A-levels: Universities facing places scramble after exams U-turn

Universities are making ready to take care of an increase in calls from college students after ministers in England, Northern Eire and Wales stated A-level grades may now be primarily based on academics’ assessments.

Pupils who have been rejected from universities final week on the premise of grades downgraded by an algorithm might now be capable of revisit their selections.

However universities are warning there’s a restrict to what they will do.

Monday’s U-turn adopted an outcry from college students, academics and a few Tory MPs.

About 40% of A-level outcomes have been downgraded by exams regulator Ofqual, which used a formulation primarily based on faculties’ prior grades.

College students reacted by holding protests throughout the UK, calling the grading system unfair, classist and a menace to their future.

On Monday, Training Secretary Gavin Williamson and Ofqual chair Roger Taylor each apologised for the “misery” brought on.

Mr Williamson stated No 10 had labored with the watchdog to design “the fairest doable mannequin” after exams needed to be cancelled as a result of coronavirus pandemic, nevertheless it had change into clear the method had resulted in “extra vital inconsistencies” than might be handled by an appeals course of.

Media playback is unsupported in your system

The algorithm was meant to average the method of awarding grades to forestall academics awarding what the exams watchdog described as “implausibly excessive” marks to pupils.

However it got here underneath fireplace for its perceived unfairness and, significantly, the best way it appeared to penalise brilliant kids from deprived faculties.

The federal government’s U-turn means academics’ assessments can even be used for GCSE outcomes, attributable to be printed on Thursday.

It’s nonetheless unclear what the climbdown will imply for college kids taking specialist work-related {qualifications}, generally known as BTecs. Mr Williamson stated he hoped they’d even be topic to teacher-assessed grades, including that the federal government was working with the “awarding authorities” to make sure this occurred.

Alistair Jarvis, chief govt of Universities UK which represents vice-chancellors, has referred to as for “pressing clarification” following the coverage change and for the federal government to “step up” by supporting universities via the challenges it has created.

He warned that whereas 70% of scholars have been positioned with their first selection establishment, those that weren’t ought to “think twice about their subsequent steps” and search recommendation from their most well-liked establishments.

Mr Jarvis stated the change would imply there have been extra college students with the grades to match the provide of their first-choice college.

“It will trigger challenges at this late stage within the admissions course of – capability, staffing, placements and services – significantly with the social distance measures in place,” he stated.

Gavin Williamson has stated that the extent of issues with England’s A-level outcomes solely turned clear on the weekend.

However some Tory MPs are annoyed that there have been months to organize for this and issues weren’t noticed earlier, even after the problems in Scotland turned clear a fortnight in the past.

Questions usually are not simply being requested of the federal government although – some MPs suppose Ofqual may have executed extra to keep away from this disaster. Mr Williamson himself has stated he requested repeatedly for reassurances and was instructed the system was honest.

There’s additionally the truth that there have been U-turns throughout the UK now, together with from the Labour-led authorities in Wales and the SNP in Scotland.

However schooling has seen issues throughout this pandemic together with the failure of the federal government to get all kids in England again within the classroom earlier than the summer season break.

Mr Williamson stays in his job for now however he faces one other vital check virtually instantly – ensuring the federal government does ship this time on its pledge to open England’s faculties subsequent month.

Mr Williamson introduced on Monday {that a} 5% cap on the variety of additional college students a college can take this 12 months has been lifted.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief govt of the Russell Group which represents 24 main universities, stated assist could be wanted to assist with anticipated will increase in scholar numbers.

“There are limits to what could be executed by the college sector alone to deal with that uncertainty with out stretching sources to the purpose that it undermines the expertise for all, to not point out guaranteeing college students and employees are saved secure as we comply with the steps wanted to struggle the Covid-19 pandemic,” he stated.

Some college students at the moment are anxiously ready to seek out out if they are going to be accepted onto their programs now that their teacher-assessed grades have been reinstated.

Zainab Ali, 18, from London, stated it had been an terrible and complicated expertise – having initially been rejected from her first-choice of Queen Mary College of London. “I felt like I have been actually let down. It was actually, actually demanding,” she stated.

And Emily King, from Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, stated being downgraded from a C to a U in her A-level biology had “actually knocked her confidence” and meant she had been rejected by the College of Lincoln.

It isn’t clear if there may be any assure that admissions selections could be revisited if a course is already full, and a few universities, together with Durham, Sheffield, Bristol and Liverpool, had stopped providing places via clearing by Monday.

The Universities and Faculties Admissions Service (Ucas) stated 193,420 18-year-old candidates throughout the UK have been positioned with their first-choice college, which is greater than on the similar level final 12 months.

A Ucas spokesman stated college students who haven’t acquired into their first-choice establishment ought to search recommendation from their mother and father or academics earlier than contacting the college.

The federal government has stated that college students who accepted gives primarily based on their downgraded outcomes would be capable of launch themselves if one other provide is reinstated primarily based on their up to date grades.

Prof Katie Normington, vice-chancellor of De Montfort College, instructed BBC’s Newsnight there was a variety of work for universities to do and it was not but clear how they’d obtain the brand new outcomes or course of them.

She stated: “I feel all of us, as universities, shall be taking a look at how we’ll deal with these college students pretty and we shall be making an attempt to do this. It’s clearly a variety of work for us however there are a variety of alternatives on the market for college kids for the time being.”

‘Too gradual to behave’

Sam Freedman, who was a senior coverage adviser to the Division for Training between 2010 and 2013, stated he was stunned Mr Williamson had not resigned over the dealing with of A-level outcomes and stated it “beggared perception” that the secretary of state had stated he was solely conscious of issues over the weekend.

“I can not consider many different schooling secretaries who would not have already resigned,” he stated.

Seema Malhotra, shadow employment minister, stated the federal government had been “too gradual to behave” and the “disaster” had come at a “big value for kids, their households and for the schooling sector”.

• LOCKDOWN LOVE AND TURBO RELATIONSHIPS: How are you dealing with courting in 2021?
• ‘MY MENTAL HEALTH CRASHED’: The affect of being turned away from remedy in lockdown