Coronavirus: PM Understands 'Anxiety' Over Exam Grading: Let Us Know You Agree To Cookies

8/10/2020 Coronavirus: PM understands 'anxiety' over exam grading - BBC News
Let us know you agree to cookies

We use cookies to give you the best online experience.
Please let us know if you agree to all of these cookies.
Yes, I agree
No, take me to settings
Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds M
Coronavirus: PM understands 'anxiety' over exam grading
1 hour ago 1227
Coronavirus pandemic
Media playback is unsupported on your device

Boris Johnson says schools are the “last thing” the government wants to close as part of any local
lockdown restrictions.
It is understandable that there is "anxiety" over exam grades, the prime minister has
said, as pupils prepare to receive estimated results this week for tests cancelled during
lockdown.
Visiting a school in London, Boris Johnson said he was also "very keen that exams should go
ahead as normal".
A-level results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due on Thursday.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has apologised for the handling of its exam
results.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53722275 1/16
She acknowledged "we did not get it right" after results estimated by teachers for cancelled
exams were downgraded.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority lowered grades using an algorithm - with pass rates for
pupils in deprived areas downgraded further than those in more affluent parts.
Ms Sturgeon said her priority was to resolve the concerns about how some results had
been downgraded, following protests by pupils.
With pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland awaiting A-level results this week, Mr
Johnson said on a visit to a school in east London that he wanted their hard work "properly
reflected".
"Clearly, because of what has happened this year, there is some anxiety about what grades
pupils are going to get, and everybody understands the system - that the teachers are setting
the grades, then there's a standardisation system," he said.
"We will do our best to ensure that the hard work of pupils is properly reflected."
Could reopening schools spread coronavirus?
How will schools reopen fully?
How will exam results day work this year?
The head of the university admissions service said this summer was likely to be the "busiest"
ever period for the clearing system, which matches students with places after results are
published - including those who have missed the grades for their initial offer.
Clare Marchant, chief executive of Ucas, said she believed up to 80,000 students could find a
place through clearing, beating last year's record of 73,325.
Some students were likely to abandon plans for a gap year as the pandemic restricted travel,
and could apply through clearing instead, she suggested. The fall in overseas students meant
it was a "good year" for UK applicants seeking a place, Ms Marchant added.
A recent analysis by the PA news agency showed that the select Russell Group universities
still had 4,500 undergraduate courses with vacant places.
'Education is a priority'
Meanwhile, some parents criticised suggestions that students could sit exams in the autumn if
they were unhappy with their estimated grade.
Helen Milne, from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, whose son will collect his results this week,
said: "How on earth are children meant to take resits in October when they haven't been in
school for six months and there are no teachers to teach them?"
But others defended the approach. "It's not great but I can't think of a better system," said
Helen Jones from Abingdon in Oxfordshire.
"Nobody wanted to have a pandemic and you can't put the lives of a whole cohort on hold for
a year."
Elsewhere, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said there was little evidence of
coronavirus being transmitted in schools and the plan to fully reopen England's schools in
September was guided by the best science.
Government advisers have warned the nation may have reached the limit of what can be
reopened in society safely.
But asked whether parents should brace for local closures to combat flare-ups of the virus, Mr
Johnson said education was a priority.
"The last thing we want to do is close schools. Education is a priority for the country - that is
simple social justice," he said.
It is usually pupils who are nervous about exam results and going back to school.
But it is ministers who are feeling the heat, over a pile-up of school-related problems.
A-level results are out this week - and Boris Johnson has been empathising with the "anxiety"
of students getting replacement grades.
It's likely to be confusing. Perhaps even for the PM?
"Everybody understands the system that the teachers are setting the grades, then there's a
standardisation system," Mr Johnson said on a school visit.
But in practice, teachers' predicted grades will have less influence than it initially appeared.
Instead the key factors will be how students are ranked and schools' results in previous years
- with warnings this will be unfair to bright pupils in low-achieving schools.
The threat of a backlash over exams comes on top of the high political stakes over getting
pupils back into school full-time in September.
Head teachers are warning again that to get everyone back in school they need less political
rhetoric and more practical solutions.
Guidance on reopening schools has been published for England. There are also separate
plans for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, where schools are scheduled to return from
Tuesday.
Schools across the UK closed on 20 March, except to children of key workers or vulnerable
children. On 1 June, they began a limited reopening for early years pupils, Reception, Year 1
and Year 6.
SOCIAL DISTANCING: What are the rules now?
BUBBLES: How do they work and who can be in yours?
JOBS: Can my boss force me to go to work?
SOCIAL LIFE: When will pubs, bars and restaurants reopen?
On Sunday, the UK reported a further eight people had died after testing positive for
coronavirus, taking the total to 46,574. A further 1,062 people tested positive for Covid-19.
In another development, gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres and children's play centres
are being allowed to reopen in Wales on Monday, in a further easing of the lockdown
restrictions.
ALHAN'S WORLD: Health tips to keep you in good shape in these socially distanced
times
HOOKED: How has lockdown affected drinking habits?
View comments 1227
Related Topics
Schools Coronavirus pandemic Exams
Share this story About sharing
More on this story
Coronavirus: Moral duty to get all children back in school - Boris Johnson
9 August 2020
Testing and tracing 'key to schools returning', scientists say

