Victory after students walk to Gavin Williamson's office to demand U-turn over A-level chaos - with VIDEO and PICTURES
Midlands students spoke of the crushing disappointment of receiving downgraded A-level results – just hours before the Government performed a humiliating U-turn.
Teenagers today marched on Education Secretary Gavin Williamson’s constituency office calling for him to act or stand down.
And the South Staffordshire MP signalled a change in policy as pressure on him increased.
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Around 40 per cent of results across the country had been downgraded as a result of the Government’s “standardisation” formula, leaving many struggling with university applications.
It led to students to organise the protest walk to Mr Williamson’s office in Codsall to signify their frustration.
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Olivia Holt, from Eccleshall, had been expected to get two A*s in Business and Biology and an A in Chemistry at Malvern College.
But the 18-year-old was left with an A in Business and Biology and a B in Chemistry – and called the algorithm “shambolic” and “unjust”.
She joined the protest, which started at Codsall Community High School, to showcase her disappointment.
Olivia said: “We kind of accepted a B in Chemistry because I knew nobody had got higher in the school. The algorithm ranks your school and it creates a massive difference in your grades.
“I was already planning a gap year – there’s too much stress around the whole situation for me.
“It’s really been shambolic and really unjust across the whole country. I’ve been dropped down from an A* and others have been bumped up grades, it’s just not consistent.
“We deserve an apology from Gavin Williamson – he’s admitted no wrong in all of this and Boris Johnson has just gone on holiday. I won’t be voting Conservative – he’s lost my vote as well as the votes from millions of students.”
Chants of “Trust the teacher” and “Are you havin’ a laugh, Gav?” were cried out as around 25 people gathered, along with family members, for a 15-minute protest down to Mr Williamson’s office.
Codsall Community High School headteacher Alun Harding: “I think they want to protest about the significant level of disappointment and frustration they feel that the system has been so poorly thought through – the impact on their lives going forward is going to be enormous and they want to vent their frustration.”
He said he was preparing wholescale appeals on receiving the downgraded results last week, adding: “We’ve had three years of improving outcomes and we’d predicted very very strong A-level results this year and the algorithm left us with a negative score for the overall year group.
“I don’t feel it recognises the significant hard work the students have put in.
“The trust has to be in the teaching profession to deliver for the students. They’re the ones who know the students the best, they’re the ones who’ve seen them work, they are the ones who have had to deal with them in tears on Thursday morning, when they struggled to come to terms with what the algorithm has decided they’re going to have.”
Jessica Moody, from Codsall, had been expected to receive a B in psychology, and a C in psychics and biology from Codsall Community High School where she studied.
But instead the 18-year-old received a B in psychology but found her two Cs had been downgraded to two Ds – leaving her “gutted”, but she was still able to secure a university place.
Miss Moody, who helped organise the protest, said: “I was honestly a bit gutted by it. But thankfully I found I had got into university, but many of my friends haven’t and one had applied for medical school.
“He didn’t get in because of this and he might need to stay another year to get the grades – medical school is long enough and now he’s been forced to do this.
“We didn’t have much coursework and it’s really what makes the algorithm really unfair.
“I think Gavin Williamson should stand down or right this wrong immediately. That’s why we organised this protest because we want it to be fair for everyone now and in the future.”
Monica Lewis, from Codsall, had been expected to receive three Cs in business, psychology and geography from her studies at Codsall Community High School.
But she was left with a C in business, D in geography and an E in psychology – something that left her her in tears and feeling distraught after she had found out.
The 18-year-old said: “I was absolutely gutted an in tears on the phone to my mom. I couldn’t believe it – how has it gone so wrong from my predicted grades. I’m hoping to work for a year but I’m not sure yet – I’ve got to gather my thoughts first and hopefully I’ll be able to go to university in future. But for me this is going to have a massive effect in how I’m going to get a job. The students who’ve been awarded higher grades are likely to get in – and that’s just not fair.
“I think there needs to be a U-turn – I think he should take a look around his own constituency. He should stand for us as our MP and listen to our voices.”
Alex Hall, from Perton, had been expecting to receive an A in music, B in psychology and a C in English Literature.
But instead he received a B in music, B in psychology and a D in English Literature – something which has impacted his choice of university.
The 17-year-old said: “It was a huge shock and there was uncertainty around it. My first-place university choice application was unsuccessful so I’ve had to apply for my second-placed one.
“They’ve accepted me but it’s not right – I wanted my first choice and can’t because of this. The rest of the country is dealing with this too. They’ve handled all of this really badly.”
Alex was set to study music at University of Birmingham (UOB) but now will be studying at Huddersfield University – but hopes to appeal the process and get into UOB.
Former Codsall High Community School student Hannah Dibble, aged 20, from Pendeford, said at the protest she knew the teachers would have done “everything” for the students.
Millie Gould, who represents Staffordshire as a Member of Youth Parliament (MYP), called on the Government to adopt teacher-suggested grades and criticised Gavin Williamson.
The 17-year-old, from Coven, will pick up her A-level results next year but was determined to ensure young people’s voices are heard in the MP’s constituency and the wider county.
She said: “Gavin Williamson should take the passion we’ve demonstrated and make a chance for us. We need protests to ensure that our voices are heard.
“These young people have had their lives affected by these changes, affected negatively, and now something needs to be done. Scotland made a change so why can’t the Government?”
Ellie Hansen, an 18-year-old who attends Newport Girls High School, was one of the students who had seen her future life plans thrown into doubt after she was downgraded.
Ellie, who had an offer to study medicine at University College London, said she had been left angry and frustrated by the way the grades had been handled.
She had been predicted two A*s and two As, but received three Bs and a C.
The grades meant she fell well short of the UCL offer, which required an A* and two As.
She described the moment of discovery as “horrible” and said the results had been worse than she had imagined they could be.
She said: “I had parameters in my mind of how good and how bad it could have gone and my absolute worst case scenario was I would have two As but I have got no As.”
UCL had told her they will hold her place until September 18, which should mean she will get a place using the teacher-assessed grades.
Another Newport Girls High School pupil was also signed up to part of legal action from the Good Law Project over the situation.
Lina Assah, 18, missed out on a place at LSE. She had wanted to read maths and economics after being predicted two A*s and two As, but was awarded one A, two Bs and a C.
