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.”
