Government Receive Backlash Over A-Level Results Affected by the Pandemic This Year

After receiving A-Level results this morning, many students have either been greeted by relief or anger, for the most part that being anger. Nearly 40% of A-Level grades were lower than the teachers’ predictions; 36% had a lower grade and 3% were down by two grades. However, it is possible to appeal and therefore be awarded with mock grades, or pupils may re-sit the exams this autumn.

I personally think the way the results were dealt with was very disappointing. Although there was no other option of grading A-Levels, I believe that by making last minute changes to the grading system only put more stress on students, let alone having the education secretary apologise in advance the night before. Every student, teacher, college and university was left in the dark about the process with less than 24 hours until the results were released. Mr Williamson announced: “I apologise to every single child right across the country for the disruption that they’ve had to suffer.” As much as an apology might be accepted by some students, it does not solve the problems that many now have to face after having their university choices taken away from them.

After speaking to a student at Wyke college in Hull, I learned that the night before the results were released to the students, the college had already appealed about the grades. You can imagine how stressful it must have been for students to hear this just under 24 hours before opening the results. BTEC grades had also been messed up as one of my friends hasn’t even received one of her grades yet and another is still waiting for them to go through on UCAS so that she can find out if she has been accepted into her first choice University. Many students have come to the conclusion that they would like to appeal about their grades but the appeal system hasn’t even been set up yet. I understand that these unprecedented times are hard for everyone and must be extremely stressful for the government to organise but on the other hand, students haven’t been in schools or colleges for approximately four months now so why aren’t the results more organised?

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, has said that he heard from a number of colleges where more than half of their student’s grades have been adjusted downward following moderation. If the grades were supposed to be based off teacher’s assessments with a range of evidence such as non-exam assessments, homework assignments, coursework or mock exams, then how have so many students’ been downgraded so vastly without even having the chance to take the exams? Many agree that this year’s A-Level results have been awarded unfairly.