London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

A-levels: 22,000 sign petition seeking grade change in Wales

A-levels: 22,000 sign petition seeking grade change in Wales

A petition calling for students to receive teacher predicted exam grades has been signed by 22,000 people.

It was set up after 42% of A-level grades predicted by teachers were lowered by the exams watchdog.

Students wearing masks and holding placards protested against the system outside the Senedd on Sunday.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams has confirmed appeals will be allowed if "there is evidence" pupils should have received higher grades.

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, who addressed protesters outside the Welsh Parliament, said he was considering legal action against the exam watchdog, Qualifications Wales, and the Welsh Government over the system, which he said had "stolen" young people's futures.

In England, the exam watchdog, Ofqual is facing two judicial review cases, and Mr Price said Plaid was in talks to bring similar legal action in Wales.

"We can win and must win this fight," he said.

Jo Maugham QC, of the Good Law Project which is supporting students launching a judicial review in England, said the group was "very keen" to do the same in Wales.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, exams were cancelled this year with students' final grades based on teachers' estimations.

Results overall improved on 2019 figures for the very top grades and at grades A* to C.

But 42% were downgraded by exams watchdog Qualifications Wales after it judged the grades were "too generous".

On Wednesday, hours before students found out their results, the education minister guaranteed that no-one would get a lower grade in their A-level than they achieved in their AS result.

How many grades were adjusted?


Proportion of final A-level grades relating to original assessments


Comparisons to Centre Assessment Grades sent by schools and colleges
Source: Qualifications Wales, August 2020



The petition wants all students receiving grades this year to be given those predicted by teachers, with GCSE results due on Thursday.

It said the grades process "does not treat Welsh students as individuals".

"This will disadvantage Welsh young people in their future life chances, which is unfair," it said.


Students heard speeches from Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price


Sally Holland, Children's Commissioner for Wales, has called for universities to honour offers given to students, based on personal statements, assessments, references, and interviews prior to the pandemic.

In an open letter to Universities UK, the body representing universities, Prof Holland, alongside the UK's three other children's commissioners, said "rights to an education and to fair and equal treatment have been severely compromised".

"Many students have had little chance to progress their education since those offers were made," they write.

"It is unfair to now reject individuals whose results have been arrived at by a system that is likely to have produced individual anomalies."


Happy students in Swansea on Thursday but not all A-level pupils got the grades they expected


Plaid education spokeswoman Sian Gwenllian told BBC Radio Wales Sunday Supplement programme that GCSE students "must be really worried now, looking forward to Thursday and thinking gosh, you know, am I gonna be downgraded too?"

'Chaos'


Some A-level students have spoken of getting results up to two grades lower than predicted, and being rejected by universities after not meeting required grades.

Ms Gwenllian, who represents Arfon in the Senedd, said: "It's quite obvious that this moderation system has thrown up all this chaos."


Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price was one of the speakers at the protest at the Senedd steps


First year A-Level student Cai Parry, from Cardiff, who has organised the protest in Cardiff Bay on Sunday, said the grades appeals process was "too little too late" for those trying to secure university places in September.

"I hope that teacher assessed grades will be fully instated," he said.


Student Chris Wheatley said he had been on the phone to universities for hours



'I've been on the phone to them for hours on end'


Chris Wheatley had planned to go to the University of Southampton to study Aeronautics and Astronautics in the autumn.

He told BBC Wales he had been predicted an A* in maths the whole way through his studies, but when he opened his results he had been given a C.

"I applied to Southampton and Warwick, and they have seen that C, and they have declined both of my offers," he said.

"I've been on the phone to them for hours on end, for days now, just reassuring them, these aren't my grades, there is something happening about this."

The Welsh Parliament is on its summer break, but the Children, Young People and Education Committee has been recalled and will meet on Tuesday.

The exam board WJEC is set to outline further details on the process to submit appeals early in the week.


Students gathered outside the Senedd on Sunday to protest against the system


The Welsh Government said more than 4,000 students would benefit from the guarantee that no final grade would be lower than an AS grade.

"This is around 15% of all A-level students and makes a significant difference to the overall impact of variations between final grades and centre assessed grades," said a spokesperson.

"Even before the AS floor, 94% of the grades are the same as or within one grade of the centre assessed grades."

The spokesperson said Qualification Wales and the WJEC would share the full details but appeals could now be made where there was evidence of internal assessments judged by the school or college to be at a higher grade than the grade awarded.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×