Coleg Gwent: Late exam results delay university places for some

Students are "fuming" and "stressed" after a results delay has meant they cannot confirm their university places.

Amber Lewis, 18, from Newport, said she "burst into tears" after being told her Welsh Baccalaureate work had not been submitted by Coleg Gwent.

"My accommodation could be affected, and my uni place," said Ms Lewis, a student at the Torfaen campus.

Coleg Gwent has apologised and said it is working with universities and the exam board to "resolve the issue".

It said no university places had been compromised.

The issue has affected several Coleg Gwent pupils waiting for Welsh Baccalaureate results - who are unable to have their place at university confirmed without them.

"At first we were told my work hadn't been submitted at all, they had no entry from me whatsoever," said Ms Lewis.

"I burst into years. I put a lot of time and effort and work into my Welsh Bacc over the last two years... I knew this could have a massive impact on my future."

The Welsh Bacc, first introduced in 2007, is a qualification which aims to give students challenges to develop their personal skills, community awareness and knowledge of world issues.

There were 11,735 entries for its advanced skills challenge certificate in 2022 and 29% were top A and A* grades in the results last Thursday.

Ms Lewis said many of her friends have gone out celebrating their results, but she hasn't joined because she knew they will ask her if she's gotten into uni.

"I just don't know," she said.

"I've heard the college say that no uni places have been compromised, I find that very interesting because my accommodation is on the line," she added.

Another student at Coleg Gwent's Torfaen campus, Kate Morgan, 20, from Cwmbran, Torfaen, said there has been "no contact" from the college.

"If we had been told straight away that there had been a problem it would have been a lot better. We wouldn't have just been left in the dark," she said.

"I don't have enough Ucas points without this Welsh Bacc grade, so my uni can't accept me because the grade is just not here," Ms Morgan added.

"On Thursday it will have been a week since we should have got results, that's a week of sorting accommodation and buying things for uni. It's just making everything delayed."

Luke Forrest, 19, from Blackwood, Caerphilly county said he waited for hours after receiving the rest of his results last Thursday before contacting the college.

"It's definitely stressful, I'm annoyed - I wanted it out of my mind now and being ready to move away," said the Coleg Gwent Crosskeys campus pupil.

"I got a bit impatient and eventually rang up the college, and they didn't have any idea at all," he said.

"I don't even know how it's going to work now, and that's just playing on my mind."

Mr Forrest's mother, Helena, has said communication with the college has been "horrendous".

"They've phoned back once to say 'we can't find them (the results)' and they never phoned back since," she said.

"All his classmates have got in, and he's just stuck. Until he gets told what his points are from UCAS he can't do anything."

Bethan Sims, 18, from Pontypool, Torfaen, should also have received her Welsh Bacc results from Coelg Gwent five days ago.

"She's extremely frustrated and that frustration is turning into anger - she's fuming to be honest," said her father Andrew.

"What should be a happy time, hopefully a time of celebration has been completely soured," he added.

"Somebody needs to step up and take responsibility, they deserve some honesty and transparency".

Coleg Gwent has apologised to affected learners and said it working with the universities and the WJEC exam board to "resolve the issue".

Victoria Davies, of Coleg Gwent, said: "The college is aware of an issue with delayed Welsh Bacc results caused by cash-in route adaptations, affecting a handful of second year learners.

"As soon as we were made aware of the issue, we took actions to minimise the impact by contacting the admissions department of each university and securing our learners' places.

"We regret this incident; however, we have ensured that no university course places, or university accommodation places, have been compromised. We apologise for any worry this has caused."