A-level and GCSE results: Call for urgent review into grading \'fiasco\'

A-level and GCSE results: Call for urgent review into grading 'fiasco'

Students take part in a protest in Millennium Square, Leeds, after the government's U-turn on the calculated grades system Image copyright Danny Lawson/PA Media
Image caption Students took part in a protest in Leeds after the government's U-turn on the calculated grades system

The education secretary has been urged to launch a review into the handling of A-level and GCSE results after exams were cancelled due to coronavirus.

A union for education leaders, such as head teachers, says it will write to Gavin Williamson over the "fiasco".

Mr Williamson apologised to pupils after reversing how A-levels and GCSEs are graded following widespread uproar.

Following the U-turn, the Joint Council for Qualifications said pupils will get GCSE results on Thursday as planned.

"All schools and colleges will receive their results according to the published time of 00:01 BST on Wednesday, 19 August, allowing students to receive their final grades as usual on Thursday," a JCQ spokesman confirmed.

The government decision to give A-level and GCSE students grades estimated by their teachers, rather than via an algorithm, means that tens of thousands of A-level students may now have the grades to trade up to their first-choice university offers.

It has prompted concerns about the number of available places, with top universities warning that students who now have higher grades could still be asked to defer if there is no space left on their chosen course.

And uncertainty continues for students as the admissions service, Ucas, and individual universities have yet to be given access to the upgraded results.

Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said the fact that many more students had the grades to get into their first-choice of university, would cause "challenges at this late stage in the admissions process".

He said problems could arise around issues of "capacity, staffing, placements and facilities - particularly with the social distance measures in place".

Public confidence 'shaken'

Hundreds of thousands of children in the UK have had their education disrupted by the pandemic after schools, colleges and nurseries were ordered to shut in March - resulting in the cancellation of all assessments and exams.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) - which is writing the letter to Mr Williamson - said a review was urgently needed into "what went wrong" with the grading system.

"This degree of transparency is necessary at a time when public confidence has been badly shaken," said ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton.

Mr Barton also called on No 10 and Ofqual to put in place a "robust contingency plan" for students sitting GCSEs and A-levels next summer in the event of further coronavirus-related disruption.

How Gavin Williamson survived the U-turn

One former Conservative minister said he fully expects Gavin Williamson to be moved in any autumn reshuffle - that he has been given a reprieve by Downing Street, not exoneration.

He has to sort out the messy challenge of getting newly upgraded students in to universities then the tricky task of getting pupils in England back to school next month.

The partial return prior to the summer wasn't exactly smooth. So if Mr Williamson's performance in those areas falls short, then his current job is not safe in the long term.

But there are other reasons why he hasn't received a ministerial P45.

This is not an administration which does resignations. Boris Johnson is loyal to those who are loyal and useful to him.

Read more from Iain here.

Earlier, Mr Williamson said he was "incredibly sorry for the distress" caused to pupils.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday: "I would like to start off by apologising - saying sorry to all those young people who've been affected by this. This is something none of us expected to see and none of us wanted to see."

Student stories: Frances and Zainab

Image caption Both Frances Ramos (left) and Zainab Ali were left unsure if they would get their first-choice university places, despite their grades being bumped up

Frances Ramos, 18, from Towcester, Northamptonshire, said she was pleased to be given her predicted grades of ABB - up from the BCD she received last Thursday.

But she said the U-turn "does feel like it's a bit too late" and added: "I kind of wish the government had done this on Thursday." She is now waiting to hear if her first choice, the University of Liverpool, will accept her to study this year.

Zainab Ali, 18, from London, also thought the government should have acted sooner. "I think it's a shame. After the damage is done, that's when they will take action and I find it quite frustrating," she said.

The U-turn should now mean Zainab is able to attend Queen Mary University, London.

Mr Williamson said it had been the common view of the government, exams regulator Ofqual, and the devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland - of different political parties - that the system in place was more robust and "significantly better" than that in Scotland, after an earlier U-turn in Scotland.

But after the release of A-level results on Thursday he said it had become "increasingly apparent that there were too many young people that quite simply hadn't got the grade they truly deserved".

The same challenge would have remained had there been a U-turn earlier, he said, and "we would still be faced with the challenge of the fact of how do we expand the capacity within the university sector".

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Mr Williamson would not say whether he had offered his resignation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson during interviews on Tuesday

Ofqual's algorithm came under fire after data showed its downgrading of about 40% of A-level grades in England had affected state schools more than private institutions.

Ministers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales all decided on Monday - four days after A-level results were issued - to revert to teacher assessed grades rather than the algorithm.

The U-turn means teachers' assessments will also be used for all GCSE results - except for any students for whom the algorithm gives a higher grade.

It is still unclear what the climbdown will mean for students taking vocational qualifications, including BTecs, with students telling BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat: "We've been forgotten about."

Mr Williamson said he hoped they would also be subject to teacher-assessed grades, adding that the government was working with awarding authorities to ensure this happened.

Pearson, which awards BTecs, said it was aware that some students had experienced a delay in receiving grades but did not say how many were impacted.

Timeline: Government's changing position

As part of the changes to grading, Mr Williamson has suspended a cap on student numbers for universities - effectively allowing institutions to accept unlimited numbers this year.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group which represents 24 leading universities, said there were "limits to what can be done by the university sector alone to address that uncertainty without stretching resources to the point that it undermines the experience for all".

The University of Oxford said it now had "many more offer-holders meeting their grades than in a normal year" and as a result faced "significant capacity constraints both within our colleges and on our academic courses".

Universities including Bristol, Durham, Sheffield and Liverpool stopped offering places through the clearing system that matches students to unfilled courses on Monday.

Bristol later said it would accept all applicants who now met the terms of an offer and Sheffield said it would do so "wherever possible".

But some universities say numbers will have to remain limited on vocational courses such as medicine and dentistry.

Ucas was unable to say how many students had not been able to take up places due to their results being downgraded.

A spokesman said students who have not got into their first-choice institution should seek advice from their parents or teachers before contacting the university.

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