Bassetlaw MP says Government was right to change its mind over exam grading

Having spent many years as a teacher, I know that this can be a stressful time for those involved and I am glad that we can now provide some certainty with grades.

Last week, students received their calculated A-level results and like any general model without exams, there would always be specific problems which needed resolving.

In some cases this not only affected individual students and their grades, but also whole school cohorts.

It was therefore vital that the appeals process was robust and able to be completed within a timescale which would allow students time to access their places at their chosen universities.

Over the weekend, and after the change in appeals guidance from Ofqual, it became clear that it would not be able to resolve the large volume of appeals which would be necessary to make the system work as required within that timescale.

Having received many enquiries from constituents, I relayed my thoughts on how to resolve this situation, along with many other MPs.

Subsequently, in the best interests of our students, the Education Secretary announced that would will be reverting to teacher assessed grades in A-level, AS-level and also GCSE qualifications.

Whilst no system is perfect, our students must be at the forefront of our decision making and whilst this will lead to some grade inflation, this is now the right thing to do by them and a small price to pay.

We must now focus on making sure we help those students in who will now be entering their exam year and will need extra support.

It is therefore vital that they are able to return to their schools in September.

As people know, I’m a big football fan and I’m particularly passionate about non-League football.

Many of those involved in football at these levels do so as volunteers and these clubs have an important role in our local communities.

Our clubs rely on takings through things such as refreshments and admission fees to make ends meet and unlike the Premier League don’t receive huge amounts of money in television revenue or sponsorship.

They are therefore disproportionally affected by being unable to allow supporters in to matches, despite these numbers being in the hundreds, rather than the thousands.

I supported the #LetFansIn initiative and wrote to the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Sport, Tourism and Heritage to request that non-league clubs can admit supporters.

I’m delighted he confirmed that non-league football clubs from level seven of the pyramid can now allow fans in.

This will benefit every club in Bassetlaw.

Brendan Clarke-Smith is MP for Bassetlaw.