A-Level results: Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch calls for immediate review
12:42, 17 August 2020
updated: 10:41, 18 August 2020
A Kent MP has said thousand of students who missed out on university offers after their results were downgraded should be given the marks their teachers predicted and if it inflates grades then "so what".
This year exams were cancelled after the country went into lockdown in March. Grades were instead predicted by teachers and checked over by exam boards using algorithms.
But, Chatham and Aylesford's Tracy Crouch wants students to instead receive the grades their teachers put forward after many students felt they were unfairly downgraded by the 'flawed' algorithm.
On Facebook, Ms Crouch said action needs to be taken today: "First of all I think it is really important to remember that my constituency has both selective and non-selective schools in it.
"Many students are celebrating fantastic results and having written to all the heads in my constituency, one school replied saying that all but one of their pupils got their first choice at university.
"Other schools are also celebrating their best ever results and I congratulate them and their pupils on that.
"However, and this is a big however, some pupils, especially (although definitely not exclusively) at the selective schools have seen their results downgraded and this has affected their university offers.
"If the schools agree that the downgrading is unfair then they can appeal on behalf of the student, as they cannot do it themselves. "In parallel the student can talk to the university admission service, they do not need to wait for the results of the appeal - it does not have to be sequential.
"A student can also sit the exam in the Autumn, but that does of course mean taking a gap year before university.
"So what do I make of all this mess?
"My starting view is we were too quick to cancel the exams in the first place but we did. So then my view was that the algorithm, which is already used in general standardisation, was the best of the worst alternatives.
"Now that it is clear that Ofqual think it is a flawed algorithm, we should revert to the teacher grades.
"Some think that this would lead to over-inflation - and yes it might - but having spoken to a school head this morning I am confident that most schools have quality checking processes that would mean very few would be inflated and if they were, given the world we are currently in, so what. These things have a way of sorting themselves out in the long run.
"But if we are going to make the changes we need to do so today.
"Reverting to teacher grades isn't going to solve the crisis - in fact it may well send university admissions into chaos - but it allows A Level students to get the grades their teachers think they deserve and we can move on and focus on Thursday, GCSE results day.
"Far more students will be affected by this if it continues into GCSEs and could have an even more devastating impact on college places.
"I have made all these points formally and hope that ministerial colleagues are listening. We need this sorted asap.
"Finally I am aware that (unreported) there was an issue with BTECs and have picked this up on behalf of those affected.
"BTECs are a really important part of our educational fabric and shouldn't be forgotten in our celebration of those who have been awarded them, or chasing for those who haven't yet got their results!"
Last Thursday, students who had their A-level results downgraded branded the process “dehumanising” as they took to the streets to protest in Westminster.
Students closer to home at Invicta Grammar School in Maidstone also felt the impact of this year's grading system.
Orion Cartlidge, 18, said he unfairly missed out on his first choice university because of it.
He said: "I was predicted A*A*A and every single one of those grades has been brought down by the exam board so I've missed my firm offer. Instead I was given AAB.
"I’m going to appeal it because I don't think it's fair the way the system worked.
"My teachers have taught me for five years, they know what I'm capable of but all my grades were brought down by people who don't know me. I know they also base the grades on the previous cohort and I don't think it's right their grades have influenced mine."
While disappointed and eager to appeal, Orion is pleased to have secured a place studying history in Glasgow.
Echoing his frustration was classmate Mairead Jessop.
The 18-year-old who is going to study English in York said: "I got BBB but my teachers had originally given me AAB so I was a little disappointed I went down on two grades.
"My first choice was to go to Southampton to study English but I wanted to look into changing to law but now I haven't got the grades for that so I'm going to have to wait for the appeal.
"I ended up getting an offer to study English at York so I'm going to take that. Although I’m happy, I'm still going to appeal because I still would like to get what I was predicted."
Headteacher Julie Derrick says the school will do all it can to support the students through the appeal process.
Mrs Derrick added: “The students have been incredibly resilient, naturally emotional, and that's very understandable.
"We have been really proud of what they have achieved and how they have coped. I hope now that they can look forward rather than backwards because there are no regrets, they have done incredibly well.
“We have been working hard behind the scenes and we’re looking at each case to make sure the grounds for an appeal are correct and we will work with individuals through the process.
"If a student decides they want to retake an exam, which no doubt will happen in a couple of situations, we will then fully support them in the run up to that."
At Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for boys, 45% of the students had their teacher-assessed results downgraded, with 11% of those by as much as two grades.
In Medway, Chloe Igglesden's dreams of going to medical school were shattered after she was downgraded under the government's new marking system.
Chloe was predicted top marks by UCAS and her teachers at Rainham School for Girls in biology, chemistry and psychology.
But the examining board Ofqual, brought in to "standardise" grades, awarded Chloe three Bs, jeopardising her chances of keeping a coveted place at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford.
The chairman of the Kent Association of Headteachers, Alan Brookes said the outcome was worse than he conceivably imagined.
