A-level students in Newtown are celebrating today after the town’s high school said 84 per cent of its Year 13 students had gained two or more grade at A* to C.
Students picked up their results today to find out how they’d done as nationally it is said the number of students passing A-levels has risen, although the number of entries to university has dropped.
Headteacher Graeme Harkness said the 84 per cent figure was based on students at A2, while 60 per cent of students gained three or more grades at A* to C.
All year 13 students followed the new Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate, with 78 per cent of them achieving the qualification at A* to E.
Mr Harkness said: “This success reflects the talent and determination of our students and the dedication of their teachers.
“We are incredibly proud of all our Sixth Form students and appreciate that their excellent results reflect not only their dedication but also the considerable support of their parents and families. It is a testament to all our students that they have done so well in achieving such fantastic success in very challenging examinations. I and the school wish them every success with their future careers."
Meanwhile, nearly one in five Powys A-level results for 2017 are at the highest grades A*-A (19.2 per cent) which represents an increase of nearly 1 per cent from results in 2016 (18.3 per cent).
Nearly six per cent of results were at grade A* and a further 13 per cent were at grade A. More than four out of 10 results were at grades A*-B (43.5 per cent) and more than seven out of 10 results (73.6 per cent) were at grades A*-C.
Almost everyone who took a WJEC A-level in Powys passed (98.1 per cent) representing an increase of 0.6 per cent from 2016. This overall pass rate is higher than for Wales (97.7 per cent), England (97.9 per cent) and the UK as a whole (97.9 per cent) and only marginally surpassed by Northern Ireland (98.3 per cent). Powys results from other examination boards are awaited.
The number of WJEC A-levels taken in Powys schools has increased from 1,013 in 2016 to 1,111 in 2017 which represents a rise of nearly 10 per cent.
Councillor Myfanwy Alexander, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “These are very good results clearly reflecting the dedication and hard work of pupils and teachers in all Powys schools.
“Our warm congratulations go to all the young people on their well-deserved achievements and to all those who have supported them throughout their school careers. We wish all the students every success for the future.”
Photo: A-level students opening their results at Newtown High School today
