An A-grade success story for our youth

THE dramatic improvement in the performance of the highest-achieving Welsh students at A-Level has continued, unlocking new opportunities for our youth and rewarding their hard work.

In 2016, 22.7% of our students got A or A* grades, compared with a UK average of 25.8%. That gap was worrying, especially when there has been alarm for years about Welsh schoolchildren lagging behind their UK and international peers when it comes to basic skills.

Now the gap is almost eliminated – 26.3% versus 26.4%. In fact, when it comes to the A* grade, Wales has outperformed the rest of the UK by 0.7%.

Interestingly, boys have done better than girls in Wales for A and A* grades, in contrast with long periods in recent years when it was the other way around.

We should celebrate the success of our very best pupils. There is absolutely no reason why Wales should be under-represented at elite universities, and we hope this year’s strong performance will encourage our brightest young men and women apply to most challenging and prestigious institutions; just as they have excelled in Welsh classrooms, they can thrive in laboratories and tutorials alongside the world’s highest achievers.

This is not the time to take the foot off the pedal in the effort to drive up standards. It should remain a cause for concern that only 76.3% of our students attained A*-C grades, compared with 84.5% in Northern Ireland.

More needs to be done to help young people who may not be on track to get a stellar grade to nevertheless obtain a C or above. Northern Ireland has social challenges comparable – and in some cases much, much worse – to those faced in Wales yet more students are able to achieve decent grades that will open doors with life-changing consequences.

The results data will be closely scrutinised in the months ahead, and the debate will continue about the continuing role of AS-Levels in Wales in contributing to the final result, unlike England where this is no longer the case. The Welsh education establishment will want to make it clear there is no lack of rigour on this side of Offa’s Dyke.

Students who did not acheive the grades they want should not despair or ditch their ambitions.

A stumble at this stage of the marathon doesn’t mean the race can’t be won; we are cheering you on.