A level

A report out earlier in the week said A-level students who would have been rewarded with C grades 20 years ago can now expect to gain As.

But the changes failed in their aim to make maths more popular and the A-level is still dominated by a "clever core" of teenagers, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority said.

Schools across Wales, including Christ College in Brecon, use one of the English boards for their A-level students.

While A-level entries are down overall some subjects are showing an increase, including art and design, biology, design and technology and Welsh first language, up 8% compared to a fall of 15% in entries for A-level Welsh second language.

School chiefs faced a backlash over the closure, but said there was not enough demand to sustain A-Level courses, with many Knowsley students studying outside the borough.

A-level provision has doubled in South Tyneside Ben Birchall

What it didn't tell us is whether there has been a compensatory increase in A-level entries for a modern language which is much nearer to home - Welsh.

The proportion of A-level entries in the stem subjects declined to just under 40%.

The investigation means that students who took the A-level in 2018 could potentially see their results changed.

Subject gap | Entries for humanities and languages are down and maths remains the most popular A-level and AS subject with 3,585 and 4,627 entries respectively.

At Rainhill sixth form, 27% of all A-Level grades were reaching A*/A and 51% A*- B grades.

For the first time, there were more entries for A-level science subjects from girls than from boys.

A-Level results will soon be announced as nervous students wait to learn their fate.

The 2018 outstanding learners of Doha College, as awarded by the examining bodies Cambridge Assessment International Education and Pearsons Qualification Services are: Highest marks in the world: Hayat al Dasooqi -- GCSE Art And Design: Photography (Pearson), Yasmin Buckley -- A-Level Geography (Pearson), Anastasia Ceban -- GCSE Art And Design: Photography (Pearson), Francesca Jones -- A-Level Fine Art (Pearson) and Bwalya Kapapa -- IGCSE Mathematics (Pearson).

PUPILS are starting AS and A-level courses without all the information needed, and there is too little data to assess how well schools and colleges in Wales deliver them, a new report from education watchdog Estyn warns.