Commenting on the news that GCSE grades in Wales are down on last year, Welsh Conservative Shadow Education Minister Laura Anne Jones MS said:
“Congratulations to students receiving GCSE results today and the teachers and support staff who have worked exceedingly hard and faced severe disruption over the last couple of years. I would like to wish everyone the best of luck with whatever they choose to do next. There are an abundance of options available to you, including A-levels and apprenticeships.
“As was the case with A-levels, results are down on last year. It is also concerning that exam entries are down this year, particularly with Mathematics (down 0.3%), Mathematics-Numeracy, (down 8.3%) English Literature (down 29.1%) and ICT (down 15.5%). The drop in exam entries is particularly significant amongst children from a disadvantaged background, Labour need to explain how they will tackle the drop in exam entries of such important subjects, and ensure our children aren’t left behind.
“Ultimately, there is more to education than just exam results and Wales deserves better. Labour are failing our children with their underfunding and continue to cut the education budget. This has placed our schooling system bottom of the UK league table, with Wales continuing to take a different approach to our counterparts in England. With 25% of students missing 15 days or more of education, the Labour Government must get their act together and do better in providing top tier education in every school in Wales.”
