A-level results day: Boris Johnson insists results are ‘robust’ despite nearly 40% of marks downgraded with biggest reductions among disadvantaged students
Concerns over use of mock results spark backlash from teachers, students and ministers
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Hundreds of thousands of school leavers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving their A-level results, as ministers face pressure over a last-minute change to allow students to choose their mock exam results if they are unhappy with their grades.
Exams this summer were cancelled due to the pandemic and students will receive estimated grades to help them progress into university, work or training.
But the use of mock grades has drawn criticism from teachers, students and ministers, who warned the change contained “massive inconsistencies” and “beggars belief”.
Labour leader Keir Starmer hit out at the eleventh hour changes, calling it “shambolic”.
“This is a complete fiasco. It was obvious this was going to be difficult but it’s been weeks or months in the coming,” he said, noting the fallout last week in Scotland where grades were downgraded for students from more deprived areas.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson has insisted the system is fair and “robust”.
Good morning, and welcome to The Independent's liveblog as we follow the revealing of A-level results for students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland today.
Education secretary rules out upgrading exam results
Chloe Hally joins protesters in Glasgow to protest at this year's method of producing exam results (PA)
Pupils in England will not be allowed to accept A-level results estimated by teachers as Gavin Williamson ruled out England following Scotland in doing so.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said allowing teachers’ grades would see students losing out as it would “devalue the results for the class of 2020, and would clearly not be fair on the classes of 2019 and 2021”.
“But worse than that, it would mean that students this year would lose out twice over, both in their education and their future prospects,” he added.
The Scottish Government confirmed on Tuesday it would allow for all results that were downgraded to be replaced by the original estimates following major controversy last week.
Pupils across Scotland staged protests, saying they had been unfairly penalised by attending schools which have not historically had high levels of performance.
Exams watchdog cancels news briefing
England’s exams regulator OFQUAL has cancelled its news conference today and instead will be explaining the exam results appeals process at the start of next week, said Gavin Williamson.
It has already announced a 2 per cent rise in A* and A grades this year at A-level.
Mr Williamson defended the system as “fair and robust”, but admitted that some students will be unhappy with their results.
He told Sky News: “I can’t sit here and say that there won’t be a single child in this country who won’t be in a situation of where they have got a grade that isn’t a fair reflection of their work.
“That’s why we took the decision in terms of the triple-lock, making sure there is an incredibly robust appeals process, so that youngsters are able to go down that appeals process and get those issues addressed.”
A-level results available online and in-person from now
Students are now receiving their A-level results through email or by logging into the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service's online portal, or in person at their school or college.
We wish all students receiving their results today the very best of luck.
Students prepared to protest A-level results ‘if it doesn’t go well’
Pupils have said they are prepared to protest this year’s A-level results, backed by the National Union of Students (NUS).
They follow the actions of Scottish pupils, who demonstrated last week after nearly 125,000 grades were lowered as a result of “moderation”.
Zoe Tidman and Kate Devlin have the story:
Reports of results websites crashing
Several people have reported the websites they are trying to access A-level results on have crashed.
Students are receiving their A-level results this morning, with many experiencing high levels of anxiety over the grades given in extremely unusual circumstances.
Education secretary congratulates students receiving A-level results today
Gavin Williamson has congratulated students receiving their results today and praised them for their achievements “in the most extraordinary and difficult circumstances.
He said in a statement: “Grades awarded today will open up the doors of opportunity for young people to progress to the next stage of their lives, whether studying at one of our world class universities, taking up an apprenticeship or embarking on the start of their careers.
“Any students who feel they have grounds for appeal now have the safety net of being able to use their mock results as evidence, as well as the chance of sitting autumn exams, thanks to our triple lock process to ensure confidence and fairness in the system.
“The resilience they have shown during these challenging times will serve them well and I wish them all the very best for the future.”
More students accepted on to UK degree courses this year - Ucas
Ucas figures have shown that more students have been accepted on to UK degree courses this year.
In total, 358,860 people from across the UK have had places confirmed, up 2.9 per cent on the same point last year.
Data published by the university admissions service revealed 34,310 international students from outside the EU have been accepted (up 2 per cent), while acceptances from students within the EU have fallen by 15.2 per cent to 22,430.
Reporting by PA
Ucas website 'running a little slow'
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) has asked pupils to be "patient" when signing into its website to check their results, amid complaints from students of the website crashing.
‘Heartbreaking’ results as school leaders concerned about ‘detrimental impact’ on students
The Association of School and College (ASCL) leaders has said in a statement that there has been a “great deal of volatility among the results” being received by students today.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, raised concerns that the statistical model used to determine students’ grades this year has lowered them and “created clear injustices”.
He said: “While there has been an overall increase in top grades, we are very concerned that this disguises a great deal of volatility among the results at school and student level.
“We have received heartbreaking feedback from school leaders about grades being pulled down in a way that they feel to be utterly unfair and unfathomable. They are extremely concerned about the detrimental impact on their students.
“They worked very hard to provide accurate grades to the exam boards, carefully following all the guidance, and are dismayed that the statistical model then used to standardise these grades has had such a devastating impact. This is in terms of both the number of grades lowered, and some students’ results being pulled down by more than one grade.
“We will be working to understand more about what has happened, but our immediate impression is that the statistical process has proved to be far too blunt an instrument and has created clear injustices."
The organisation called for the government and OFQUAL to review the situation and warned them against "insisting all is well".
“It is not sufficient for the government to dismiss these concerns by saying that schools and colleges can attempt to battle their way through the appeals process, or that students who are not satisfied can enter the autumn exam series some seven to eight months after they finished their courses, and are no longer at the centre where they studied," added Mr Barton.
“We have done everything we possibly can to support the grading process in difficult circumstances, but there is a time to say enough is enough.”
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