It also describes the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ) (see the subheading ‘Certification’ in particular).

The qualifications taken during this phase of education provide a basis for admission to higher education, further training or for entry into employment.They are also used for school and college accountability.

For school sixth forms, learner outcomes are reported – in the National School Categorisation System - as:

• a ‘Level 3 threshold’ measure – this is based on the number of students who are entered for examinations as part of a Level 3 qualification (e.g. A Levels), but does not include data on student retention or on the completion of qualifications
• a measure based on the grades achieved
• the percentage of learners achieving three A*-A grades and three A*-C grades at A Level (or equivalent).

For further education colleges, the main outcome measure is ‘learning activity success’. This is based on all completed learning activities. It combines learner completion and attainment, but does not take into account any grades or qualification points scores.

To address these differences in the reporting of results between schools and colleges, and improve the use of this data for inspection, self-evaluation and self-improvement, the Welsh Government is introducing new measures to assess the outcomes of post-16 learning programmes. Following a (2017) consultation, it is adopting three consistent outcome measures for all post-16 provision:

• achievement – the proportion of learners who started their course and completed it, and who completed a course they were aiming to complete
• value added – the progress a learner makes relative to the progress made by other ‘similar’ learners
• destination – what learners move on to after completing their learning.

Newsletters describing progress in introducing the new measures are available on the Welsh Government website. It is intended that individual school and college data for each of the measures will first be published in Spring 2020.

Pupil/students assessment

Responsibility for assessment and qualifications at this level is shared.

The Welsh Government has overall responsibility for assessment and qualifications.

Qualifications Wales is the independent regulator of qualifications taken in schools and further education (FE) colleges by young people under the age of 19. It is a Welsh Government-sponsored body established under the Qualifications Wales Act 2015.

Awarding organisations (AOs) and develop qualifications in line with Qualifications Wales’ regulatory requirements.

Estyn is responsible for the inspection of schools and colleges, including the quality of assessment provided. It is independent from the National Assembly for Wales , but receives its funding from the Welsh Government. It was established under the Education (schools) Act 1992 .

Schools and colleges are responsible for ensuring that the programmes and qualifications offered to young people aged 16-18/19 are fit-for-purpose and meet statutory requirements. Responsibility is shared between the headteacher / principal and the governing body.

Pupil records and reports 

FE colleges normally provide students with written progress reports once or twice during the academic year based on teachers’ / lecturers’ assessment.

For students following post-16 programmes in maintained secondary schools, schools must provide parents / carers (or pupils who are over the age of 18) with a written progress report at least once each school year. This is required by the Head Teacher’s Report to Parents and Adult Pupils (Wales) Regulations 2011, as amended.

This must include details of entry to approved qualifications and the grades achieved, where available. If the results of examinations are not received by the school before the end of the summer term (July), the headteacher must make this information available as soon as practicable and no later than the following 30 September.

Progression of pupils/students

Progression of students is a matter for individual schools and colleges.

A Level courses last two years (Years 12 and 13 of post-16 education, ages 17-18); AS Level courses last one year (Year 12). Schools and colleges may determine that a student’s progression to Year 13 is dependent on the outcome of the AS Level qualifications taken at the end of Year 12.

Certification 

Qualifications offered to learners under the age of 19 must be approved or designated by Qualifications Wales, the regulator of general and vocational qualifications. This is required by the Qualifications Wales Act 2015.

Approved qualifications have met approval criteria that ensure that they meet the needs of learners in Wales.

Qualifications Wales may also designate a qualification as eligible for use on publicly-funded programmes of learning. For example, in subjects where there is no Wales-specific approved A Level available, an A Level approved for use in England may be designated as eligible for use in Wales.

Both approved and designated qualifications are provided by recognised awarding organisations (AOs), and are eligible for use on publicly-funded programmes of learning for those under the age of 19.

Schools and colleges must also be recognised as an examination centre with an awarding organisation before being able to offer qualifications to students.

For further information on the regulation of qualifications, awarding organisations and examination centres, see the article on the ‘National Qualifications Framework’.

In general post-compulsory secondary education, most students take AS and A Level qualifications. For some, these qualifications sit under the overarching Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification. The subheadings which follow provide further information.

