Ruth Cadbury MP ‘The Government’s downgrading of A-Level results has been a shambles- they need to fix this mess urgently.’’

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Ruth Cadbury MP has called the Governments downgrading of A-Level results a ‘shambles’ and has backed calls by the Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer for the Government to instead use the teacher assessed grades, rather than the moderated grades from Ofqual.Speaking in full Ruth said,‘‘Over the last 24 hours I’ve heard from so many young people locally about the devastating impact that the downgrading of their A-level results has had. Some have lost their places at university and others now face great uncertainty with clearing.This is simply unfair, especially as analysis of the results suggests that downgrading has disproportionately hit young people who could be from disadvantaged backgrounds or from schools which have struggled in the past.I know from speaking to local headteachers that they too are devasted about the impact this has on their students.The Government knew that this crisis was brewing. I warned the Education Secretary in June about how this downgrading would be deeply damaging for schools- especially those who’ve made rapid improvements.That’s why I fully back the calls from Keir Starmer for the Government to follow the Scottish approach & use the teacher assessed grades as an alternative.The Government’s downgrading of A-Level results has been a shambles- they need to fix this mess urgently.’’  Notes to Editors.39.1 % of A-level results were downgraded on Thursday 13th due to a new algorithm used by Ofqual, the statutory body responsible for A-Levels in England.A report by the New Statesman from Michael Goodier found that private schools were more likely to benefit from the moderation of A-Levels. The article can be found here & more information can be found here.The Letter that Ruth wrote to the Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson on the 12th June can be found here.  

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