A-level results in Powys continue to lag behind the national average.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Learning and Skills scrutiny committee on Friday, February 13, councillors and independent lay members will receive a report giving pupil performance for both A-Levels and GCSEs.

The report shows that the number of pupils in Powys achieving the top A* (star) and A results was 24.7 per cent, below the Wales average of 29.9 per cent. This is slightly better than August 2024, when Powys scored 24.5 per cent compared with the Wales average of 30 per cent. The gap has now narrowed to 5.2 per cent, down from 5.5 per cent.

The number of pupils in Powys receiving A to C grades was 72.8 per cent this year, a drop from 73.1 per cent.

Wales-wide, the A to C results were 78.6 per cent, up from 78 per cent last year, widening the gap with Powys from 4.9 per cent to 5.8 per cent.

This performance also sees Powys ranked 14th out of the 20 Welsh local authorities that provide sixth-form education.

The report said: “The evidence points to a clear and continuing decline in post-16 outcomes in Powys, alongside a widening gap with national performance.

“A-level attainment within Powys’s schools in 2024/2025 displays a continued pattern of declining performance.”

But on the flip side, results at GCSE level are improving.

The number of Powys youngsters achieving the top A* (star) and A grade was 21.3 per cent. This is above the Wales average of 20 per cent and up from 19.1 per cent in 2024.

The number of youngsters achieving A to C grades saw Powys pupils reach 68.9 per cent – again above the Wales average of 63.9 per cent and up from 67.7 per cent in 2024.

The report said: “Standards at GCSE have improved, particularly in the proportion of learners achieving A*-C grades, where Powys is performing above the national average.

“However, performance varies significantly between schools and between different groups of learners, meaning that not all young people are benefiting equally from these gains.”

With a wholesale reorganisation of post-16 education on the cards, which could see all Powys secondary and all-through schools lose their individual sixth forms, the committee will need to ask why success at GCSE is not being translated into A-Levels.

The report said: “Overall, the performance of Powys schools presents a mixed picture, with strengths emerging in some areas but continued inconsistency in others.

“Standards at GCSE have improved, particularly in the proportion of learners achieving A*-C grades, where Powys is performing above the national average.

“There are continuing concerns at post-16. A-level results have declined for several years, and Powys is now performing below the Wales average on all main measures.

“Fewer are staying in school sixth forms, with more choosing college or work-based training instead.”