A Levels and AS Levels 

A Levels and AS Levels are single-subject examinations, offered in a wide range of subjects. They may be studied in any subject combination, within the limitations of a school or college’s timetable and the range of subjects it offers.

Approved A and AS Levels are unique to Wales and offered only by the WJEC awarding organisation. In cases where there is no approved qualification, a qualification designed for use in England may be designated as eligible for use in Wales.

All A and AS Levels available in Wales must comply with general, qualification- and subject-specific principles. For example, the specifications for approved A and AS Levels which have been developed for use in Wales, must comply with the qualification-specific approval criteria and subject-level approval criteria, produced by Qualifications Wales and accessible from its website. They must also comply with the Standard Conditions of Recognition which apply to all awarding organisations (AOs) and qualifications in Wales.

Assessment arrangements form part of qualification specifications; all available qualifications specifications can be accessed via the Qualifications in Wales (QiW) database.

Assessment for A Levels and AS Level qualifications is usually by timed examinations. These are usually written but may be practical for some subjects, such as art or dance, and oral for languages. For some subjects, the final AS / A Level grade awarded may be based partly on non-examination assessment. This is usually a form of controlled internal assessment under teacher supervision, in subjects where this is regarded as the most appropriate method of assessing content.

Marking and grading 

After students have taken their AS / A Level examinations in May / June, the papers are marked by the awarding organisation’s examiners. AS Level passes are graded on a five-point scale: A, B, C, D, E (where A is high). There is a six-point scale for A Level passes: A*, A, B, C, D, E. The grade U denotes a fail. An A Level pass is a Level 3 qualification on the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW).

The awarding organisation’s examiners are trained to mark to a required standard using a mark scheme and, once all exam papers have been marked, grade boundaries are set.

All awarding organisations must have awarding processes in place that meet Qualifications Wales’ requirements. Statistical indicators are used to produce predictions for A Level standards each year. These are based on the prior attainment of a cohort (the group of students taking a qualification), when compared with the performance of previous similar cohorts. Further information is available on the Qualifications Wales website.

Results and certificates 

Awarding organisations release results to centres and candidates in August. For candidates who are holding provisional offers of places from universities, the results are sent directly to the universities by the awarding organisation. Results are deemed to be provisional to allow any queries to be resolved before certificates are issued.

Certificates are sent to schools about eight weeks after results day. They include the following information:

• date of exam series (e.g. May/June 2019)
• awarding organisation
• centre (e.g. school or college)
• student details
• qualification name and number
• grade awarded.

Reform of AS and A Levels 

A Level/AS Level qualifications have undergone reform following the Welsh Government’s acceptance of the recommendations of the final report of the 2012 review of qualifications for 14- to 19-year-olds.

Through the introduction of Wales-only approved A Level and AS Level qualifications, the qualifications have been made more relevant to the needs of Welsh learners, employers and other stakeholders. As a result, what was largely a shared three-country system of qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is diverging. That said, as designated (non-Wales specific) qualifications (designed in England) remain available to students in Wales in some subjects, the system is also affected by ongoing qualifications reform in England. A summary of the changes across the three countries is available from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation in England (Ofqual). 

The changes introduced as a result of the 2012 review include that:

• AS Level qualifications contribute 40% to the full A Level (rather than 50% as previously)
• controlled internal assessments remain where these assess an important part of a subject, and these assessments contribute towards the final grade
• the qualifications include a Welsh perspective where appropriate
• qualifications share the same content as A Levels in England, where appropriate.

Depending on the subject, the new AS and A Level specifications in Wales were introduced for teaching in September 2015 and in September 2016.

In those subjects in which the WJEC awarding organisation has developed Wales-specific qualifications, these are the only A/AS Level qualification specifications which are available in maintained schools in Wales. For all other subjects, examination centres are free to choose from a range of designated AS and A Level specifications from any of the awarding organisations that offer general qualifications.

Further information on the reformed qualifications is available from Qualifications Wales.

Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ) 

The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ) is intended to help prepare students aged 14 to 19 for employment, further study and life. It is not a statutory requirement for schools to offer the WBQ, although they may choose to make it compulsory for their students, and the Welsh Government is encouraging universal adoption. The WBQ was first introduced in 2007, and a revised version in September 2015 following the 2012 review of qualifications in Wales.

