A-level and GCSE grades in Wales will be decided by teachers, the Welsh government has confirmed. 

It emerged on Monday morning that GCSE grades in Northern Ireland would be decided by teacher assessment rather than the controversial standardised grades compiled via an algorithm. 

There is increasing pressure for the government to U-turn on A-level grades and allow teacher assessments in England – a move that No.10 has signalled as imminent.

Welsh parliament education minister Kirsty Williams confirmed A-level, AS, GCSE, Skills Challenge Certificate and Welsh Baccalaureate grades in Wales will now be awarded on the basis of Centre Assessment Grades.

Williams said: “Working with Qualifications Wales and WJEC we have sought an approach which provides fairness and balances out differences in the standards applied to judgments in schools.

“Given decisions elsewhere, the balance of fairness now lies with awarding Centre Assessment grades to students, despite the strengths of the system in Wales.

“I am taking this decision now ahead of results being released this week, so that there is time for the necessary work to take place.

“For grades issued last week, I have decided that all awards in Wales, will also be made on the basis of teacher assessment.

“For those young people, for whom our system produced higher grades than those predicted by teachers, the higher grades will stand.”