Hamstead Hall Academy
A-Level Results
Response to the Government announcement on Monday 17th August regarding A-Level Grades.
Today the government decided to perform a U-Turn and under mounting pressure decided to allow students to receive the grades that schools had been asked to submit as Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs). We welcome this and are pleased that they have taken this action to try and remedy the problems caused by an algorithm applied to all students across the country. This should enable students to be awarded grades that are far more representative of what they would have achieved had exams gone ahead. However, there will of course be cases where students still feel that these grades do not represent the progress they would have made, had a normal conclusion to year 13 been possible. We appreciate this frustration and sympathise fully, but did what we could within the remit provided by the government and the Exam Boards. Further to the information shared earlier in the year, we would like to explain how these CAGs were determined. There has been some confusion in the media with some incorrect terminology used. When lock down for the country was announced and schools were closed for most students, the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, announced that exams would not take place for Years 11 and 13 and schools would be asked to provide a Centre Assessed Grade. Schools were asked to provide the most accurate grade they could for what they thought students would achieve had they sat the exams. Schools were asked to draw upon evidence such as previous assessments and exams, classwork and homework as well as referencing local and national standards for achievement. Schools were urged to be realistic and informed that unduly high grades would be moderated down. This, is of course what happened as a result of the algorithm the exam boards applied. We conducted a rigorous moderating process which was checked numerous times and compared with the achievement of students in previous years at Hamstead Hall as well as across the country. We wanted to do our best for the students but at the same time ensure that the process was fair for all students, drawing upon evidence of achievement and progress. There may be questions as to why this grade is different to the grades provided to UCAS in October. It is worthwhile explaining why this would happen. The UCAS grade is a best case forecast of what could happen if everything goes well for the students during Year 13. We are asked to provide these very early on in the Autumn Term. This is inevitably based upon the progress students made in year 12. We have a proactive programme in place through our UCAS sessions to support our students to secure offers from universities. As staff, we are positive in our references and always provide a best realistic but optimistic forecast for the UCAS grade forecast. This is deliberately optimistic to give our students the best chance to secure an offer from their preferred universities. The CAG we had to provide for the Exam Boards was submitted in June and was expected to be a realistic expectation of the achievement if the students had completed exams. The process is somewhat different and had to compare with actual results from students in previous years at Hamstead Hall and all schools. By then, of course, we had more in depth assessment information about the students’ performance through Year 13 and used the guidance provided by the exam boards to produce what we thought was realistic achievement for students had they sat the exams. That is why there may be a difference in the UCAS grades submitted at the start of Year 13 which we are deliberately optimistic about and the final grade we had to submit to the Exam Boards as a CAG. They are very different processes. UCAS grades are for universities to have an idea of the potential of our students. The CAGs are intended to be a realistic assessment of what the students would achieve had exams taken place. We were asked to be rigorous and as accurate as possible with them by the Exam Boards. For this reason it will be highly unlikely that we will be able to challenge and request a change to the CAGs that have been awarded.
This has been a very disturbing time for all of our students with so many challenges. There has been so much media coverage and late changes to the way the government have approached the awarding of grade that students and their parents and carers must be emotionally drained. We believe the correct decision has now been made and given these unique circumstances, we consider that our students have achieved a grade that closer represents their ability and performance. We do appreciate that nothing can placate the frustration students must have at not having the opportunity to complete exams and demonstrate their achievement.
We wish all of our students the best for the next stage of their education or training.
Mr Mortimer and Mr Farar.
Executive Principal Statement - A-Level Results 2020
We would like to congratulate all of our Year 13 students for their A-Level Results. These results have been awarded on the basis of the work they have done over many years. We can only begin to appreciate the frustration our students will have had at not having the opportunity to demonstrate this and be tested fairly in exams. Many of our students have achieved excellent results and secured their places at universities. However, it has been a very challenging time and through no fault of their own, some of our students have received results from the exam boards that are lower than the grades we submitted, which were based upon the students’ achievements and progress during their time at school. This has been seen in schools across the country and covered extensively in the media. A statistical modelling approach has been applied to all students using the grades schools submitted and unfortunately this has meant some of our students have received lower grades from the exam boards that we felt they deserved. We are very sympathetic to this and will do what we can to support our students and, if appropriate, challenge these grades. We are awaiting for more details from the government and the exams regulator, Ofqual, about how the appeals process will work and we are expecting further guidance on this next week. Following this, we will consider the best way forward to help our students secure the best opportunities to progress to the next stage of the education. At this stage there is little more we can do.
If you have missed the entry requirements for your chosen university, please continue to contact UCAS and the universities of your choice as they are being flexible and other offers should be available. Those of you who are disappointed and would like further support, please see the link below that shows a host of useful links and services that have been laid on for the next fortnight. They are put together in this document: Birmingham Careers Service and ‘My Choices’.
Although we will identify students we feel have a good case to appeal their awarded grade, based upon the guidance expected next week, if any students would like us to consider an appeal against the grades awarded, please contact us on examresults@hamsteadhall.com indicating your name and the grade and subject you would like us to investigate further. It is not possible for a student to appeal directly; this has to come from the school, but as indicated earlier, once we have the full guidance next week, we will rigorously examine all of the grades awarded to consider if there is sufficient evidence to submit an appeal. We cannot guarantee that there will be sufficient evidence for an appeal, nor that an exam board will accept the appeal, but we will look into it based upon the guidance we receive next week. This is all we know at this stage.
I hope that helps to clarify things a little and provides some reassurance in what is a very challenging time for many of our students.
Mr Mortimer and Mr Farar