University and College Union response to John Swinney’s U-turn on Scottish exam results

A U-turn from Deputy First Minister John Swinney on exam results is to be welcomed and the rest of the UK must now ensure no students miss out because of faulty grading systems, said the University and College Union (UCU) today (Tuesday).

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘Students should be congratulated for their hard work in these unprecedented circumstances and deserve better than this mess. The U-turn and apology from John Swinney is welcome and the rest of the UK must now ensure that no student misses out because of a flawed system of awarding marks.

‘Allowing algorithms to downgrade marks and hold students back was wrong. Many students’ life chances could still be damaged because of a clearly faulty system.’

UCU’s Scotland official Mary Senior said: ‘This belated U-turn is welcome news for the thousands of Scottish students who could have missed out due to the farce around the results last week.

‘Equally welcome is the commitment to create additional places in Scotland’s universities and colleges. It’s vital that these additional places are fully funded so students are well supported to progress their studies.’