Update evening of 20th August: Cancellation of those BTec results which have been published and those which haven't even been released. See below in blue.
It had not been my intention to comment on the A-Level chaos this year, because I had nothing extra to say given the complete dominance of this story across the media since last Thursday, but it is now quite simply too big to ignore. Like many others, I have listened and watched with amazement as the Department for Education twisted and turned in its feeble and unsuccessful attempts to correct the initial blunder. This was caused, I believe, because the algorithm used to allocate results had not been properly tested, if at all, in the months leading up to their publication. As a result, the large scale anomalies which have featured in so many news stories and distressed and angered so many young people were not picked up. This is not the first such revolt by young people in this country bringing about change (Greta Thunberg, Black Lives Matter) but the first to be directly brought about by the incompetence shown by government. And make no mistake, it is this which has brought about the U-Turn. I suspect that, as a direct result of the government's ineptitude, it will not be the last such insurrection.
We now have the inevitable cancellation of the BTec results, Level three of which needs to be upgraded so that results are compatible with A Level grades. When these are revised they will produce more students qualified for University places, although the places on many of the courses for which they are entitled to places will now be full. This is surely now spiralling out of control and one can only speculate what happens next. See next sentence for what should happen.
I believe that in any decent society Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, and Nick Gibbs the Schools Minister, would and should have resigned without delay. Have they no shame?
Update: See comment below informing that Simon Langton Boys Grammar, with its first super selective intake has been hit badly.
The algorithm to decide A level and now GCSE results, has not been discarded, and its outcomes are still retained for the majority of students whose results are as good as or better than teachers’ estimates. Many others are now being treated fairly by having their predicted grades counted, along with some whose grades were inflated by teachers having benefited out of proportion. So be it. Universities and other Institutes of Higher Education will now have to manage the additional numbers created through this U-Turn, although some are currently saying they now have no room. More chaos.
To conclude, I am delighted for all those young people who have been so unfairly treated and had seen their ambitions dashed in this cruel way but most of whom can now look forward with confidence. I have spoken with a number of families of A-Level candidates, and what there is not for any of them, the traditional buzz of students with examination success. Sadly, I think this was inevitable. Whilst most of these young people are now able to move on and put this behind them, it should not be forgotten that they all now become voters at the next election! However, after both A-Level and GCSE there is a real fear that some students will not be able to access courses for which they are now qualified, but for whom there is no room.