Correct decisions in the end but Hampshire headteachers ‘fed up’ at ‘shambles’ of GCSE grading fiasco

Education leaders also feel the process has highlighted flaws in the education system and the problems of placing all assessment on a final exam.

Matthew Quinn, headteacher at Oaklands Catholic School in Waterlooville, said: 'It has been a bit of a shambles, the whole process. You would have thought given the journey the government has been on they would have got the Btec and Cambridge National results sorted. It really is unacceptable at this stage.’

Horndean Technology College headteacher, Julie Summerfield, added: ‘There have been too many last-minute changes. Students will get the results they deserve but there has been a great deal of uncertainty. As a school leader you get fed up with it.'

Portsmouth High School headmistress, Jane Prescott, did have some sympathy for the predicament facing the Department for Education.

Mrs Prescott said: ‘To some degree I feel sorry for the government and Ofqual because they had a very difficult job but they’ve done the right thing by allowing teacher-predicted Centre Assessed Grades to stand because I think this gives students a reassurance for the next step of their education.’

While the decision to go with teacher predictions has eradicated the ‘unfair’ algorithm of using a school’s past academic performance to judge this year’s students, it has led to an inflation of grades compared to previous years.

In England, 78.8 per cent of papers were rated grade 4 (low old grade C) or above compared to 69.9 per cent in 2019 while there was a 25 per cent rise in the number of pupils attaining grades of 7 and above.

St Edmund’s Catholic School headteacher, Simon Graham, believes schools which may have been overly optimistic in their predictions are doing their students a ‘disservice in the long run’.

Mr Graham said: ‘If a school does end up with inflated grades then some pupils will ultimately end up on the wrong courses and may end up dropping out.

‘This is why it’s so important pupils get the right grades and why we only awarded grades if there was clear evidence from mock exams and classwork that they were working at that level.’

SEE ALSO: Fareham college principal 'delighted' with GCSE results after 'inequalities' in process

While the experienced headteacher believed it was ‘right under the circumstances’ to go with teacher predictions he was critical of the flaws in the education system that have been exposed as a result of the pandemic.

Mr Graham said: ‘There aren’t many other aspects of life where two years worth of work is dependent on a final exam. If we still had coursework and modular exams then we would at least have exam board verified grades to go on.

‘This situation should be used as an opportunity to look at the education assessment system and how we go forward.’

Mrs Prescott added: ‘Next year has got to be different. We must look that there is some form of formal assessment so we’re never in this situation again.’

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