Government agrees to cover costs of appeals against downgraded exam results
The Education Secretary has said the Government will pay for all appeals against downgraded A-level and GCSE results as thousands of students have missed out on their first choice universities.
Gavin Williamson was under pressure from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to cover the fees, which can cost £100 or £150 per exam. As exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, grades were instead awarded using a modelling system based partly on schools’ previous results and a ranking order of students – prompting concerns of the disadvantaged being hit the hardest.
Many A-level students received lower than their teachers’ predictions, leaving many youngsters, parents and staff bitterly disappointed. A senior Government source told Sky News: ‘Schools will not be out of pocket when it comes to appeals. We don’t want schools to be put off appealing if it’s a matter of cost. We will cover their costs.’
The Education Secretary has instructed schools minister Nick Gibb to set up a taskforce to oversee the appeals process, meeting daily and working with exam regulator Ofqual and the exam boards.
Williamson’s move comes hours after a rebellion in the Tory party including ex cabinet member David Davis. He said: ‘This is a government which has quite properly in my view based a lot of its appeal on social mobility. You keep hearing people talk about the Red Wall seats, the industrial seats in the north of England.
‘They are going to be the ones who because of the disparity of the system are going to be most penalised, are going to feel let down and feel more let down because the promise to level up is plainly being failed upon in this particular decision.’
Around 35% of A-levels were downgraded by one grade in England, while an estimated 3.3% of results dropping by two. With GCSE results approaching next Thursday, researchers from the FFT Education Datalab warn up to 2 million exams could be downgraded based on an algorithm used by Ofqual.
As the Government tried to defend itself, the Education Secretary said students could use their mock results to apply for jobs and university places if they were unhappy with their grades. But that didn’t cut it for ASCL headteachers’ union chief Geoff Barton, who said: ‘The government doesn’t appear to understand how mock exams work.
‘They aren’t a set of exams which all conform to the same standards. The clue is in the name “mock”.’ Universities are expected to be more accepting of students this year, with admissions service UCAS stating that they are likely to be ‘super flexible’ towards those who missed their grades.
Oxford University’s Worcester College has become one of the first institutions in the UK to say it will honour all offers made to UK students, regardless of what grades they were given in their A-Levels.
Many A-level students received lower than their teachers’ predictions, leaving many youngsters, parents and staff bitterly disappointed. A senior Government source told Sky News: ‘Schools will not be out of pocket when it comes to appeals. We don’t want schools to be put off appealing if it’s a matter of cost. We will cover their costs.’
The Education Secretary has instructed schools minister Nick Gibb to set up a taskforce to oversee the appeals process, meeting daily and working with exam regulator Ofqual and the exam boards.
Williamson’s move comes hours after a rebellion in the Tory party including ex cabinet member David Davis. He said: ‘This is a government which has quite properly in my view based a lot of its appeal on social mobility. You keep hearing people talk about the Red Wall seats, the industrial seats in the north of England.
‘They are going to be the ones who because of the disparity of the system are going to be most penalised, are going to feel let down and feel more let down because the promise to level up is plainly being failed upon in this particular decision.’
Around 35% of A-levels were downgraded by one grade in England, while an estimated 3.3% of results dropping by two. With GCSE results approaching next Thursday, researchers from the FFT Education Datalab warn up to 2 million exams could be downgraded based on an algorithm used by Ofqual.
As the Government tried to defend itself, the Education Secretary said students could use their mock results to apply for jobs and university places if they were unhappy with their grades. But that didn’t cut it for ASCL headteachers’ union chief Geoff Barton, who said: ‘The government doesn’t appear to understand how mock exams work.
‘They aren’t a set of exams which all conform to the same standards. The clue is in the name “mock”.’ Universities are expected to be more accepting of students this year, with admissions service UCAS stating that they are likely to be ‘super flexible’ towards those who missed their grades.
Oxford University’s Worcester College has become one of the first institutions in the UK to say it will honour all offers made to UK students, regardless of what grades they were given in their A-Levels.
