Press Release

The Chief Executive of Northern Ireland’s exams body, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has saluted the performance of local students who have moved further ahead of their counterparts in England and Wales in gaining the top grades in GCE A Level examinations.

At a press conference in Belfast this morning CCEA released figures that showed 31.2% of A level entries in Northern Ireland achieved the coveted A grade. The equivalent figure nationally is 22.8%, with local students stretching the gap between themselves and the rest to 8.4%.

The overall A-E pass rate saw a small increase from 97.4 to 97.5 of all entries. The equivalent figure nationally is 96.2%.

The popularity of A levels in Northern Ireland has risen again with overall entries standing at 31,276, a rise of 4%.

Speaking at the press conference Gavin Boyd said:

“These are very impressive and very important results. Our students should be rightly proud of their achievement as should their schools and colleges. But while the figures alone are impressive their significance goes beyond statistics. A levels are an important step on the road to higher education and/or employment. In an increasingly competitive environment the excellent performance of our students is a good news story for Northern Ireland .”

Commenting on the results in more detail Mr Boyd noted that, although in general girls tend to outperform boys, the gender gap at A level was beginning to close.

“The difference in overall performance at grades A – E has dropped from 0.8% in 2004 to 0.6% this year. And at the top A grades, while girls still have a significant lead on boys, this has been reduced by almost 1 percentage point this year to 3.0%.

The difference in choice of A level subjects between the genders is also highlighted in today’s statistics with girls top choices being English, Biology and Religious Studies, while boys top choices are Mathematics, Biology and History.”

The results also show that there have been significant rises in entries this year in subjects such as ICT (up 48.6%), Sport/PE (up 31.1%) and in Media Studies (up 24.1%).

Mr Boyd commented:

“It’s interesting to note that despite the rising popularity of areas such as ICT and Media Studies, in Northern Ireland the top five most popular subjects overall remain traditional choices such as Biology, English Literature and Mathematics, whereas nationally the top five choices for students includes Psychology and General Studies. The most popular subject overall in Northern Ireland is Biology which in 2005 accounted for 10.3% of all Northern Ireland entries”

AS level results were also issued today and like A levels show improved performance. In 2005 there were 37,543 entries for AS level examinations with 31.4 of entries achieving the top A grade, this compares to 30.4 last year. The overall pass rate also rose from 94.0% of entries achieving an A-E grade in 2004 to 94.6% this year.

Once again in 2005 CCEA is operating an examinations helpline to support anxious students, parents and teachers. This year for the first time the helpline will be supported by a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions resource available online at www.ccea.org.uk

The helpline will be in operation from 9.00 am until 5.00 pm week days, from Wednesday 17 until Wednesday 31 August. Anyone with any queries regarding their examination results can call 028 9026 1260 or email helpline@ccea.org.uk for help and guidance on a range of issues.

Please find below statistical information on the following:

• GCE A Level Results Analysis 2005
• The Five Most Popular A Level Subjects in 2005
• Provisional A Level Entries Increases/Decreases
• GCE AS Level Results Analysis 2005
• The Five Most Popular AS Subjects in 2005
• Advanced Extension Award Results 2005
• National Provisional VCE Advanced Awards 2005 *
• Advanced Double Awards
• Advanced Single Awards

( * Please note that although CCEA does not offer these exams it publishing this data on behalf of all the awarding bodies operating in Northern Ireland )

GCE A Level Results Analysis 2005 (2004 figures in brackets)

Please note the figures below are provisional and subject to enquiry and appeal

• 31276 A Level Cash ins

• 97.5% passed (grades A – E), with 31.2 % at grade A

• Females outperform males by 3% (3.9% in 2004) at Grade A ( 32.5% female, 29.5% male)

• Females outperform males by 0.6% (0.8% in 2004) at Grades A-E (97.8% female, 97.2% male)

The five most popular A level subjects cashed-in in Northern Ireland are:
(2004 positions in brackets)

PROVISIONAL A LEVEL ENTRIES INCREASES/DECREASES

• Overall there was a 4% increase in entries from 2004
• Of the larger entry subjects (>400), there were increases in:

Information & Communication Technology (48.6%)
Sport/PE (31.1%)
Media Studies (24.1%)
Art & Design (16.4%)
Home Economics (16.3%)
History (13.9%)
Psychology (10.8%)
Religious Studies (9.8%)
Geography (5.1%)
Sociology (3.6%)
Drama (3.1%)
Chemistry (2.8%)
Political Studies (2.1%)
Biology (1.2%)

• Of the larger entry subjects (>400) there were decreases in:

French (8.1%)
Spanish (7%)
Business Studies (4.2%)
Physics (3.9%)
Economics (2.4%)
Mathematics (2.3%)
Technology (0.4%)

GCE AS Level Results Analysis 2005 (2004 figures in brackets)

• 37543 AS Cash ins

• 94.6 % passed (grades A – E), with 31.4% at grade A

• Females outperform males by 4.3% (4.1% in 2004) at Grade A (33.2 female, 28.9% male)

• Females outperform males by 1.8 % (2.0%) at Grades A-E (95.4. % female, 93.6% male)

The five most popular AS subjects cashed-in in Northern Ireland are:
(2004 positions in brackets)

Advanced Extension Award Results 2005

NATIONAL PROVISIONAL VCE ADVANCED AWARDS

- VCE ADVANCED DOUBLE AWARDS 2005

- VCE ADVANCED SINGLE AWARDS 2005

Media enquiries to Ruth Maguire on (028) 9026 1216, Mobile 07796947993. E mail rhmaguire@ccea.org.uk

ENDS

Note to Editors

CCEA is the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.

CCEA places learners and those who have a concern for their educational and personal development at the forefront of its thinking. CCEA's mission is:
"To enable the full potential of all learners to be achieved and recognised"

What we do

CCEA is a unique educational body in the UK , bringing together the three areas of curriculum, examinations and assessment.

Advising Government – on what should be taught in Northern Ireland ’s schools and colleges.

Monitoring Standards – ensuring that the qualifications and examinations offered by awarding bodies in Northern Ireland are of an appropriate quality and standard.

Awarding Qualifications

– as Northern Ireland’s leading awarding body we offer a diverse range of qualifications, such as GCSEs, including the new GCSE Double Award specifications in vocational subjects, GCE A and AS levels, Entry Level Qualifications, and Graded Objectives in Modern Languages.

- CCEA also offers a range of Awards and Certificates in Education, Training and Skills (ACETS) targeted at learners who want to get
the knowledge, understanding and skills needed
to hit the ground running in the world of work.