London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jan 06, 2026

Angry and confused' students protest for second day after A-levels downgraded

Hundreds of students gathered in central London today to protest the ‘fiasco’ which saw almost 40% of A Level results being downgraded in England.




Many held signs reading ‘trust our teachers’ as they chanted ‘f*ck Gavin Williamson’ and ‘f*ck Eton’ in Parliament Square.

One of the organisers, Ted Mellow, 18, from Wood Green in north London, said: ‘Everywhere you look, people are either angry or confused and, quite frankly, that’s the Government’s fault.

‘We’re not fighting so that everyone gets A*s and As because we know that’s unrealistic, we’re fighting so that people get the grades they deserve.’

He added: ‘The Government needs to be held accountable for their lack of responsibility. ‘It just seems like they’re not confident in their systems and if they’re not confident, why should I be confident?’

Around 280,000 pupils saw their predicted marks downgraded. In total, 36% of entries were given grades below that predicted by teachers, and 3% were down two grades.

Labour has called the situation a ‘fiasco’ and urged ministers to allow pupils the marks they were given by teachers.

Olivia Styles, 18, from Basingstoke, burned her results in front of a crowd to cheers from protesters.

She said that she was lucky her university plans had not been impacted by her grades being reduced as she had an unconditional offer.

However she was angry that her grades had been lowered from a predicted BBC to BCD.

She said: ‘I just think it is bulls**t, I just don’t want those grades to define me.

‘By burning them it’s sort of saying I don’t accept these results, these are not what I wanted, these are not what I deserved.

‘I wanted to burn them to say I want new results. I want the results I’ve worked hard for over the past two years. I don’t want this piece of paper to define me as a person.’

Today saw the second day of protests in London from pupils angry with their results.

Dozens of students sat down on the floor at the front door of the Department of Education as hundreds filled the street.

Maya Szollosy, 18, from London, said: ‘We’re voting age now, most of us, and we’re young.

‘We’re going to remember this for many years until the general election and I don’t think many students are going to vote for the Conservative Party after what they did to us.’

Three vans of police were at the protest, with three uniformed officers in dark blue face masks at the doors of the Department for Education.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
UK Households Face Rising Financial Strain as Tax Increases Bite and Growth Loses Momentum
UK Government Approves Universal Studios Theme Park in Bedford Poised to Rival Disneyland Paris
UK Gambling Shares Slide as Traders Respond to Steep Tax Rises and Sector Uncertainty
Starmer and Trump Coordinate on Ukraine Peace Efforts in Latest Diplomatic Call
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
×