4 August 2020
Coronavirus: Pubs 'may need to shut' to allow schools to reopen

1 August 2020
Coronavirus: How will schools reopen fully?

5 August 2020
Coronavirus: What are the risks of opening schools?

2 hours ago
UK
Sturgeon 'sorry' over Scottish exam results

10 August 2020 Scotland politics
Schoolgirl who died in River Leven named by police

10 August 2020 Glasgow & West Scotland
MP calls for 'system change' after police stop

10 August 2020 London
Top Stories
Sturgeon 'sorry' over Scottish exam results
The first minister accepts her government "did not get it right" with the system for calculating
pupils' grades.
1 hour ago
PM understands 'anxiety' over exam grading

1 hour ago
WHO call to 'suppress, suppress, suppress' virus

8 hours ago
Features
Is the world winning the pandemic fight?
How will exam results day work this year?
Who will Biden pick as running mate?
Ex-rugby star and paralysed fiancée go viral
The mysterious resurgence of Covid-19 in Vietnam
How can I use the 'eat out to help out' scheme?
'How I survived an IS massacre'
More than an app: Trump's WeChat ban shocks Chinese abroad
'I went from prisoner to PhD'
Elsewhere on the BBC
To postal-vote or not to postal-vote?

That is the latest controversy on Americast
Daily news briefing direct to your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter
Most Read
Nicola Sturgeon 'sorry' over Scottish exam results 1
McDonald's sues ex-boss Easterbrook over sexual relationships 2
Wild bear that sniffed woman's hair is caught and castrated 3
Roman Kemp: Capital breakfast host pays tribute to late 4

producer Joe Lyons
Simon Cowell thanks medics after breaking back in electric bike 5

fall
Toshiba shuts the lid on laptops after 35 years 6
Coronavirus: Is the world winning the pandemic fight? 7
Coronavirus: Australia records deadliest day but fewer new 8

infections
Detectorist 'shaking with happiness' after Bronze Age find 9
Northfield crash: Boy, 2, injured as van smashes into house 10
Why you can trust BBC News
BBC News Services

On your mobile
On smart speakers
Get news alerts
Contact BBC News
Explore the BBC

Home News
Sport Weather
iPlayer Sounds
CBBC CBeebies
Food Bitesize
Arts Taster
Local Three
Terms of Use About the BBC
Privacy Policy Cookies
Accessibility Help Parental Guidance
Contact the BBC Get Personalised Newsletters
Copyright © 2020 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our
approach to external linking.

Coronavirus: PM Understands 'Anxiety' Over Exam Grading: Let Us Know You Agree To Cookies

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Coronavirus: PM Understands 'Anxiety' Over Exam Grading: Let Us Know You Agree To Cookies

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

8/10/2020 Coronavirus: PM understands 'anxiety' over exam grading - BBC News

Let us know you agree to cookies

Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds M

Coronavirus: PM understands 'anxiety' over exam grading

1 hour ago 1227

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Could reopening schools spread coronavirus?

How will schools reopen fully?

How will exam results day work this year?

September was guided by the best science.

It's likely to be confusing. Perhaps even for the PM?

SOCIAL DISTANCING: What are the rules now?

BUBBLES: How do they work and who can be in yours?

JOBS: Can my boss force me to go to work?

SOCIAL LIFE: When will pubs, bars and restaurants reopen?

HOOKED: How has lockdown affected drinking habits?

View comments 1227

Schools Coronavirus pandemic Exams

Share this story About sharing

More on this story

Testing and tracing 'key to schools returning', scientists say

Coronavirus: Pubs 'may need to shut' to allow schools to reopen

Coronavirus: How will schools reopen fully?

Coronavirus: What are the risks of opening schools?

Sturgeon 'sorry' over Scottish exam results

Schoolgirl who died in River Leven named by police

MP calls for 'system change' after police stop

PM understands 'anxiety' over exam grading

WHO call to 'suppress, suppress, suppress' virus

Is the world winning the pandemic fight?

How will exam results day work this year?

Who will Biden pick as running mate?

Ex-rugby star and paralysed fiancée go viral

The mysterious resurgence of Covid-19 in Vietnam

How can I use the 'eat out to help out' scheme?

'How I survived an IS massacre'

More than an app: Trump's WeChat ban shocks Chinese abroad

'I went from prisoner to PhD'

Elsewhere on the BBC

To postal-vote or not to postal-vote?

Daily news briefing direct to your inbox

McDonald's sues ex-boss Easterbrook over sexual relationships 2

Wild bear that sniffed woman's hair is caught and castrated 3

Roman Kemp: Capital breakfast host pays tribute to late 4

Simon Cowell thanks medics after breaking back in electric bike 5

Toshiba shuts the lid on laptops after 35 years 6

Coronavirus: Is the world winning the pandemic fight? 7

Coronavirus: Australia records deadliest day but fewer new 8

Detectorist 'shaking with happiness' after Bronze Age find 9

Northfield crash: Boy, 2, injured as van smashes into house 10

Why you can trust BBC News

BBC News Services

Get news alerts

Contact BBC News

Explore the BBC

Terms of Use About the BBC

Privacy Policy Cookies

Accessibility Help Parental Guidance

Contact the BBC Get Personalised Newsletters

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen