Academic achievement of pupils aged 4 to 14 in core subjects: 2019

This report includes for the first time on-entry assessments. These assessments are usually undertaken when a child enters reception at age 4. Previously this had been published separately.

Foundation Phase Outcomes

The majority of pupils achieved the expected Outcome of 5 or above in each area of learning. From 92.2% in 'Personal and social development, well-being and cultural diversity' to 82.0% in 'Language, literacy and communication skills (English)' in 2019.

Key Stage 2

The vast majority of pupils achieved at least the expected outcome of Level 4 or above in each subject. From 90.8% in Science to 88.4% in Welsh in 2019.

Key Stage 3

More than 9 in every 10 pupils achieved at least the expected level of Level 5 or above in each subject. From 92.4% in Science to 90.1% in English in 2019.

Comparison with 2018

The percentage of pupils achieving at least the expected level was lower than in 2018 in all core subjects/areas of learning at the end of Foundation Phase and for both Key Stages.

Following a written statement by the Minister for Education in July 2018 and a consultation which ended in January 2018, teacher assessment data is no longer published at a school, local authority and consortia level. This is a significant move away from gathering information about young people’s performance on a school by school basis for accountability purposes.

This year’s results could be a reflection of these changes, whereby the prime purpose of teacher assessments has started to shift back to individual learners and away from holding schools to account.

A further breakdown of all the data shown in this release by gender and attainment level is available on StatsWales.