Wellingborough headteacher: A-Level results process a farce

The headteacher of Wellingborough School has slammed the process for deciding A-Level grades this year.

With pupils unable to sit exams because of the Covid-19 crisis, teachers were asked to submit a grade before all grades were then standardised.

But at Wellingborough School about a third of grades were adjusted downwards by exam boards, based on statistical models rather than performances.

Now headmaster Andrew Holman has criticised the way the grading process has been handled and has promised to do all he can to "redress the injustices".

He said: “Our upper sixth deserve our heartiest congratulation having worked extremely hard for two years, and then having to endure a summer in which they might feel that the outcomes

were no longer in their own hands.

"Despite the farce that has descended upon them and upon schools, in the form of an ill-thought-through, frequently-changing standardisation and appeals process, the vast majority are now in a position to pursue their passion.

"We will, nonetheless, be taking every measure available to us to redress the injustices that have been meted out to some students and to ensure that our leavers are awarded the grades

they deserve.

"This is also the ideal moment to thank our teachers, without whose expertise and dedication our sixth formers would not be in such a strong position.”

The school's pass rate stands at more than 99 per cent with more than 70 per cent of grades between A* and B.

They said not every achievement has been fully recognised and they anticipate that some higher grades will be reinstated on appeal.