‘Dear Gavin, act now to stop any repeat of exams farce’
Student’s impassioned letter reveals hurt and frustration felt by teenagers affected by crisis.
It is a letter that reflects the frustration and stress felt by tens of thousands of students across the country.
Victoria Burns, the former head girl at Wolverhampton Girls' High School, decided to write to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson after a fortnight of uncertainty over A-levels, GCSEs and BTEC examinations.
She says there should be a review into the handling of the results so that the same mistakes cannot happen again in the future.
Thousands of students were initially left without the grades they had been predicted after the Government's algorithm downgraded around 40 per cent of students' A-Level results last week.
After her discovering the shocking results of her peers, Victoria composed a letter to the South Staffordshire MP voicing her frustration over the injustice of the grades that were originally awarded.
Victoria, aged 18, who lives in Tettenhall and studied chemistry, biology and geography, said: "It was very strange when exams got cancelled and no one really knew what was going on. Our school have been giving us a lot of support though and there has always been someone there over email when we couldn't go in physically.
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"Basing grades from mock exam results was not accurate, as at the time of doing mocks we had lots of other things going on, such as university applications, so they became one of the lowest priorities.
"I was one of the lucky ones, and still got into my first choice and will be studying Medicine at University of Liverpool in September despite getting A*AB when my offer was three As.
"It was quite a surprise to see the B and I didn't think they would accept it, it was 50/50 in my mind whether I would get in. With the changes, I have now got A*AA.
"I know of 15 girls who have missed out on their places at university because of the results they received."
In her letter to Mr Williamson, Victoria said: "After months of draining apprehension, there was an unusual silence in the hall as many girls were opening their envelopes in disbelief. These were the same girls – the ones with straight-A GCSE’s, the ones planning their A-Level choices, their university courses and their futures.
"Now you have taken that away from so many of my hardworking, intelligent and completely deserving peers.
"This is where it gets to the part I cannot comprehend. ‘We will work closely with Ofqual on ensuring the qualifications are awarded fairly and consistently in lieu of exams’. You, Mr Williamson, stated this. ‘No child will be prevented from moving on to the next stage of their education’. Our Prime Minister stated this.
"This is what we were promised. Our PM stood in front of us and promised us ‘fairness’. We are 18 and this is our first real experience of a political decision that individually affects our lives. We are your future voters and we deserve a truthful answer. Why has this failed?
"How can students who received seven 9’s at GCSE and be predicted A*AA by their teachers – who have taught them for seven years – be knocked down by your ‘fair’ algorithm to ABB.
"How can another student receive a 9 in maths and an A* in further maths, receive an award for outstanding contribution to maths, be predicted an A* yet also be knocked down to a B. These are only 2 examples – there are hundreds."
For some, this meant missing out on coveted places at university, which they had tirelessly worked to obtain ahead of the coronavirus outbreak.
Despite the Government's U-turn, there are still students who are in an uncertain position and may still be without a place.
Victoria's classmate, Zain Alsoud, aged 18, is still facing uncertainty over her place to study Medicine at University of Manchester, originally having missed out on the grades she needed due to the algorithm.
Zain said: "I was shocked. When I got into school and was shown the grades I just burst out crying. I was given ABB, I was even given a B in RS, which made no sense as I had never received a B in that subject before.
"I applied for resits and appeals. I felt cheated. These weren't my grades. I felt like I couldn't blame myself really, and why should I have been downgraded?
"I would 100 per cent have preferred to take my exams, I think everyone would, because at then even if I got good or bad grades I could have controlled it.
"Now I'm waiting to hear back from the university, as they have made more than 1,000 offers to people but only have 400 places to give, so I still may not get my place and it make be deferred until next year."
As well as the lack of places available for students, there are also issues surrounding having sufficient accommodation, lecturers, resources and facilities available for new students.
Zain added: "It's a kick in the teeth, when the process is already so thorough with personal statements, applications, interviews, exams, grades and limited places at medical schools.
"I think the Government have made this decision just to make people happy right now and appear blameless, but all of the decisions so far have been haphazard and rushed.
"In normal circumstances there is enough time to mark all of our exam papers individually, surely with some planning there would have been a better way to do this."
