Wales A-level exam results expected after first normal post-Covid exams

Students in Wales will receive their results for A-levels, AS-levels, BTecs and other qualifications on Thursday after the first round of ‘normal’ exams since Covid.

Changes have been made to the 2022 and 2023 exams to reflect the impact of the pandemic on learning.

This year, the additional support has been dropped and overall results are expected to be lower than in 2023 and in line with pre-pandemic scores.

Exam watchdog Qualifications Wales said it was part of a “trajectory back to higher outcomes during the pandemic”.

In 2020 and 2021, exams were cancelled and grades were awarded by teachers.

In 2022, students took exams again, but the course content was reduced, and in 2023, preliminary information was given about what might be included in the assignments.

No additional measures have been taken for students in 2024, although Qualifications Wales said there would be a “safety net” when setting grade boundaries if performance in a subject was significantly lower than before the pandemic.

“This year is the first year we have returned to normal assessment and marking arrangements,” said Philip Blaker, chief executive of Qualifications Wales.

He acknowledged that the pandemic had disrupted previous learning for students sitting exams this year, but said it was important for young people, universities and employers that the system returned to normal.

“It is really important that the value is the same across 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 qualifications aimed at developing practical professional skills.

Wales’ main exam board, the WJEC, said its 3,700 examiners had marked more than a million exam papers for A-level, GCSE and vocational students this summer.

There were 32,385 A-level registrations for summer 2024, 2.3% fewer than in summer 2023, and 42,630 AS-level registrations.

Mathematics, biology and psychology remain the most popular subjects.

The largest proportional increase in enrolments since 2023 was in Welsh language (from 185 to 230) and further mathematics (from 540 to 605).

The biggest drops were in geography (1,040 versus 1,285) and Spanish (125 versus 150).

Data from the Universities Admissions Service (Ucas) showed that fewer 18-year-olds in Wales had applied to higher education, but more could take up places during the selection process when remaining places on courses are allocated.

Aberystwyth University said there were places available in a range of subjects and it was offering incentives ranging from guaranteed accommodation to a free railcard and sports centre membership.

Bangor University said he was particularly interested in hearing from students interested in computer science, engineering, psychology, law and business, all of which are proving to be popular subjects.

HAS Cardiff UniversityA range of subjects were available for clearance, although it is difficult to give an exact number of locations as the situation was constantly changing.

Cardiff Met The availability of places is comparable to last year. “Some of our most popular courses, such as dental technology, have already reached capacity, but we still have places available in many other programs,” a spokeswoman said.

Swansea University said it would offer make-up places in a number of courses, including popular subjects such as law, psychology, computing and nursing.

THE University of South Waleswho also still offers a range of courses, said each person was “much more than their exam results”, and so took individual circumstances into account.

Compensatory places were offered in 120 courses and 20 academic subjects at University of Wales Trinity St David.

University of Wrexham This clearing period was always extremely busy and I didn’t expect much difference, with places available in a wide range of disciplines.

“While our most popular courses – for example, allied health and speech therapy – will not be open, we anticipate that we will be open for most other subjects,” said Andy Phillips, head of recruitment and admissions.

Careers in Wales He said there were a range of different options available to help young people achieve results and there was an opportunity to offer advice and support.

“Some people may be overwhelmed by the choices they have to make about their future career or may be unaware of the options available to them,” said Nikki Lawrence, chief executive of Careers Wales.

“There is a path that is right for everyone,” she added.