All of the pupils at Ysgol Maesydderwen who had wanted to continue their studies managed to secure their place at university.
The school highlighted some of its top achievers in Year 13 including: Leon Buck with two A*s and one A; Alec Jones with three As; Dafydd Evans who achieved one A* and three Bs; Daniel Edwards and Lowri Myles who both achieved two As and one B; Anya Welsh with one A* and two Bs; and, Katie Jones who got two BTEC Distinctions*, one BTEC Distinction and a B.
Headteacher Phil Grimes, who also congratulated successful Year 12 pupils on their AS Level results, said: “I want to congratulate everyone on their achievements. It has been a fantastic morning and we are so immensely proud of all of our students. Today’s results are a culmination of the collective hard work of students, parents/carers and teachers over the last two years.
“All our students will go on to new adventures, challenges and successes in their chosen universities, colleges, apprenticeships and the world of work. We wish them every success in the future.”
Brecon High School was also celebrating as 100% of its students achieved the Level 3 Threshold, meaning all Year 13 pupils “secured at least two A Levels at grades A* to C”.
Headteacher Richard Jenkins mentioned some of the schools best results of 2019 which include: Rana Prashant with two A*s and one A; Maisie Lake with three As; Eleri Phillips who received an A*and two Bs; Angella Morante with two As and a C; Willian Hogg and Harry Slade who both received an A, a B and a C; Rhys Lloyd who got an A and a B; Josh Skinner who achieved an A and two Cs; Amelia Hughs with four Bs and one C; Ceri Davies with three Bs; and, Esme Lake with three Cs.
Headteacher Richard Jenkins said: “Pupils worked extremely hard to achieve such success.
“All of the staff and governors of the school would like to wish Year 13 pupils every success with their chosen pathway for their future. An important note of thanks and appreciation should go to all parents and carers for their encouragement and support.
“The school is also pleased with the overall outcomes for Year 12 pupils, with several achieving high results. Notable successes include Willow Jackson, Zachery Morgan, Rhydian Rogers, Magar Roka, Jaya Sebburn, Ben Williams and Sukey Wu.”
Lee Powell, the acting head at Ysgol Calon Cymru, which has two campuses in Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells in place of the now closed high schools, said they are proud of their A Level students’ success.
Mr Powell said: “We are really proud of the success achieved by all our A level students at Ysgol Calon Cymru. The overall pass rate was 99%, with 64% of grades being A* – B. This is testimony to the hard work and commitment of students and staff as well as the support from parents.
“Amy Cromie achieved five A Levels at A* or A grade and will go on to study medicine. Jonathan Davies, Tegwen Bruce-Deans, Alex Griffiths, Raheda Khathun and Caitlin Mills all gained four A levels at A* or A grade.
“We wish all our A Level students the best of luck in the next step in the careers.”
Update – results from Christ College and Crickhowell High School:
Independent co-educational boarding and day school Christ College, which has 380 pupils between the ages of seven to 18, is also celebrating after 39% of its A Level grades were A or A*, and 69% were between grades A* to B.
Christ College, which saw a pass rate of 99.4%, saw top grades – A* to A – account for 75% of its English Literature grades and 50% of its grades in Geography, Spanish, French, Art, Photography and extended project.
Among the year’s top performers are: Ben Masters from Sennybridge who achieved two A*s and an A, and will be going to study Mathematical Physics at the University of Nottingham; Phoebe Sussman from Llangors who got an A* and two As, and will be going to study Veterinary Science at the University of Bristol; Hannah Mathias from Brecon who received three As and will be going to study Languages at the University of St Andrews; Artai Hernandez from Brecon who received an A*, an A and a B; and, Sarah Jeffes from Sennybridge who achieved an A*, an A, a B and an A* in extended project.
Christ College headteacher Gareth Pearson said: “I am delighted with this set of results, achieved through hard work, self-discipline and perseverance. With all subjects now linear and involving more stretch and challenge, we are delighted that performance across the board has held up well in this more academically demanding environment.
"These results will enable our pupils to go forward positively to the next stage in their lives.
