Grades drop in first normal post-Covid A-levels

Three out of four of these students at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic school in Port Talbot are off to university and Isabella (left) has an apprenticeship at an accountancy firm in Cardiff

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 and also better than all five years before Covid.

A* and A grades were also, as anticipated, down in Northern Ireland compared with last year (30.3%).

In England, the top grades rose a little on 2023, up 1.1 percentage points from 26.5% 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.

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"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.

Amanda is off to Exeter University to study medicine after getting four As and a B

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* - 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

• There were more top grades across 30 subjects compared with 2019

• 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."

Analysis by Bethan Lewis, BBC Wales family and education correspondent

Students here at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Port Talbot are naturally focused on their own results and what it means for the next steps.

But for months, exams bosses have been preparing schools, colleges and the rest of us for lower grades Wales-wide after dropping the Covid support measures that have been in place since 2020.

Noah Robathan (top right) will study maths at Bath University after getting four A* and an A. Harri Turner (bottom right) has a place at Cardiff University to study psychology after getting an A and three Bs. Isabella Thorn (bottom left) will do an apprenticeship with Deloitte with her one A* and three As. Brandon Hookings (top left) is probably going to Loughborough to study maths with two A* and two Bs.

Top grades are down as expected but they’re still higher than the norm before 2020.

The fact that in Wales last year’s AS grades – set under a more generous system - count 40% towards the final A-level might be part of the explanation.

The pandemic still had an impact on this group of students but they are trying to get back to “normal” so there’s confidence that grades here count the same as they do in other parts of the UK.

Fall in uni applicants from poorer homes

The university admissions body Ucas said it had seen a record number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds across the UK being accepted for places.

In Wales, 1,200 from the most deprived backgrounds have secured university places, but this is down from 1,250 in 2023.

Conservative education spokesman Tom Giffard said the fall was "worrying" and said the Welsh government must "come forward with a plan to close that gap.”

Plaid Cymru education spokeswoman Heledd Fychan called for the Welsh government "to be bold" and invest to ensure that students from all backgrounds were "able to follow whichever path they choose, and be able to do so here in Wales.”

Altogether, 16% of 18-year-olds living in the most deprived areas of Wales have been accepted at university, which compares to an average of 27% of that age group.

The acceptance rate rises to 41% of 18-year-olds from the least deprived areas, according to the latest Ucas figures.

Dr Jo Saxton, Ucas chief executive, said: "Widening access and participation is not just about numbers; it’s about opening up doors and transforming the lives of students through higher education so they can pursue their passions and career aspirations."

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.

Zoe says she's 'so happy' after her A-level results take her to York University to study children's nursing

Happy end to a 'rocky journey'

Last year, Zoe, 19, from Wrexham, could never have dreamed she would do so well in her A-Levels.

“I struggled a lot with my mental health, I almost dropped out of college," she said. "I just didn’t see myself going to university and now here I am, going to university. It was a very rocky journey but I’m happy to have got through it.”

She got a lot of support from the college and from her family – and now wants to repay that.

After securing an A and two Bs at Coleg Cambria in Wrexham, she is “really happy” to be going to university in York to study children's nursing.