NASUWT comments on A-Level results

Commenting on the publication of A-level results, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:

“While this year’s results are a reflection of the inevitable fluctuation in grades caused by the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, they also reflect the Government’s choice to withdraw virtually all of the mitigations which were rightfully put in place in the last two years to account for the disruption to learning

“Given the particular circumstances of the last few years seeking to draw conclusions about or comparisons with the performance of previous cohorts would be unfair and misleading.

“Students and teachers have continued to work as hard as ever to secure these year’s results and they should be congratulated for their efforts.

“However, the widening of the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their peers likely to be reflected in these results demands further reflection and action.

“We warned against a shift to a virtually ‘business as usual’ approach to this year’s exams by ministers, which rested on the erroneous assumption that the disruptive impact of the pandemic on pupils’ learning had largely subsided.

“A return to pre-pandemic arrangements may have been easier to justify had the Government’s strategy of education recovery not been so inadequate and unambitious.

“The approach has rested in large part on the National Tuition Programme which has been plagued with flaws. The strategy has failed to come anywhere close to meeting the depth of educational, social and emotional needs which exist within the pupil population. Schools have been largely left to pick up the pieces and support their pupils in isolation, without the expert and external support required.

“The predictable outcome is that the most disadvantaged students have been particularly let down by this Government which has yet again shown its disregard for the life chances of those most in need of its support.”