
As Wales proceeds on its curriculum reform for learners up to 16 it remains to be seen what the longterm future of A-levels and post-16 education will be. But for now, we should take courage from what our schools can do.
Anyone tempted to suggest our A-levels are easier than those taken elsewhere in the UK should note that they were developed under the auspices of the independent qualification regulators and exam boards to ensure they are of equal value and worth.
There is much to celebrate in our education system.
After a tough year for schools, with many struggling to balance their budgets, these results are even more welcome.