Last weekend, students across the country received their A-Level results and, as you read this, students will now also be receiving their GCSE results. The results this year are the first set that have begun to return to their pre-pandemic status. Across the UK, 26.5% of A-level entries in England were awarded top grades, compared with 25.2% in 2019, and down from 35.9% in 2022. About three-quarters of A-level entries were awarded grade C or above in 2019 and 2023, compared with 82% last year.
Locally, A-Level students at The VI Form Academy and Cornwall School of Maths and Science (CSMS) at Camborne Science and International Academy (CSIA) celebrated fantastic A-Level results today, recording a 100% pass rate for the ninth consecutive year. There have been some real success stories with 75% of students securing university places with the remaining going on to further education, employment, or apprenticeships. Students will attend prestigious universities such as Oxford and Imperial College, London. The development of the Medical and Veterinary Pathways continued to provide success.
I am really proud of all of our schools, which are some of the best schools in Cornwall. They have each made tremendous progress in recent years. When I am visiting them, I always find that there is a sense of pride from students and teachers alike. The Pandemic posed a huge challenge, but our local teachers worked hard during the lockdown to try to offer online study and, while all schools have found there is some catching up to do, the remarkable thing is how resilient young people are and how quickly they have bounced back.
While many will be looking at going to university, I firmly believe that it shouldn’t be the only route available. I left school at 15. It’s a statement that makes me sound older than I am but it’s true. Although I had a very good set of O-level results, I decided I wanted to go into the family business. But I also did a part-time Business Studies course at Cornwall College so that, when I changed my mind and decided I wanted to go into higher education after all, I had a qualification that allowed me to take that step.
Our universities are centres of excellence and have a vital role in rebalancing our economy towards new industries and they are absolutely the right choice for many young people to continue their studies, especially those who want to enter the professions. But they are not the only choice. I think there is a danger that by over-emphasising university education you can create the impression that those who don't go to university are somehow a failure. They are not and we need those young people to understand that there are other routes to success in life.
As a country, we should enable and encourage young people to really make the most of the opportunities before them and not force them down a singular route of university to hit an arbitrary target set by the previous Labour Government. Someone once told me that you don't have to be clever to be smart. He was right and we need to encourage approaches which show young people how to use their talents.
