No guarantee exams will return next year despite fears of record grade inflation, Gavin Williamson says
Gavin Williamson could not guarantee that summer exams will return next year, despite concerns of record grade inflation on Tuesday.
The proportion of A-levels graded A or higher leapt from 25.5 per cent in 2019 to 38.5 per cent in 2020, after the Government adopted a last-minute change to the way exams were assessed during a chaotic results day. This year’s grade inflation is expected to be even higher.
But the Education Secretary insisted grades had been awarded on a “rigorous” basis, adding that despite the disruption to education “they have still achieved so very much and employers can have real confidence in the grades that they get”.
Mr Williamson also raised the prospect that teacher assessment could continue next year, telling Sky News: “In a few weeks time as we go back to the winter period, we will be doing another extensive consultation about contingency, which will largely be based on teacher assessed grades.
“I very much hope we will be moving into more normal patterns from next year… We are planning to move back to exams as part of assessment but always have to have contingency plans.”
Mr Williamson also defended the approach DfE took this year, saying it is “simply not the case” that schools were left in the dark until the last minute.
Follow the latest updates below.
08:08 AM
Pupils will continue to need extra support into 2022, says Gavin Williamson
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said that, while the Government wants to return to an exam-based system, pupils will continue to need extra support into 2022.
“We also recognise that those students who will be taking exams in 2022 will have also had their education disrupted,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He said however that he hopes it will be possible to return to a more normal system before 2024.
“I would hope that we would be able to move to a normal system of exams much more rapidly than that, but we are making sure that we are getting the support in place for students again who have seen disruption to their education,” he said.
“For me that is incredibly important. The impact of the pandemic isn’t just one year.”
07:42 AM
The Government expects all universities to be moving back to face-to-face teaching
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said the Government expects all universities to be moving back to face-to-face teaching.
He told Sky News: “Universities are autonomous institutions. Our guidance is clear, our direction is clear and we do expect all universities, unless there’s unprecedented reasons, to be moving back to the situation of actually delivering lessons, lectures, face-to-face.”
Asked if refunds should be given if that is not the case, Mr Williamson said: “Universities have got to stand up their offers to their students, but we have got the Office for Students, which is targeting universities which have low-quality courses, which aren’t doing enough, and we will give the OFS all the power, all the backing, in order to pursue those universities that aren’t delivering enough for students that are paying their fees.”
He added: “I think if universities are not delivering, not delivering what students expect, then actually they shouldn’t be charging the full fees.”
07:18 AM
Doctors facing ‘rising level’ of patient abuse
Medics who have battled coronavirus on the frontline for more than a year and a half have faced a torrent of abuse from patients, a new poll has revealed.
The British Medical Association (BMA) warned of a “rising level of abuse” towards GPs as it called on the public to be kind to NHS workers.
The poll from the doctors’ union found that more than a third of doctors have faced “recent abuse” from patients or those accompanying them to appointments.
This was even higher among GPs where half said they had been abused in some format during the past month.
The NHS said that it will “not tolerate” abuse or violence towards staff.
The survey of more than 2,400 doctors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland found that some doctors reported being physically assaulted.
07:13 AM
Employers can have ‘real confidence’ in grades awarded, says Gavin Williamson
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said “employers can have real confidence” in the grades awarded to pupils.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “This is a culmination of 13 years in education, I think we should be incredibly proud of their achievements, incredibly proud of the grades that they achieve.”
He said: “We do have a rigorous system of grading and awarding. People have been awarded this grade on the basis of evidence.
“We took a difficult decision, and that decision was children were to be assessed on what they had been taught. We have seen various amounts of disruption around the country and children’s experiences have been different.
“But still, you have a very clear grading system, you still see children who are achieving A*s, As, Bs, Cs, have really achieved so very, very much, and I think employers can have real confidence in the grades that they get. Let’s not forget this is an unprecedented year.”
