Students still missing BTEC results will 'hopefully' get them next week, schools minister say

BTEC results have been delayed because of the fall-out from the government's U-turn

Schools minister Nick Gibb (file photo) (PA)

Students waiting for their exam results won't get them for at least another week, the schools minister has said.

Nick Gibb said on Thursday that BTEC students would "hopefully" receive their final grades next week.

The fall-out from the government late U-turn on GCSEs and A-levels delayed the publication of BTEC results, with exam boards saying they needed to review marks to ensure they were fair compared to GCSEs.

"Because of the decision to change from a calculated grade to teacher assessment and the grade inflation that caused, the feedback was there needed to be similar uplift for BTECs," Mr Gibb told Sky News.

He said Pearson, the exam board that administers the qualification, was now "reviewing all grades and reissuing them, hopefully next week".

Challenged on the lack of a clear date, the minister added it would be "as soon as possible, I anticipate that will be next week".

Colleges have warned that the uncertainty caused by the delay would cause extra stress for students waiting to see whether the had met places for further education.

There are also fears that grade inflation this year due to disruption will mean people missing out on places altogether, or having to defer until next year. GCSE students got their marks today, which were based on their teacher assessed grades.

The disruption mostly affects students taking a more vocational route into work or university; the BTEC qualification involves more hands-on practical work and is popular with older learners as well as young people. Hunreds of thousands are affected.

Pearson said in a statement last night: “We understand that this could cause additional stress and uncertainty for you at this time and we are sincerely sorry."

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, described the timing as "worrying", adding: “Those students wanting to move on to further or higher education will be most worried about losing out on places. We are in close communication with DfE, Ofqual and Pearson to particularly make sure that BTec students applying for universities can still be treated fairly.”

A spokesperson for regulator Ofqual said: “Everyone is working as quickly as possible to confirm results as soon as possible, recognising the impact that delays are having on schools, colleges and students.”