Boris Johnson insists exam results are 'robust' and 'dependable' amid anger over A Level downgrading

Imogen Braddick13 August 2020

Boris Johnson has insisted the exam results published today are "robust" and "dependable" amid mounting anger over downgrading methods.

Many A-level students were left distraught after some 280,000 entries were downgraded from teacher assessments amid cancelled exams due to Covid-19.

Headteachers have vowed to unleash a flood of appeals amid controversy over the exam system, which used computerised "standardisation".

The Government is now under increasing pressure to review its moderation and appeals system.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the situation was going to be "very difficult" in the absence of formal examinations, but said he has confidence in Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.

"Well let me first of all say that I want to congratulate all the students who have worked so hard to get the grades that they have and have done so well," Mr Johnson told reporters.

“And let’s be in no doubt about it, the exam results that we’ve got today are robust, they’re good, they’re dependable for employers, but already I think that there’s a record number of candidates, of students, who are able to get their first choice course at the university of their choice.

“Plus, there’s a record number of students, of pupils, from disadvantaged backgrounds who now as a result of these grades, will be able to go to university."

Mr Johnson added: "I think obviously it was going to be very difficult in the absence of formal proper exams this year of the kind that we normally have because of the virus, we’ve had to put in the system we have."

A Level Results 2020 - In pictures

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Asked if he has confidence in Mr Williamson, he said: “Of course I do, but I think this is a robust system and it’s one that is dependable for employers.

“It’s very important that for years to come people should be able to look at these grades and think these are robust, these are dependable.”

Mr Johnson said that where pupils feel they could have done better in their results, they will be able to resit exams.

The Prime Minister said: "Where pupils are disappointed, where they feel that they could have done better, where they feel that there’s an injustice been done to them, there is the possibility of appeal and they can resit, they can take a resit this autumn as well.

"But looking at the big picture, I think overall we’ve got a very robust set of grades, plus you’ve got the situation in which more pupils than ever before are getting their first choice course at university and more kids from disadvantaged backgrounds going to university."

In England, 59.1 per cent of grades remained the same as the teacher assessment, while 35.1 per cent dropped a grade lower and 3.3 per cent dropped by two grades.

Ministers are now facing calls to urgently review its moderation process in England and to make sure that schools and colleges do not face financial barriers when lodging appeals for students.

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, who has written to Mr Williamson, is concerned the process may have disadvantaged larger centres - such as colleges.

A letter to Mr Williamson from the AoC says: "We cannot stand by when the evidence suggests that many thousands of students may have missed out on their grades because of a systemic bias."

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), called on the Government and Ofqual to review the moderation process in England "as a matter of urgency".

"We would warn them against simply digging in their heels, and insisting all is well," he said.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also called for all fees for A-level appeals to be waived in response to thousands of pupils having their results downgraded.

Despite anger among students, parents and teachers, the Education Secretary insisted he would not follow the Scottish administration in doing a U-turn and allowing far more students to get results based on assessments from their school.

“You’ve got to have a system that has checks and balances, that looks at the whole performance and making sure you maintain standards within the exam system, to ensure those results carry credibility,” Mr Williamson told Sky News.

Ministers had warned of top grade inflation of about 12 per cent if results had not been "standardised".

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