On Tuesday 18th August, as we went to press, Gavin Williamson continued to preside as the UK’s Education Secretary despite widespread protests demanding his resignation after the Government’s chaos in its handling of the A-levels results. Students’ protests were successful in pressurising the government to scrap the Ofqual algorithm. But government’s U-turn to now accepting Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) still doesn’t help all students to study the course they had initially been offered as seats in universities have already been filled up. Academics believe that black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students might once again be languishing behind.
Frustrated with the back and forth but welcoming the government’s apology Priyanka Virdi says, “No student should have received a U for an exam that they had not taken in the first place. Gavin Williamson should have trusted our teachers and given students their CAGs to begin with because teachers know and can best assess their students’ ability instead of an algorithm. It is a disrespect to the sincerity and dedication of our teachers to assume that they would exercise bias or inaccuracy whilst grading.
“The government’s U-turn was definitely needed but it may be too late as some courses have already been filled up. My parents and family were quite supportive surrounding the situation as they now know that my current grades do not reflect my ability or hard work and dedication. But it is just frustrating that the government and Ofqual had five months to sort this out and yet, they put us through such an unnecessary five days of emotional turmoil and stress.”
Uncertain choices: Clearing through the universities
Priyanka went to Harlington School and was predicted to receive AAA. Her CAGs were an A in Biology, B in Chemistry and B in Physics. She needed an ABB to get into the Human Biology course in Glasgow. But due to the algorithm she has been down-graded to a C in Biology, D in Chemistry and C in Physics. Disappointed with her results and at the prospect of not being able to study the degree of her preference at Glasgow, Priyanka had decided to appeal to Ofqual with the hopes that her grades may increase and errors removed. In the meantime, she managed to secure a place at Royal Holloway through clearing where she was offered a biology course, similar to the one at Glasgow. Following the Government’s U-turn, Priyanka believes that she may stand a chance at the University of Glasgow.
“I am yet to receive a confirmation from them. But the University has assured that all those with firm acceptances to the university will have their places honoured if their CAGs meet their entry requirements and mine do. They have said that it would take around 48 hours for the confirmation to be updated on UCAS.”
Priyanka is just one of the many students to have her grades downgraded. Aditya Chakraborty from Queen Elizabeth Boys’ School had a similar fate. Aditya was slated to study Law and Politics at Queen Mary’s or Law and Criminology at the Nottingham University. But after being downgraded in his results in History, Politics and English, he was initially unable to qualify at both universities for his preferred course. Thus, he opted to study Politics at Queen Mary’s instead.
He said, “Based on the government’s U-turn I would qualify to study Law and Politics at Queen Mary’s. There are not many students who are interested in studying the degree so I maybe able to get through. But either ways I am happy with studying just politics as well.”
Protesting against results determined based on postcodes and socio-economic backgrounds
Official figures released by Ofqual highlighted that 39.1% of the 700,000 teacher assessments submitted in England were lowered by one or more grade during its standardisation process, compared with just 2.2% of assessments that were upgraded. And this had resulted in widespread protests across the UK. One of which organised by Yaqoub Imran from the Sidney Stringer Academy in Coventry with support from other universities and organisations such as stand up to racism. Concerned that the grades were determined based on their disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and postcodes, Yaqoub had written open letters to ministers and organised a march in Coventry’s Godiva Square.
In his letter, drawing attention to unfair grading at Sidney Stringer Academy he wrote, “At Sidney Stringer Academy, 97% of maths A-levels were downgraded, with over half downgraded by two grades. Our A*-B for maths went from 88% last year to 45% this year.
“It is not fair and many of us are asking about whether our grades have been determined because of our backgrounds and postcodes rather than what our teachers have actually calculated.
“This matter will help secure the future of my friends. It will enable them to go to their respective universities to study courses that they have worked so hard to get into. In addition to this, it will allow us to gain access to scholarships that will financially support us at university. We feel rejected and left behind and our teachers feel disrespected. I sincerely hope this request is taken seriously and our concerns are raised appropriately.”
Speaking about how the algorithm and its use has cast a light on the broader inequalities within the UK’s education system, Yaqoub said, “The use of algorithm demonstrated the inequality in our education system as it clearly favoured those attending private schools. It disregarded the fact that students from deprived areas are capable of achieving the highest grades highlighted by the unjust downgrading. Subsequently, this resulted in students who have worked extremely hard throughout their A-levels, getting punished because of their postcode.”
But it was not just the students who have weathered through the stress. Reports surfaced about parents suffering through anxiety attacks. Harrow Times had reported that a father of a student from John Lyons School was rushed to St. Mary’s hospital after facing a “mini heart attack” once he had discovered his son’s A-level results were downgraded. Asian Voice had approached the school to understand what kind of assistance and counselling was being offered to Shailen Patel who had desired to study medicine. In a statement to Asian Voice, the school spokesperson said,
“We have spoken with Shailen and given him, his father and his family our all our thoughts and very best wishes.
