Hartlepool chief backs students appealing A Level results after 'bitter disappointments'
Calls have also been made for the grading system applied nationally this year to be ‘urgently reviewed’.
Teenagers across the country have today been receiving their results, despite exams not being sat due to the pandemic.
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Councillor Leisa Smith, chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Children’s Services Committee, praised the hard work of students and sympathised with the uncertainty they have faced.
She added although some in Hartlepool have received their anticipated grades, some have faced downgrades.
She said: “First and foremost we would like to pay tribute to Hartlepool’s students, their families and colleges for all the hard work they have done leading up to this point.
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Hide Ad“We are extremely disappointed and frustrated by the grading system which has been applied nationally this year – it must be urgently reviewed.
“The emerging picture across England is mixed, but shows downgrading by at least one grade for a number of students.
“Hartlepool appears to be reflecting this mixed national picture – some students have received the grades they were anticipating but others have been downgraded.
Cllr Smith also recognised the ‘bizarre national circumstances’ and the situation experienced by students in Scotland.
She said: “We fully appreciate what a deeply uncertain and worrying time it has been for them waiting for these results in what are truly unprecedented and bizarre national circumstances, whilst also watching the unfolding of the results situation across the border in Scotland.”
She added the council would be firmly behind Hartlepool’s students going forward in the aftermath of receiving their results.
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Hide AdCllr Smith said: “We are very pleased for those students who have received the results they were hoping for, but we share the bitter disappointment of those students who have not – we have no doubt that they will wish to appeal those outcomes.
“As always, the council stands four-square behind all Hartlepool’s students and their families and will do everything it can to help them to achieve their study and career goals.”
It comes after the government announced a new ‘triple lock’ measure for anyone who fears their final grade may have been unfairly affected by school closures and exam cancellations imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This could see students who scored higher marks in mock tests before the Covid-19 lockdown allowed to choose those over the grade they are given today.