"Disadvantaged Pupils Let Down By Government"
Putney's MP Fleur Anderson calls for fairness and clarity on A-Level results day
Putney MP Fleur Anderson understands more than many MP's the emotions some parents will have gone through today -results day as she herself has a child with A level results this year.
Ms Anderson said:
"Like many parents across Putney my child will be opening results today. Along with other parents I remain extremely worried that many pupils will not be awarded the grades they deserve.
This wasn’t an acceptable answer from the Education Minister in March and all these months later it is a disgrace. It was always the plan to leave A level students to the mercy of an appeals system. #alevelresultsday2020 #alevels #Results2020 #ResultsDay @KateGreenSU pic.twitter.com/bVL28Sy9oZ
— Fleur Anderson MP (@PutneyFleur) August 13, 2020
"When schools were forced into lockdown back in March (18th March), I asked the Education Secretary to make sure grading was fair. Many private schools had the facilities to carry on teaching small numbers of pupils well equipped to study at home. Other schools struggled to carry on with disadvantaged pupils unable to access online classes. There is a real concern that large numbers of moderated grades have been decided on this postcode lottery basis.
"The Government’s eleventh-hour appeals process based on mock exams lacks clarity and detail. All schools have different approaches to mock assessments. Using mock results will disadvantage the most underprivileged students and underfunded schools.
"Whilst this shambolic management is what we have come to expect from Government throughout the pandemic, pupils and parents across Putney have faced months of worry and this simply is not good enough.
"Pupils deserve to have their abilities and hard work recognised. Their grades and futures should not be decided by postcode or an unfit for purpose appeals process.
"Schools and teachers have operated beyond the call of duty and under extraordinary pressure. They have the respect and gratitude of all of us parents. But schools and pupils have been let down by Government. Without urgent action the most disadvantaged pupils will fall through the cracks and the consequences will last a generation."
August 13, 2020