“The dedicated staff at the school are all committed to the success and fulfilment of our pupils and believe that a whole person approach is key to achieving this, a belief reinforced by such positive results.
"Although we will be sad to see them go, we wish them all the best and have confidence they will all go on to achieve brilliant things with bright futures ahead of them.”
Crickhowell High school is also celebrating as 17% of all grades awarded at A Level were A8, with over 37% of awarded grades being A* or A, over 63% being a grade B or higher, and over 85% being a grade C or higher – 100% of students achieved grades A* to E.
The high school said that all students who appleid to university have confirmed their places – universities such as Warwick, Nottingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Bath, University College London, Oxford Brookes, Leed, Bristol and Falmouth University.
Headteacher Jackie Parker: “We are thrilled and delighted with the wide range of success achieved by our students, including exciting courses at top Universities, prestigious apprenticeships, wonderful employment pathways and a variety of international opportunities.
“On behalf of the Governing Body and all Staff, we warmly congratulate Year 13 and Year 12 for their remarkable achievements. These outstanding results reflect the inspirational teaching, professionalism and dedication of all our staff. We would also like to thank all parents and the wider school community whose support has made these fantastic results possible.
“To be able to deliver these results to each student has been such a privilege and a really joyous occasion. Our school motto is ‘Excellence through Endeavour’ and there can be no doubt that our students have fully secured this goal with these excellent results. We have every confidence that the futures of these very impressive students will be bright and that they will make the world a better place.
“We are very lucky at Crickhowell High School to have such wonderful students and such a great team of staff.”
Update - Gwernyfed High School:
Headteacher John Williams of Gwernyfed High School said that many students were “delighted” after picking up their results this morning.
A quarter of the high school’s grades were at A* or A, while 89% were grades A* to C – there was a 100% pass rate of grades A* to E.
Mr Williams said: “Well done to all our students who have met and in many cases surpassed their target grades. The variety of University courses is pleasing, including the number who have chosen Engineering.
“We are supportive of those following other routes, such as Eva Lantos who is starting an apprenticeship with the BBC. Thanks must also go to the support of the talented Gwernyfed staff, parents and the community.
“Whatever they go on to achieve, they will always be proud to say they are Gwernyfed students.”
The school’s top performer this year is Eirwen Abberley-Watton, who is getting ready to study English at Exeter University, with four A*s.
Fellow Year 13 students Iestyn Webber is going on to study Motorsport Engineering at UWTSD Carmarthen, and Thea Harrhy, who is going to study Sociology at Worcester, also achieved their first choice places.
Update - Llandovery College:
Students and staff at Llandovery College celebrated as the percentage of pupils securing A* to C grades had increased significantly, and many leavers are now moving onto their chosen universities.
12% of students achieved an A* grade meanwhile 33% of the exam results were graded A* to A.
Llandovery College Interim Warden, Anna Sandford, said: “I am incredibly proud of our pupils’ A Level and BTEC results. We have recorded our highest level of A*- B grades since 2013 at a time when top grades have dipped across the UK.
“This success is due to our unique approach which provides a bespoke education catering for the needs of every individual child. Many congratulations to all our pupils and staff.”
Update – Powys County Council:
Powys council has confirmed that nearly 24% of Powys pupils achieved the highest grade results in this year’s A Level exams.
23.9% of students achieved the highest grades, A* or A, an increase of 3.8% on 2018’s 20.1%, with more than 7% of results at grade A* and 16.5% at grade A.
More than half of the county’s learners achieved grades A* to B, 50.5%, which is up from 48.2% in 2018. 75% of pupils received grades A* to C.
A Powys council spokesman said: “Almost everyone who took a WJEC A Level in Powys passed by obtaining grades A* to E (96.7%) and the overall pass rate is similar to that for Wales (97.6%).
“Powys results from other examinations boards are awaited and may impact on these comparisons.”
The number of WJEC A Levels taken in Powys schools has increased to 1,054 this year from 1,045 in 2018.
Cabinet member for learning and Welsh language, Councillor Myfanwy Alexander said: “These strong results show that Powys schools are delivering for our learners. Partnerships between schools and families allow our young people to achieve the results they need to fulfill their ambitions.”