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A-level pupils protest grading in march through Canterbury
19:54, 16 August 2020
updated: 15:06, 17 August 2020
Dozens of pupils took to the streets this afternoon in protest over how their A-levels have been graded.
They marched through Canterbury city centre before giving speeches in Dane Park.
Protest organiser India Benjamin-Brown was the first to grab the megaphone.
She accused exams regulator Ofqual of "daylight robbery" and "treating people like numbers".
Insisting this year's results "are not our grades", the Simon Langton Boys' Grammar pupil added: "You took away our chances of improvement.
"You took away our rightful grades and you stole our opportunities."
After the rally, she told KentOnline the pupils now want an appeal system put in place "that takes into account the improvement that could have been made by each student past their mock".
The protest comes as Boris Johnson is facing calls to take charge of the growing A-levels “chaos” amid mounting anger among pupils, teachers and MPs.
Guidance for children in England seeking to appeal against their grades being marked down was last night suddenly withdrawn without explanation.
In a brief statement, Ofqual said the policy is “being reviewed” by its board and further information will be released “in due course”.
Watch: A-level pupil India Benjamin-Brown gives a speech in Canterbury
Conservative MP Robert Halfon, who chairs the Commons Education Committee, said the regulator’s actions have been “unacceptable”.
Today's rally in Canterbury follows another protest by Kent students held in London on Saturday.
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