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The number of students achieving the top A-level grades has gone up once again in Wales.

Nearly half of the grades (48.3%) awarded this year were at A* to A – an increase on last year’s 29.9%.

The total number of A-level entries in Wales this year was 35,867, an increase of 14.5% relative to 2020, reversing the decreasing A-level entries since the summer of 2015, and resulting in an extra 4,500 A-levels being awarded to Welsh learners this year.

Results for Wales show that 99.1% of learners achieved A* to E grades, up from 97.6% in 2019, with an increase at A* with 21.3% of candidates achieving this grade.

The grades were awarded based on teacher assessments following an outcry at last year’s results – which were downgraded.

Wales’ education minister Jeremy Miles said: “This year has been like no other and you’ve had to make many sacrifices. You have had to deal with so much disruption to your studies over the past 18 months, but have shown tremendous resilience and determination to continue your learning. You have also played an incredibly important role in keeping your classmates, teachers and communities safe.”

Record results

Learners at Coleg Gwent’s Crosskeys campus achieved a 97.2% overall pass rate. Across the entire college, 1,329 A-level entries with 80% of these achieving A* to C grades. The college is also celebrating a 100% pass rate in 57 A-level subjects – an increase from 46 subjects last year.

After working extremely hard, A-level student Lyra Jannetta from Oakdale, achieved incredible results with five A* grades in Physics, Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and the Welsh Baccalaureate, cementing her place to study Natural Sciences at the prestigious Cambridge University. With a passion for STEM subjects, Lyra hopes to discover her scientific niche and pursue a PhD. She’s been both excited and apprehensive for her results, as she’s been waiting to find out if she met the conditions of her offer to study at Cambridge.

Coleg y Cymoedd, which serves learners across Rhondda Cynon Taf and Caerphilly County Borough, has also reported high grades across both its academic and vocational courses, with its Nantgarw-based A-level centre achieving a 100% overall pass rate for 2021 across all 21 of the college’s subject areas including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Welsh and French. The number of learners attaining A*/A grades at A2 has also increased by seven per cent compared to last year. The results continue a trend of improvement for Coleg y Cymoedd, following three successive record-breaking years at the college.

Successes at the college include Leah Morgan, 18, who achieved an impressive four A* grades in mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics, securing a place at Swansea University to study nuclear medicine.

Leah, from Bedwas, sadly lost two grandparents to cancer, but is now looking forward to her studies with the help of an NHS Bursary which will see her learn to work with radiation therapy to treat cancer patients as well as those suffering from neurological conditions. Such was her commitment to her chosen career, Leah even decided against applying for a place at the University of Oxford despite her amazing results.

She said: “I’d developed a love of science through school, and for the last few years I’ve wanted to work in a field that deals with cancer. My two grandparents had cancer which opened my eyes to it, before they unfortunately passed away.

“There’s only two places in the UK that do my course, so it’s a really niche subject. I thought about Oxford, but it would not be for the specific course I wanted to do. Nuclear medicine is really tailored to me.”

Leah is one of a few people in Wales to be chosen to receive a bursary to study the course, with her tuition paid for by NHS Wales and the Welsh Government, and a job guaranteed at upon completion of her degree.