Swansea’s A-Level students excel in Maths and Chemistry

SWANSEA’S A-Level students have this year excelled in Maths and Chemistry.

Statistics show 43.6% of the 149 candidates who sat Mathematics achieved the top grades of A* and A, with 83.2% of them attaining a C grade or above.

In Further Mathematics, 65% of the 20 entrants gained the top A* and A grades, with all candidates scoring a C grade or higher.

Chemistry was also a popular subject this year with 116 entries. The figures show 33.6% of entrants gained grades A* and A, with 87.1% of candidates attaining a C grade or better.

In all, 23.0% of Swansea entrants gained an A* or A grade compared to 23.1% for all-Wales. In Swansea, 6.5% of students attained grade A* compared to 7.3% for Wales.  The overall pass rate of 97.1% in Swansea compares to 97.3% for Wales.

Lindsay Harvey, Swansea Council’s Chief Education Officer, said: “As a council, pupil attainment is one of our top priorities, so this year’s A-Level students and everyone involved in their success, including our wonderful school teachers, deserve huge congratulations.

“This is a hugely significant time for our A-Level students as they embark on the rest of their lives. Many of them will be going on to further studies at university, others will have signed-up for courses to learn a vocation and some will soon be starting careers in the workplace.

“The education they’ve received in Swansea will, I hope, stand them in good stead. Whatever path they choose to take in coming months and years, I’d like to wish the A-Level class of 2015 the council’s very best wishes for bright and successful futures.”

A total of 1,502 A-Level exams in 45 different subjects were sat by 593 students in year 13.

In 29 subjects, there was a pass rate (Grades A* to E) of 100%, while in 10 different subjects 30% or more of all entries attained the top grades of A* and A. In five of these subjects, more than half of the students attained these top grades.

There were 23 subjects where 75% or more attained grades A* to C, with nine of these subjects having 90% or more with these grades.

Figures show that 71.4% (1,073) of entries this year were via the WJEC, with the remainder being entered via three other boards.

Many students attained at least three good pass grades:

* Ten students attained three or more A* grades
* 53 students attained three or more A*/A grades (Eight of these attained four or more A*/A grades)
* 133 students attained three or more A*-B grades
* 221 students attained three or more A*-C grades

The Swansea results quoted refer to all examination boards used by Swansea schools, and do not include results for Gower College Swansea.