Harlow welcomes Government’s U-turn on A-level results

A-level students are set to see their grades increased after a humiliating U-turn by the Government.

Following criticism from students, headteachers and a backlash by MPs, grades will now be based on teachers’ assessments rather than the controversial algorithm devised by regulator Ofqual.

Conservative Harlow MP Robert Halfon labelled the move the “right decision” but warned ‘lessons must be learned’ from the ordeal.

However they have pushed for an urgent review and maintain questions still need to be answered by the government and Robert Halfon who chairs the education select committee.

In an interview on Good Morning Britain, Mr Halfon said: “I think the lesson of this is you can't just have technocratic government and government by computer. We have got to be a government that empathises with ordinary folk.

The chair for the Education Select Committee added: “Conservatism is supposed to be about individual effort and achievement and yet we used an algorithm based on the collective memory of the history of schools rather than recognising general individual effort and achievement and that was wrong.”

In Essex, headteachers agreed not to publish this year's overall A-level results and were expected to do the same with GCSE results.

However, following the Government U-turn it is expected results, based on teachers’ assessments, will be published.

Chris Vince, a school teacher and Harlow Labour councillor, also welcomed the news, but called for a review into the debacle.

He said: “I am relieved that the government has finally come to its senses and listened to calls from the Labour Party and the teaching profession by awarding all students across England those grades predicted by their teachers. I only wish they could have made this decision sooner and prevented the heartache and anxiety that many of our young people have faced. However, urgent questions need to be asked both of the education secretary and Harlow’s own MP.

“This is still an absolute mess. I urge the current MP for Harlow, in his role as the chair of the education select committee, to call for an urgent review into the A-level fiasco which has left students feeling stressed and anxious about their futures and the teaching profession even further devalued.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had previously defended the “robust” system, which saw almost 40 per cent of grades reduced from teachers’ predictions.

Students who were awarded a higher grade by the moderation process will be allowed to keep it, but for many pupils, their teachers’ predictions could see their grades increased.

Ofqual chairman Roger Taylor apologised for the “uncertainty and anxiety” caused by the fiasco.

“Our goal has always been to protect the trust that the public rightly has in educational qualifications,” he said.

“But we recognise that while the approach we adopted attempted to achieve these goals, we also appreciate that it has also caused real anguish and damaged public confidence.

“Expecting schools to submit appeals where grades were incorrect placed a burden on teachers when they need to be preparing for the new term and has created uncertainty and anxiety for students. For all of that, we are extremely sorry.”

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