“This year has been especially difficult for all students taking A-Level exams. Since the initial results were published our Sixth Form Team has remained available to help all A-Level students who are still to confirm places at university or who need more clarity about the grades they have been awarded.”
The Heads at both The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School Mr Gus Lock and Mrs Rose Hardy, Headmistress at the Girls’ School, also feel strongly that the vagaries of the system have let pupils in England down.
Open Tutoring UK offers free tutorials for the disadvantaged
In the meantime, some students appear to be taking matters into their own hands and helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds who do not have financial resources to pay for tuition and re-take their exams. Founded by Grace Almond, Open Tutoring UK is a network of over 500 volunteer teachers who are offering one to one session by pairing up students with their tutors.
“Students have been asking for varying levels of tutoring and contact hours. We have no specified duration for tutoring as re-sits are fast approaching in Autumn and we do not have the same amount of resources as a school. But we have put in certain rules and communications systems where we will ensure that we will check in with tutors and students weekly in the first few weeks of the program at least.”
Students with A*A*A*A* also feels that algorithm was unfair and accurate
Vijay Damodharan of Brampton Manor has scored a A*A*A*A* and he is off to Cambridge to study Natural Sciences. Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, Vijay shared his strategy of preparing to achieve this exceptional grade. “Had the exams proceeded, just like for GCSEs, my strategy was to complete a lot of past exam papers, identify areas of improvement to work on and keep improving my skill in that subject. I used the same strategy for my mocks too as I always take them seriously. This enabled me to do really well in it, which had assisted my teacher predictions and ultimately receive the 4A*s.”
I was overjoyed to see 4A*s based on my mock results, I am sure that it accurately reflects the grades that I would have received if I had taken the exams too. But I feel extremely sorry for students who could not achieve their rightful grades. Some of my friends were also given grades that they most certainly didn’t deserve and I really regret that all of their hard work only amounted to them missing their firm university (and even the insurance for some!).
“Coming from an Asian background and having lots of Asian friends, I feel that Asian parents do indeed have high expectations of their children’s grades. Even an A grade would not be enough for some parents! Although I believe that grades do matter and hence, I always aim to achieve the best grades I possibly can, I also believe that ultimately for employment, the university, practical experience and soft skills is what matters in the long run. However, grades are definitely a stepping stone for a good university.”
Psychotherapist speaks: A wake up call
Asian Voice spoke to Lina Mookerjee BSc MA BACP Senior Accredited, Depth Psychotherapist, educator, and radio/tv commentator regarding the psychological consequences of the pressure of performance. Calling the A - Level results “a complete chaotic farce”, she said, “There is certainly a distinction with children who are coming from poorer schools and poorer backgrounds and the unfairness of the caste system in the UK. This stage of education is so crucial of which way you’re going to go.
“From the experience of being brought up in an Indian culture, to name feelings is looked down on. To look at it, you have your power, your agency, look at what your options are and most importantly, admit your feelings. It’s not a weakness, it’s real.
“The fact that there is so much pressure, it is about shame reduction in order to prove to be so good. We are facing an unprecedented situation of forces and there’s a lot of uncertainty. So, to expect a child to perform at their best is unkind. It’s a real wake up call for the parents to look at themselves and say, by putting these expectations on my child, I could be harming them for the rest of my life. Is that worth more than their well-being to have a good life? If they don’t get good grades, they may still get a good degree and a job. A lot of this is about status. There’s more to life. There’s a value of self, not what you do but it’s who you are. And it’s all part of a journey. It’s the capacity to deal with resilience.”
Right before the announcement by Ofqual, Asian Voice had reached out to Munira Wilson, (MP for Twickenham. Lib Dem Health & Social Care Spokesperson) who said, "Young people are being let down as a result of the Government’s shambolic handling of the whole A-level grading process. The confusion and uncertainty emanating from the Government is only making the situation worse. Meanwhile, students are losing university places and their hopes and dreams are being left in tatters. The algorithm used for A-level grades has clearly not worked. It is utterly unacceptable for any student to be downgraded based on their family income, or any other factor. The algorithm should therefore be scrapped with teacher grades being used instead. Urgent clarity is needed from the Prime Minister before more young people have their futures stolen."
Later, when Gavin Williamson (Conservative Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire and Education Secretary) and Ofqual confirmed that the government will abandon standardisation and use teacher assessment for GCSEs and A-levels in England, hundreds of thousands of students had their exams results upgraded, Wilson tweeted, “This is welcome news, not before time. But where on earth is the Education Secretary & Prime Minister to make the announcement and answer questions? No leadership, no accountability, no humility. Just contempt from this government. #examshambles. For many though the U-turn comes too late - surely the Govt should have foreseen the damage this would cause? Some have already lost their place at universities & their dreams are in tatters. The mental health repercussions of this could be severe. Govt must be held accountable.”
The chaos appears to be far from over. The government’s handling of the situation will leave mental health implications on many students at a time when Covid-19 has shredded apart the jobs industry. BTec students are still fighting to be heard and the government’s handling of the A-Levels results has cast a light on the harsh inequalities plaguing the UK’s education structures.
