A-Level flip-flop has consequences for university admissions     Permalink

The Independent:

A-level and GCSE students in England will receive grades decided by their teachers following a dramatic u-turn just days after Boris Johnson insisted this year’s results were ‘robust’.

It is not at all clear that the government has thought through the consequences of their serial screw-ups.

Students were declined by universities based on the originally published grades. For today’s flip-flop to be meaningful, they must now have the right to take up offers where they meet the conditions.

• Will universities be given permission to recruit about their student number controls (SNC) quota?

• What happens if universities are at full capacity and cannot teach more students in a given subject, but now have students who meet their offer conditions?

• If universities are able to go above their SNC quota to admit students who now meet their offer conditions, will the government support universities who would have picked up the overflow but now face financial distress?

The only thing that is clear is that it is a miserable year to be an A-level student and a miserable year to be an admissions tutor.

Equalities body warns it may step in after A-level downgrades in England     Permalink

Richard Adams and Heather Stewart reporting in The Guardian:

Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, acknowledged the danger that an “exceptionally high-performing child in a low-performing school” would not get their expected grades. But Boris Johnson later insisted the results were “robust” and “dependable”.

…

In a rare intervention, Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said Ofqual must “remove bias” and allow students to appeal directly if they feel their A-level grades have been unfairly reduced.

The multidimensionality of the government’s incompetence keeps growing.

The University of Leicester is hoping to test all staff and students for coronavirus     Permalink

The Leicester Mercury:

Some 20,000 students and staff at the University of Leicester will be screened for coronavirus as they return to campus after lockdown.

The university is one of the few in the country running a mass testing scheme to try to find people who are infected but not showing symptoms of the virus.

The university is working with Leicester’s Hospitals, Leicester City Council and Public Health England, on the programme and says tests will complement the NHS test and trace system for people who are displaying symptoms.

The campus is planned to reopen in October.

Leicester is one of the worst affected areas in the UK, and the site of the first local lockdown. This is a decision that should be, along with flu vaccinations for all, be replicated in higher and further institutions across the country.