Final-year pupils awaiting their A-level results next week will feel they have got an “unfair deal” if they miss out on university places due to a crackdown on grade inflation, according to teachers who have shared their fears about the impact on students’ mental health.
Julie Richardson, the headteacher of Verulam school in St Albans, said her pupils would be “frustrated” if predictions from the University of Buckingham of a 10% fall in A and A* grades materialise next week.
The “Covid generation” of year 13 students have experienced two years of disruption, including the 2020 U-turn over their GCSE results – when the government agreed marks should be awarded by teacher assessments after the use of an algorithm led to almost 40% of predicted grades being downgraded.
“That was remedied but that did cause significant strain on year 11s at the time. That won’t be forgotten, so they will feel incredibly hard done by if [they receive lower grades] next week,” she said.
