Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils did better at top GCSE and A level grades in Wales than white British pupils last academic year, continuing a trend since 2015, new Welsh Government figures show. The gap between pupils eligible for free school meals and their wealthier peers also widened, despite attempts to narrow it.
The report, covering the period September 2021 to August 2022, includes results for the first sat exams for three years after they were replaced with teacher assessed grades during the pandemic. GCSE and A level grades fell overall this summer, as the regulator reined back after two years of grade inflation when exams were cancelled, but the latest report reveals how pupils from various groups fared differently.
While Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils did better at top grades overall than White British classmates, there was variation in communities with Chinese and Chinese British and Indian pupils doing best. More than a third of exams taken by Chinese, Chinese British and Indian ethnicity pupils were graded A*.
As successive reports show children eligible for free school meals are less likely to be in school and , this year’s GCSE results show they are falling behind their better of peers on grades.
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In 2021-22 just 3.6% of GCSEs sat by children eligible for free school meals achieved the top A* compared with 13.2% of those not eligible. Just under one in 10 entries from children on free school meals were awarded A*-A grades.
GCSE year 11 results 2021-22 for pupils eligible for free school meals
- A* 3.6%
- A*-A 9.9%
- A 6.4%
- A*-C 47.1%
- A*- G 91.4%
GCSE year 11 results 2021-22 for pupils not eligible for free school meals
- A* 13.2%
- A 15.9%
- A*-A 29.1%
- A*-C 74.9%
- A*-G 97.7%
GCSE year 11 results 2021-22 for White British pupils
- A* 10.9%
- A 14.2%
- A*-A 25.1%
- A*- C 69.9%
- A* - G 96.7%
GCSE year 11 results 2021-22 for Black, Asian and Minority ethnic pupils
- A* 16.8%
- A 15.8%
- A*-A 32.6%
- A*- C 74.2%
- A*- G 97.3%
The data shows that 34.8% of GCSEs taken by Chinese and Chinese British year 11 pupils achieved A* grades as did 34.5% of pupils recording their ethnicity as Indian. Just over a quarter of GCSEs sat by Traveller and Gypsy pupils achieved A*-C grades compared with 40% of those sat by pupils identifying as Roma in 2021-22.
Free school meal gap
While the attainment gap widened at A* to C and A* to G grades between pupils eligible for free school meals and those not eligible they narrowed at the A* to A grades compared to 2020-21. But the report warned: “Pupils not eligible for free school meals achieved better outcomes than pupils eligible for free school meals at all three grade ranges.”
It said the gap between White British pupils and Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils widened at grade ranges A* to A and A* to C in 2022-22, with Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils achieving better outcomes than White British pupils. The data shows there has been a similar gap since 2015.
A levels
There was a similar trend in A level results. For pupils aged 17 at the start of academic year 2021-22 the gap in A level grades between White British pupils and Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils widened at the top A* to A grades, with Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils achieving better outcomes than White British pupils. The gap at A* to C and A* to E was “negligible”, the report said.
The report explains that “White” refers to White British pupils only. All other pupils who recorded ethnicity are included under the Black, Asian and minority ethnic group category. This category therefore also includes non-British White pupils. Pupils who did not indicate their ethnicity were not been included.
“There will likely be differences in achievement between groups within the Black, Asian and minority ethnic group category,” the report cautions.
A level results White British pupils 2021-22
- A* 16.4%
- A 24.7%
- B 26.1%
- C 19.5%
- D 9.3%
A level results Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic pupils 2021-22
- A* 19.6%
- A 25.2%
- B 23.9%
- C 18.3%\u0009
- D 9.5%
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