GRADES are slipping in Wrexham as the council records a slump in A-Level results.
It has emerged that the number of students achieving A*-C grades at A-Level in summer 2011 has plummeted by almost 10 per cent compared to the previous year.
Just 62.2 per cent of A-Level results in Wrexham were in this top range, 9.4 per cent down on performance in 2010.
And the number of students achieving A*-C grades at GCSE resulted in Wrexham Council being ranked 20th out of Wales’ 22 local authorities in that category.
The number of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grades dropped to 61.2 per cent, 6.1 per cent below the national average in 2011 and a drop of one per cent on Wrexham’s 2010 figures.
On a more positive note, the percentage of pupils passing two or more A and AS-Levels, was 93.5 per cent, a slight increase of 0.3 per cent on the 2010 figures.
And students are excelling in the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma with a pass rate of 97 per cent, significantly above the all Wales figure of 84 per cent.
Cllr Jim Kelly, a member of the children and young people scrutiny committee, said he was disappointed by the poor results but said he would focus on the positive news.
He said: “Obviously, we need to work on the schools that are struggling, some just need that little bit more support and backing.
“But the negative figures are not across the board, many have done very well and we should celebrate that.”
The news comes after the Welsh Government banding system, implemented in December, placed three of the borough’s nine secondary schools – Rhosnesni High, Ysgol Bryn Alyn and Ysgol Clywedog – in band five, the lowest category, while St Joseph’s Catholic and Anglican High and Ysgol Ruabon were placed in band one.
The council maintains that it has exceeded the majority of its 2011 targets and the authority exceeded the Welsh Government estimate for the number of pupils achieveing five or more D-G grades at GCSE.
John Williams, head of service in education for 14-19 year olds, said: “We have achieved the targets we set in most areas, some schools did better than hoped and some did not do quite so well.
“The results in 2010 were some of the best results we’ve ever had so it was always going to be hard to match them but 2011’s results are still above 2009s.”
The figures discussed at the meeting of the children and young people scrutiny committee do not include students from Yale College.