North Wales education leaders say students have been ‘let down’ by A-level results process after highlighting significant concerns

Learners across the region have received their grades today after their education was disrupted as schools were shut and exams cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a late announcement yesterday, the Welsh Government’s education minister revealed no students would be marked lower than their AS-level results.

It followed concerns being raised after Qualifications Wales said final grades were likely to be lower than those estimated by teachers, which the exams watchdog said were “too generous”.

Despite the pledge, the education portfolio holders at all six North Wales councils have issued a strong condemnation of the process after claiming it had harmed learners’ prospects and damaged the morale of teachers.

In a statement backed by chief officers, the regional school improvement body GwE and secondary headteachers, they highlighted a number of “significant inconsistencies”.

Examples given included one student’s estimated A grade from their teacher being downgraded to a D, while another had a B marked down to a U.

In the statement, they said: “Following receipt of the results this morning, a significant number of schools report that that they have no understanding or confidence in the standardisation process adopted in Wales which has led to significant inconsistencies at learner and subject level within individual schools. The lack of transparency is very concerning.

“The matter has been further compounded following the significant U-turns seen in both Scotland and England.

“If ever there was a need for consistency across the UK qualifications bodies it is now.

“It seems that in Wales there is a grave danger that protecting the examination brand is more important than recognising the needs of leaners, especially the most vulnerable in these unprecedented circumstances that we are managing.”

They said Kirsty Williams’ announcement that learners’ final A level grades will not be lower than their AS results did not “in any way” address their concerns.

Instead, they described it as an acknowledgement from the government that it was not comfortable with the process.

They also questioned whether the appeals process was fit for purpose and expressed fears for pupils collecting their GCSE results next week.

They said: “We as the education community in North Wales are particularly concerned about the emotional wellbeing of learners especially the most vulnerable.

“These learners’ life chances and opportunities to attend the university, education or employment pathway of their choice have potentially been damaged by this process.”

They added: “Likewise, we are concerned that the standardisation process, details of which have not been shared with the profession, has had a detrimental effect on the morale of teachers and leaders in schools by significantly undermining their professional judgment and that parental confidence will have also been undermined by such discrepancies in results that we see today.

“We want to put on record that we have equal concerns about what may happen to our GCSE learners next week as this process has not filled us with confidence and that there is no meaningful appeals process for learners to appeal against the grades they might receive.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Data published by Qualifications Wales today shows that approximately 94 per cent of the grades are the same as or within one grade of the Centre Assessed Grades.

“This is before any adjustments are made as a result of the AS floor announced yesterday by the Minister for Education.

“We have also asked QW to consider whether the grounds for appeal can be broadened for all A level, AS level and GCSE qualifications and we expect to provide more information on this next week.”