07:05 AM
Resume face-to-face lectures or cut fees, Education Secretary tells universities
Universities should return to face-to-face lectures or cut their fees, the Education Secretary has said.
Gavin Williamson told Sky News that the Government’s guidance and direction is “clear” and it is expected that all universities, unless there are “unprecedented reasons”, move back to delivering face-to-face lectures.
He said that universities have “got to stand up their offer to their students,” and that he will task the Office for Students to target universities with low-quality courses who are not “delivering enough for students who are paying their fees”.
Mr Williamson added: “I think if universities are not delivering what students expect, then actually they shouldn’t be charging the full fees for what they’re doing.”
06:56 AM
Next year’s results to be ‘largely based’ around teacher-assessed grades, says the Education Secretary
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said the Government will consult on a contingency plan “largely based around” teacher-assessed grades for next year, but with a hope to move back to an examination system.
Asked on Sky News what the contingency plans are for next year’s exams, he said they will be “largely based around teacher-assessed grades, but we very much hope that we will be moving to a system of where we are able to move into the more normal pattern of examinations from next year, but always conscious that this pandemic, we have not always been able to predict the course of it, it has continuously changed, and it’s absolutely right that we have contingencies there, as we always do.”
Asked if he was ruling out teacher assessments for this time next year, he said: “What we are saying is you will probably have seen our consultation in the last academic year, we are very much planning to move back to examinations as a form of assessment, but we always have to have a contingency plan in place, and that’s why we will be consulting in the next academic year on those plans.”
06:23 AM
Students to receive A-level results after exams cancelled for second year in row
Sixth-formers across the country are waking up to their A-level results which have been determined by teachers after this summer’s exams were cancelled.
Hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving grades to help them progress on to university, work or training, with some experts predicting that “inflation” may occur this year.
Last year, nearly two in five (38.6pc) of UK A-level entries were awarded A or A* grades – a record high – following a U-turn over grading, compared to just one in four (25.5pc) in 2019.
If more students gain top grades – which are being submitted by teachers after exams were cancelled for the second year – then it will be more difficult for top universities to differentiate between applicants, it has been suggested.
06:05 AM
Watch: Covid-19 health passes come into effect in France
05:57 AM
Today’s front page
Here is your Daily Telegraph for Tuesday, August 10.
05:13 AM
Green light for new vaccine study in South Korea
South Korea gave vaccine developer SK Bioscience the green light today for a Phase III study of its Covid vaccine candidate at a time of vaccine shortages, when a spurt in infections is fuelling demand.
The clinical trial of GBP510, the candidate for the first domestic vaccine, will weigh its immunogenicity and safety against AstraZeneca’s vaccine, drug safety minister Kim Gang-lip said.
Three-thousand of the 3,990 adults in the trial will receive the experimental vaccine and 990 will get AstraZeneca doses, with an interval of four weeks.
SK Bioscience said data from early trials of 80 healthy adults who received the two-dose protein-based vaccine showed they all induced neutralising antibodies against the virus.
04:33 AM
India records nearly 30,000 new infections
India has reported 28,204 new infections over the past 24 hours, the lowest since March 16, according to government data.
India’s overall case load touched 32 million, the health ministry data showed.
Overall deaths in the country increased by 373 overnight, pushing the tally to 428,682.
04:18 AM
Mandarins may be stripped of ‘London weighting’
Civil servants who refuse to return to the office could have their pay cut under plans being considered by some government departments.
Mandarins face being stripped of “London weighting” – a salary top-up worth £4,000 to offset the high costs of living in the capital – if they resist a partial return to the workplace.
However, one government source said such a move would have to be agreed by the Civil Service Commissioner, adding that unions might suggest strike action.
READ MORE: Civil servants could face pay cut if they don’t head back to the office
03:41 AM
Mexico asks for US help with jabs
Mexico is calling for the United States to send at least 3.5 million more doses of Covid vaccines as the country faces a third wave of infections
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that he planned to discuss a transfer of vaccines with US Vice President Kamala Harris during a call scheduled for later in the day.
