Critics fail to take shine off Merseyside’s record A-level results

Aug 26 2009 by Ben Turner, Birkenhead News

WIRRAL council confirmed its A-level students had excelled again, with provisional data suggesting the borough’s pass rate will be above the national average.

Wirral’s cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Phil Davies, said the students “can now look forward to a brighter future .”

Success stories included West Kirby Grammar School, where 19 of the school’s sixth-formers gained A grades in four A-Level subjects.

Weatherhead High School in Wallasey also enjoyed a near-perfect 99.5% pass rate, with a record seven students each achieving three straight As. Meanwhile headteachers and education leaders across the region rounded on A-level critics last week and demanded they “take off their rose-tinted glasses”.

Headteachers moved to silence the critics as schools and colleges across Merseyside recorded record results.

The achievements mirrored the national picture, with results going up for the 27th consecutive year and the UK pass rate increasing by 0.3% to 97.5%. With more than three-quarters of entries awarded at least a C grade, the quality of the exams has again been called into question.

Critics include Conservative shadow children’s secretary Michael Gove, who has condemned schools for promoting less rigorous subjects and said evidence showed academic standards “are not what they should be.”

But defiant school and council leaders said annual A-level criticism was unfair on the students themselves.