Students Receive Changes to Grades After Uproar

On Monday afternoon, it was announced that developments were made to the previously awarded A-Level results. When A-Level students received their results on Thursday 13th August, nearly 40% of grades were lower than the teachers’ predictions; 36% had a lower grade and 3% were down by two grades. This caused uproar as the majority of students appealed against their results, finding them to be a lot lower than expected.

Instead, students have now been given their Central Assessed Grades (CAG) as an alternative to their previous grades. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now ditched the computer-generated grades and replaced them with teacher’s predictions. Students can now choose whether they want to keep their original grades or replace them with the teacher’s predictions, depending on which is higher.

However, there isn’t always a silver lining. Although students now have the hope to get into their first choice university, many will be disappointed as so many spots have been taken up. Many universities are now paying students to defer for a year should their course be filled up with too many students. This may seem intriguing for some who would take that money without a second thought, but for the majority, deferring for a year will only hold off their careers longer. On the other hand, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has urged universities to take as many students as possible. He said: "They won't be fined and we're removing those caps on every single university in the United Kingdom, so that they have the ability to expand the number of places, welcoming more students into those universities, as many as possible."

Mr Williamson also announced: "It is clear that the process of allocating grades has resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process. We now believe it is better to offer young people and parents certainty by moving to teacher assessed grades for both A and AS level and GCSE results. I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve."