Minister rejects accusations of strain on pupils
ACCUSATIONS OF an “intolerable” strain placed on A-level students by exam reforms have been rejected by the Education Secretary as the number taking top grades soars to a six-year-high.
The number of students gaining an A or A* in yesterday’s longawaited results rose to 26.4 per cent, while overall pass rates dipped slightly to 97.6 per cent, the lowest levels since 2010.
There were calls of celebration across the country as youngsters reaped the rewards after months of hard work, with many now making major decisions over their future careers and education as a result.
But as pressure eased for students, headteachers and unions attacked the pace and quality of reforms ahead of the exams, which had seen a move away from coursework and modular tests.
Rachael Warwick, executive headteacher of Didcot Girls’ School in Oxfordshire, said the changes were putting schools and colleges under immense presian sure, while Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the “sheer weight” of reforms is impacting on the mental health and wellbeing young people.
But Education Secretary Dam- Hinds moved to reject suggestions that the changes meant students were not able to best demonstrate their abilities: “Reformed A-levels help to prepare young people better for what comes next, which for many of them will be going to university and for others, other routes of further study.
“Doing A-levels is a complete course over two years, and without having to do public exams at the end of the lower sixth year, that does enable you to look at the subject as a whole.”
Across the country, the A*-A pass-rate rose for the second year in a row. In total, 26.4 per cent of entries were given one of the two top grades – up 0.1 percentage point on 2017. And the figures showed that Stem subjects, for science, technology, engineering and maths, are attracting increasing numbers of students. More than a third of all A-level entries were in these subjects, up from 28 per cent in 2009.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union said: “It is good to hear so many students will have the chance to go to university or onto an apprenticeship, if this is what they want to do.” A MASSIVE gender imbalance which persists in some A-level subjects has not stood in the way of success for those who are under-represented, analysis has shown.
Traditionally, girls have dominated in number in subjects such as English Literature, with three quarters of candidates sitting the exam being female. But for those taking the top grade of A*, a total of 9.3 per cent were male compared to 8.4 per cent for females.
And on the other end of the scale in computing, in which 88 per cent of entries were boys and 12 per cent girls, a greater number of female candidates took the top grade, at 4.2 per cent compared to 3.2 per cent.
Frank Kelly, chair of the Royal Society advisory committee on mathematics education, said such gender imbalances in some critical subjects such as ICT were “deeply concerning”, as the broadest range of pupils would benefit from being equipped with relevant digital skills.
“Advancing technology is changing the world of work, and it is vital to have all students leaving school confident in skills such as coding and algorithmic thinking,” he said.
Overall, boys have led the way in the race for top grades in 2018, for the second year running, by a slight margin of 0.4 percentage points.