Grades drop in first normal post-Covid A-levels
Top grades at A-level have fallen in Wales after a move away from more generous grading during the Covid pandemic.
There were 29.9% who got the top A* and A grades which, although down on last year (34%), was what the exams watchdog called part of a "glide-path back" from higher results during the pandemic.
The education minister said the results were "what we hoped to see and are broadly similar to pre-pandemic outcomes".
Changes were made to exams in 2022 and 2023 to take account of the impact the pandemic had on learning.
Thousands of students in Wales are getting their results in A-levels but also AS, BTecs and other qualifications after the first "normal" set of exams since Covid.
Extra support was ditched this year and overall results had been expected to be lower than in 2023 and in-line with pre-pandemic grades.
In 2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled and grades were decided by teachers.
In 2022, students sat exams again but course content was reduced and in 2023 advance information was given of what could come up in papers.
There were no extra measures for students in 2024, although Qualifications Wales said there would be a "safety net" when setting grade boundaries if performance in a subject was far lower than before the pandemic.
This year's top grades were still slightly ahead of pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
A* and A grades were also, as anticipated, down in Northern Ireland compared to last year (30.3%).
In England, the top grades rose a little on 2023, up 1.1% to 27.6%.
"This year is the first year where we’ve got a return to normal assessment and grading arrangements," said Philip Blaker, chief executive of Qualifications Wales.
He acknowledged the pandemic had disrupted the earlier learning of students taking exams this year, but said it was important for young people, universities and employers for the system to return normal.
"It’s really important that value is the same across the whole of the UK so that the value of an A-level in Wales is the same as the value of an A-level in Northern Ireland or England," he added.
Many BTec students will also receive results for the qualifications which are geared at developing practical career skills.
At AS level, 22.1% of all grades awarded were A in Wales.
In the Welsh Baccalaureate's Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate 25.8% of students got A* to A grades.
Lynne Neagle, secretary for education, on a visit to Coleg Cambria in Wrexham, congratulated staff and pupils and said: "This year’s exams mark the final step to pre-pandemic arrangements.
"This year, for the first time since the pandemic, A-level and AS Levels exams and assessments took place with the same arrangements as pre-pandemic."
There were 32,385 A-level entries for summer 2024, 2.3% fewer than summer 2023, and 42,630 AS-level entries
10.1% of candidates achieved an A*w - less than last year (13.5%) - but more than before the pandemic (8.9% in 2019)
Girls continued to outperform boys at most A-level grade points - by 0.5 percentage points at A* and A and 6.6 percentage points at A* to C
Mathematics, biology and psychology are still the most popular subjects
The biggest proportional increase in entries since 2023 were for Welsh language (up from 185 to 230) and further mathematics (540 to 605)
The biggest decreases were to geography (1,040 from 1,285) and Spanish (125 from 150)
Margaret Farragher, chief executive of Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), said: "While the pandemic is now behind us, we must acknowledge that this group of students faced disruption during their education and pay tribute to their resilience."
What next for A-level students?
Data from the universities admissions service (Ucas) showed fewer 18-year-olds in Wales had applied to higher education, but more could take up places during the clearing process when remaining spaces on courses are allocated.
Aberystwyth University said it had clearing places available across a range of subjects and offered incentives ranging from guaranteed accommodation to a free railcard and sports centre membership.
Bangor University said it would particularly like to hear from students interested in computing, engineering, psychology, law and business, which were all proving to be popular subjects.
At Cardiff University a range of subjects was available in clearing, although it said it was difficult to give an exact number of places as the picture was constantly changing.
Cardiff Met said availability was comparable to last year: "Some of our popular courses, such as dental technology, have already reached full capacity, however, we still have spaces available in many other programmes."
Swansea University said it would be offering clearing places across a number of courses, including popular subjects such as law, psychology, computer science and nursing.
The University of South Wales, which also still has a range of courses on offer, said each person was "much more than just their exam results", so it took account of individual circumstances.
Clearing places were being offered across 120 courses and 20 academic subjects at University of Wales Trinity St David.
Wrexham University said clearing was always an extremely busy period and it did not expect a big difference, with places available over a wide range of disciplines.
"Whilst our most popular courses – for example, paramedic science and speech and language therapy – won’t be open, we anticipate that we will be open for most other subjects," said Andy Phillips, head of recruitment and admissions.
Careers Wales said there was a range of different options available for young people getting results and it was available to offer advice and support.
"Some people can become overwhelmed with making choices about their future careers or might not know the options available to them," said chief executive Nikki Lawrence.
"There is the right path out there for everyone," she added.
