Pupils across Caerphilly County Borough have received their GCSE results, with 62.4% of grades at A* to C.
Wales has equalled its best ever results, with two thirds of pupils getting A* to C grades, although Wales failed to close the gap on England.
The overall pass rate across Caerphilly County Borough was 98.6% and 16.3% of grades were A* and A.
Cllr Rhianon Passmore, Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning said: “These pleasing outcomes are the result of a huge amount of commitment, hard work and dedication on the part of our students and teaching staff, and congratulations must go to them on their performance.
“I wish our students well in their future endeavours, and well done to you all.”
St Martin’s School in Caerphilly achieved its best results since Welsh Assembly performance measures were introduced, with 84% of students getting five A* to C grades, up almost 30%.
Deputy headteacher Marc Yeoman said: “I am very proud of the success we have achieved as a school, the commitment and dedication of staff has shone through, allowing students to reach their potential, which they have taken with both hands and been duly rewarded.
“I would like to thank parents and all members of the community for their support in the success we share today.”
Meanwhile Education Minister Huw Lewis was at Blackwood Comprehensive School to congratulate students on their results.
Mr Lewis said: “I am particularly pleased we have seen such a strong performance at key subjects including English, Maths, Welsh and Science.
“Our Welsh Baccalaureate performance is also cause for celebration and means that 13,000 plus learners now have an additional string to their bows and are equipped with skills and experiences that give them a definite edge in an increasingly competitive world.
“I have no doubt that our focus on raising standards is delivering for learners in Wales and look forward to an even higher A*- C pass rate once the full year’s results are published later this year.”
Are the children of Wales better educated than ever? Or are they carefully coached to pass the courses set by the Education Authority? I tend to believe that the latter is true and note the admission that we are still behind England, a country that is not a front runner in world education standards.
There can be no blame attached to the pupils themselves, they are just forced to make do with an education system that seems deeply flawed. I’m sure that they work hard but are being failed by the Welsh Assembly who every year brag about the success of their education system and with the next breath tell us that immigration is vital as there are far too few educated sufficiently to train as doctors, engineers, plumbers and a dozen other jobs.
I am not surprised Wales lags behind England, and the rest of the world in education. The schools in Wales are terrible. The focus on the pointless Welsh Bac, the focus on Welsh, the focus on minimum standards, foundation GCSEs, non-selectivity in schools, and the constant mantra of catering to the lowest common denominator is to blame. It is laughable the cabinet member for education is pleased with these shockingly poor results.
I attach the blame to the teachers and to the WGA. The schools are too big, the teachers cannot control classes, children mess around, the skills are not taught, the qualifications are pointless, and the parents are not interested in their children’s education. There are exceptions to this rule of course, but there it is no coincidence high achieving parents have high achieving children, and that children in wealthier areas tend to do better.
A pretty depressing comment but I don’t disagree. Personally I would like to see Caerffili have a boys grammar and a girls grammar where educational excellence is the goal, regardless of how much money Daddy has. I can’t see it happening soon as there are too many vested interests to overcome.
I give my full support to a couple of grammar schools for boys and girls in Caerphilly. The sad thing with the WAG is that the decision makers have become so obsessed with their own political ideology, they make a decision against grammar schools based on an opinion they have, not what is best for the children in Wales.
Absolutely, which is why WAG has to go. The latest farce with the E-cigs shows that for many AMs dogma counts for more than research.
Both you and I know that the denizens of Cardiff Bay will fight tooth and nail against any proposal to bring back grammar schools, despite many of them benefitting from a grammar or privately paid for education.