We’ve failed the class of 2020

Much of the coverage of today’s exam results is dominated by disappointed Jacks and furious Jills. Determined parents are planning legal action against predicted grades which they say are inaccurate, unfair and result from a Government/Ofqual safety net that is not fit for purpose. While good state schools and many big-name private schools have done well, sixth form colleges have had a torrid time of it. Worst of all, individual candidates are having their predicted grades policed, statistically, by the historic average performance of their schools. It leaves the exceptional pupil, who burst a blood vessel or two to succeed, being down-graded. ‘You can’t have done that well because no one else has ever done that well!’ It is a criminal example of the madness of the average operating at the expense of the exceptional.

On the upside, there are many children who have done as well as they were expected to, and a number who have done even better than they dared dream they might: top grades are up, again.