Universities should ignore this year’s A-Level results

I had just finished my last day teaching at school when I found out: it had been a blur of Microsoft Teams training, unexpected farewells to pupils and packing up suitcases full of books. Much like my students, I was exhausted, apprehensive, and more than a little confused. I turned the radio on, and that’s when I heard Boris Johnson’s announcement: ‘Exams will not take place as planned in May and June, though we will make sure that pupils get the qualifications that they need and deserve for their academic career.’

Five months later, it is clear that not all A-level pupils have got the qualifications that they need, and that even more have not got the qualifications they deserve. Universities must acknowledge this, and they must do so quickly.

Scotland’s U-turn this week was the first definitive proof that this new grading system is a shambles. After down-marking over 100,000 exam grades, the government has since reversed its policy and is now restoring students’ results to those recommended by teachers (and who knows what impact this grade creep will have on the current cohort, or next year’s.)