On a visit to Coleg Cambria in Wrexham, the Cabinet Secretary met students collecting their results. She said:
Today is a big day for everyone receiving their results across Wales. I want to congratulate all the students, as well as our fantastic teachers and school and college staff, for all their hard work leading up to today.
This year’s exams mark the final step to pre-pandemic arrangements. This year, for the first time since the pandemic, A-level and AS Levels exams and assessments took place with the same arrangements as pre-pandemic.
The results are what we hoped to see and are broadly similar to pre-pandemic outcomes.
Each and every one of you receiving results today should be tremendously proud of your achievements. Today is testament to your resilience and perseverance.
Whatever your plans are for the next step in your life, I wish you all ‘pob lwc’. There are many ways to continue your learning, some of you may be about to start an apprenticeship or a new job or maybe you have secured a place at your chosen university, including some of our great institutions here in Wales.
But if you need advice on what to do next, there’s plenty of information and support available to you, through your school or college as well as the Young Person’s Guarantee which offers a range of options.
I will continue to focus on doing everything I can to raise standards and ensure everyone is supported to reach their full potential.