Ysgol Brynhyfryd was prompt in getting these signs placed on the fencing surrounding the school's lodge. It's really great to see the school performing well. Brynhyfryd continues to go through tough times but could this be an indication that it's returning to the greatness we once enjoyed and still expect?
Difficult times there may be but the school's results have never been poor.
Yet these, apparently, are Brynhyfryd’s best-ever A-level results. They're even more impressive when weighed against the national performance. In Wales, A-level results are on the slide. In 2016, nationally, the proportion of entries gaining A* or A was 22.7 per cent. Brynhyfryd managed 41 per cent.
In 2016, 92 per cent of results were A*-C. This is usually 84 per cent.
Before we get too carried away, however, this does need some untangling.
The last time a public body mounted self-congratulatory banners it was pilloried for it. That was Denbighshire council which was the best in Wales.
Meanwhile, Brynhyfryd launched its sixth-form centre at the same time as the results were announced. This is reportedly a bridge between school and university. It's interesting that the school will be dropping Geography as an A-level from September. This is one of the most popular all-round A levels in Britain today and one of the only ones that is balanced near enough equally between boys and girls. Fear not, though, as candidates will be able to journey to other schools to take Geography A level as they will other subjects: but, in having to do so, what then is the point of a sixth form centre and a boast of excellent results?
Yet these, apparently, are Brynhyfryd’s best-ever A-level results. They're even more impressive when weighed against the national performance. In Wales, A-level results are on the slide. In 2016, nationally, the proportion of entries gaining A* or A was 22.7 per cent. Brynhyfryd managed 41 per cent.
In 2016, 92 per cent of results were A*-C. This is usually 84 per cent.
Before we get too carried away, however, this does need some untangling.
- With the Dyffryn Clwyd consortium, a number of students study A-levels in more than one school or institution. It's no longer so easy to boast about your own when some are schooled for one or more subject elsewhere.
- Brynhyfryd is only the best in Denbighshire when you consider the State sector. It was well and truly beaten by Schola Ruthinensis again this year: 76 per cent of Ruthin School entries resulted in A*-A.
- The "best-ever" sounds as if there's been a huge jump in performance. Indeed, there may have been but it's actually difficult to tell. In 2013, for example, 49 per cent of results were A*-A… but this included the Welsh baccalaureate which, at the time, was giving away A-grades like toffee (as the only grade available, other than a fail). It was rumoured that you didn't even need to complete the course to get an A, because the examiners only considering a proportion of candidates' work and accorded all others based on a small sample.
- We understand that Brynhyfryd rigorously selects its sixth form. In doing so, is it providing equality of opportunity and is this skewing the results up? Mind you, there's no point in entering the sixth form if you're not up to it.
The last time a public body mounted self-congratulatory banners it was pilloried for it. That was Denbighshire council which was the best in Wales.
Meanwhile, Brynhyfryd launched its sixth-form centre at the same time as the results were announced. This is reportedly a bridge between school and university. It's interesting that the school will be dropping Geography as an A-level from September. This is one of the most popular all-round A levels in Britain today and one of the only ones that is balanced near enough equally between boys and girls. Fear not, though, as candidates will be able to journey to other schools to take Geography A level as they will other subjects: but, in having to do so, what then is the point of a sixth form centre and a boast of excellent results?
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Brynhyfryd