The WBQ is awarded on the successful completion of a ‘Skills Challenge Certificate’ and supporting general/academic or vocational qualifications. It is awarded at three levels:

• Foundation (Level 1 of the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales, CQFW) at Key Stage 4 (age 14-16) and post-16
• National (Level 2 of the CQFW) at Key Stage 4 and post-16
• Advanced (Level 3 of the CQFW) post-16 only.

The Skills Challenge aims to enable young people to develop and consolidate essential and employability skills in communication; numeracy; digital literacy; planning and organisation; creativity and innovation; critical thinking and problem solving; and personal effectiveness. To obtain the Skills Challenge Certificate, learners need to complete and pass four assessments:

• an individual project
• an enterprise and employability challenge
• a global citizenship challenge
• a community challenge.

The supporting qualification requirements for the WBQ at post-16 vary according to the level of the certificate:

Foundation WBQ:

• GCSE English language or GCSE Welsh language grades A*-G, or Essential Skills Wales (ESW) in communication Level 1 or above (see the subheading below for more information on Essential Skills Wales qualifications)
• GCSE mathematics – numeracy grades A*-G, or GCSE mathematics grades A*-G, or ESW in application of number Level 1 or above
• Level 1 qualifications (on the CQFW) with a total of at least 300 guided learning hours (GLH) from a maximum of four distinct qualifications.

National WBQ:

• GCSE English language or GCSE Welsh language grades A*-C, or ESW in communication Level 2 or above
• GCSE mathematics – numeracy grades A*-C, or GCSE mathematics grades A*-C, or ESW in application of number Level 2 or above
• Level 2 qualifications on the CQFW with a total of at least 300 guided learning hours (GLH) from a maximum of four distinct qualifications.

Advanced WBQ:

• GCSE English language or GCSE Welsh language grades A*-C
• GCSE mathematics – numeracy grades A*-C or GCSE mathematics grades A*-C
• two A Levels grades A*-E, or one A Level at grade A*-E and a pass in one Level 3 vocational qualification of at least 300 GLH, or a pass grade in one or two Level 3 vocational qualifications which total at least 600 guided learning hours (GLH).

The Welsh Baccalaureate overall is graded Pass or Fail.

The Skills Challenge Certificate of the Welsh Baccalaureate is graded:

• Foundation: Pass*, Pass and Fail
• National: A*, A, B, C and Fail
• Advanced: A*, A, B, C, D, E and U (Unclassified).

Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification certificates are issued to examination centres in the autumn term after completion of the course. As with A/AS Levels , provisional statements of results are provided to students in August. Final certificates show whether a student has passed or failed overall and provide his / her grades for each Skills Challenge and the individual project.

Further information on the WBQ is available from Qualifications Wales and the WJEC.

Essential Skills Wales 

Essential Skills Wales (ESW) qualifications are stand-alone qualifications designed to assess the skills that learners need for successful learning, employment and life. They are available in:

• general and vocational post-16 education provided in schools and further education colleges
• work-based learning such as apprenticeships (see ‘Teaching and Learning in Vocational Upper Secondary Education ’)
• adult and community learning.

Essential Skills Wales (ESW) qualifications may count towards the literacy and numeracy requirements for the post-16 Foundation and National Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ) (see above).

They consist of a suite of separate qualifications in:

• essential communication skills
• essential application of number skills
• essential digital literacy skills
• essential employability skills (which include critical thinking and problem solving; planning and organisation; creativity and innovation; and personal effectiveness).

ESW qualifications are available at a range of levels on the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW) – from Entry Level 1 to Level 3 for communication, application of number and digital literacy; and from Entry Level 3 to Level 3 for employability skills.

Assessment in communication and application of number is through controlled tasks (a form of internal assessment under teacher supervision) and a short, confirmatory test. In digital literacy and employability skills, it is through controlled tasks and a short discussion. These assessments are summative assessments which must be completed within two years. Students take the assessments when they have developed the skills at the required level.

Further information on Essential Skills Wales qualifications is available in the design principles for the qualifications, which set out the rationale, structure, aims, learning outcomes and assessment requirements for teaching.

Article last reviewed April 2021.