Most learners in Wales will receive their A level results today. This is the third year learners have sat externally marked exams since their cancelation in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19. It is the first year when grading returns to pre-pandemic approaches. Since the cancellation of exams, there has been a gradual return to standard practices.
The overall results this year are more in line with those achieved in 2019. Although the results are lower than the years 2020 to 2023, they are slightly higher than in 2019 in all grades except for grades A*-E.
How are things different to last year?
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, externally set exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. In those years, there were different arrangements for awarding A level and GCSE grades. This meant that results were generally much higher than the years immediately prior to the pandemic. For example, in 2019, 8.9% of learners received grade A*, whereas the percentage of learners gaining A* in 2020 was 16% and 21% in 2021.
When learners began sitting external exams again, there was some support available from the exam boards and adjustments were also made to the way in which exams were graded. These are explained in our exam results article from 2021.
Qualifications Wales said that the approach to grading exams in 2022 was a ‘transition year’ from the higher than usual grades of 2020 and 2021, with overall results reflecting a broadly midway point between 2021 and 2019. This meant that grades were more favourable to learners than in 2019, but less favourable than the previous two years.
Similarly, the approach to grading for 2023 was intended to deliver exam results that would fall broadly midway between the 2019 and 2022 results. This was intended to take into account the disruption to education caused by the pandemic and avoid what was described by Qualifications Wales as a “cliff edge” with a sharp correction back down to 2019 standards.
Qualifications taken between November 2023 and summer 2024 have returned to pre-pandemic grading approaches. However, Qualifications Wales has said that they will monitor the WJEC (the exam awarding body) as they determine grade boundaries. Qualifications Wales said:
We know that the pandemic has had a long-term impact on learning for some, so there will be some protection to avoid results in individual subjects being well below pre-pandemic years, to provide a safety net, if necessary.
What are the results for Summer 2024?
The data in the table below shows results for 2024 based on data published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ is a membership organisation comprising the eight largest providers of qualifications in the UK). Data is provisional, representing the position at the time that results are issued. It is subject to checking before final data at national, local authority and school level is published. The data refers to the number of entries into qualifications and includes learners of all ages. Information is also provided for previous years.
Qualifications Wales, the independent regulator of qualifications, also publishes detailed information on the results.
Percentage of entries achieving GCE A level by grade in Wales, 2024 (provisional)
Source: Joint Council for Qualifications, A Level Results Summer 2024
- Results at grade A* are 10.1% , 1.2 percentage points higher than in 2019 and 3.4 percentage points lower than in 2023;
- Grades A* or A are 29.9%, 3.4 percentage points higher than in 2019 and 4.1 percentage points lower than in 2023;
- Grades A*-C are 76.5%, 0.2 percentage points higher than in 2019 and 2.4 percentage points lower than in 2023; and
- Grades A* to E are 97.4%, 0.2 percentage points lower than in 2019 and 0.1 percentage points lower than in 2023.
What’s next?
With learners now in receipt of their grades, they'll be thinking about what comes next. There is a range of support and guidance for those planning their future including:
- Careers Wales;
- UCAS; and
- Working Wales
Senedd Research has published funding guides that sets out information on the financial support available to students.
GCSE results will be out next Thursday and we will be publishing an article on those next week.
Article by Sian Hughes, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
