Thousands of Welsh students will find out on Thursday if they’ve recieved the results they need to get into university
By Bethan Lewis, Sian Elin Dafydd & Steve Duffy
BBC News
A-level results in Wales are expected to be lower than last year, despite a Covid “safety net” including more generous grading for students.
It is to take account of higher grades given by teachers when exams were cancelled during the pandemic.
The exams watchdog said Thursday’s results were due to be broadly midway between 2019 and 2022 levels.
Welsh universities said there would be “high demand” for some courses through clearing.
Gwen Evans, 18, took A-levels in biology, chemistry and sociology at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf in Cardiff.
She wants to study medicine at university, but has decided to take a gap year and try again in 12 months after missing out on a place this year.
Gwen Evans (left) said she thinks it is only fair her year group have extra support due to the disruption caused by the pandemic
“It was difficult – the process of sitting exams, revising in the correct way, even sitting in a hall and the emphasis on the exams themselves,” she said.
“I feel I missed out on a lot of education and I felt I needed to catch up.”
Qualifications Wales announced last year that measures to support young people doing exams in summer 2023 would continue, including advance information of topics to focus revision and more generous grading.
This is different to the approach in England where the aim is to return to pre-pandemic arrangements this year.
What A-level grades are expected in Wales?
Though results in Wales are due to be down on 2022, they are unlikely to drop back to 2019 levels.
Exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 and so pupils received higher teacher-awarded grades.
There was extra support last year to reflect the disruption of Covid, which has been tapered down this year.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said different approaches have been taken across the UK.
“In general, we can expect grade deflation… but we can expect more grade deflation in England than elsewhere in the UK,” he said.
Mr Hillman said his personal view was “that England has probably got it wrong this time” by trying to get back to normal “too quickly”.
“Wales and Scotland may have some lessons there for England”, he added.
Ismail Shaikh, 18, and his family moved to Merthyr Tydfil from Mumbai, India, after his mother got a job at Prince Charles Hospital in February 2021.
He will be receiving A-level results in chemistry, biology, physics and psychology at Merthyr College and hopes to follow in his mother’s footsteps and become a doctor.
Image source, Ismail Shaikh
Ismail said his college has supported him with his university applications
“My interest in medicine started whilst caring for my grandmother, who had dementia,” Ismail said.
He has “mixed feeling” about receiving his results: “Some part of me is really positive, some part of me, not so much.”
Official data shows there were 33,140 A-level entries for summer 2023 – 8.7% fewer than last year.
Maths and biology are still the most popular subjects, with computer science receiving the largest proportional increase in entries.
Welsh second language saw the largest decrease.
By the end of June there were 21,320 applications from Wales for places at UK universities, with over a third of 18-year-olds having applied for a university place.
What if I don’t get my A-level grades?
If applicants do not get their grades or have changed their mind about going to university or what course they want to do, they may choose to go through the university clearing process.
A-Level results: What to do if you miss your grades
The university admissions service Ucas has said places on the most sought-after courses at top universities could be even more competitive this year, because of a growing number of 18-year-olds in the UK population.
Catrin Owen from Careers Wales said her message to students was “don’t panic” as there are a variety of alternative avenues available.
Catrin Owen said there are many other options aside from university
“If university is not the course you’ve decided to go on yourself, there are other options,” said Ms Owen.
“Just to name a few, there’s apprenticeships, you could go straight into employment, you could potentially go into self-employment if you wanted to.
“To explore all the avenues, we recommend speaking to an advisor like myself and we can just discuss those things and put a plan in place for you.”