Lopez Obrador said the US government had initially offered the Moderna vaccine, but Mexican health authorities could not get the necessary approvals in time so now they are considering Pfizer or another approved vaccine.
Mexico has vaccinated more than 50 million people with at least one dose, representing about 56pc of the adult population. It has received 91.1 million doses of five different vaccines.
03:06 AM
PCR swabs pile up on the streets
One of Britain’s biggest private test firms has been hit by an angry backlash from travellers after pictures emerged of dozens of its swabs piled up in plain view on streets.
The images of its over-full metal drop boxes with completed test kits balanced on top of them and awaiting collection were branded a “symbol of the absolute mess that PCR testing has become”.
Randox, which is said to have made £120 million from processing 15 million tests since the start of the pandemic, recommends customers should use its free drop boxes to return their test samples.
READ MORE: PCR swabs pile up on the streets as travel testing descends into an ‘absolute mess’
02:34 AM
Infection numbers rising in China
China has reported 143 new Covid cases on the mainland for Monday.
China’s latest clusters are mainly driven by the highly transmissible delta variant.
Among the new infections – the highest number China has reported since January, 108 were locally transmitted, while the remainder were imported from abroad, the National Health Commission (NHC) said.
Most local infections were in the eastern province of Jiangsu and the central province of Henan.
02:02 AM
Sydneysiders ‘feel there’s a double standard’
New South Wales has reported 356 locally acquired cases of Covid – its biggest daily rise in the pandemic – as officials scramble to contain the virus that has now spread to the northern parts of the struggling Australian state.
Of the cases reported on Tuesday, at least 57 have spent time in the community while infectious, the state’s health department said.
Authorities also said four people died from the virus, taking the total deaths in the state from the latest outbreak to 32.
Meanwhile, on the sands of Bondi Beach, one of Sydney’s wealthiest suburbs, surfers and seaside walkers jostle for space, while joggers clog the nearby promenade and fitness buffs huddle around public exercise equipment.
To the west, where Covid infections are greatest, stores remain shut on empty streets as some of Australia’s most migrant-heavy neighbourhoods endure heightened lockdowns, enforced by high-visibility policing backed up by the military.
“The community here is really struggling at the moment and they feel there’s a double standard,” said Bilal El-Hayek, a councillor from the city’s west who spends most days helping deliver food packages to people who don’t qualify for pandemic-related support payments.
“You see photos and videos coming out of the east, people on the beach, whereas here the streets are absolutely empty.”
01:25 AM
Melbourne’s numbers rise as delta takes hold
Australia’s state of Victoria reported a slight rise in new Covid cases on Tuesday, raising the prospect of an extended lockdown in Melbourne as officials battle to contain a delta strain outbreak.
State officials reported 20 new cases, up from 11 a day earlier, and added dozens of new venues to a list of virus-exposed sites in Melbourne, including cafes, supermarkets and petrol stations.
In line with recent trends, and worrying officials, 15 of the cases were in the community while infectious. Health officials have said the number of people who are in public while infectious needs to be close to zero before lockdowns are lifted.
Melbourne’s lockdown is currently scheduled to end on Thursday.
01:15 AM
US struggles with hospital treatment
Only eight intensive care beds were available on Monday in the state of Arkansas, its governor said, as the rapid spread of the delta variant pushed cases and hospitalisations in the United States to a six-month high.
In neighbouring Texas, Governor Greg Abbott asked hospitals to postpone elective surgeries as the variant raged through swathes of the country including many southern states grappling with low vaccination rates.
Nationwide, Covid cases have averaged 100,000 for three days in a row, up 35pc over the past week, according to a Reuters tally of public health data.
Louisiana, Florida and Arkansas reported the most new cases in the past week, based on population.