HEADTEACHERS across Worcestershire have paid tribute to their students getting A Level results.
Instead of the usual photographs of leaping students, tears of joy and commiseration, the heads, backed by Worcestershire County Council, issued a statement reflecting on a school year crippled by Covid-19.
This year secondary schools and Sixth Form colleges have been providing centre assessed grades to exam boards for each student in each subject studied.
The aim was to award each student due to sit the exams the grade they would have been most likely to achieve had exams gone ahead.
However those grades have since been statistically moderated by the exam boards taking into account expected grades at national level, results in previous years at each school, and the prior attainment profile of students at each school.
The headteachers in Worcestershire said: “Our thoughts and energies at this time of results publication are with the students receiving their grades.
“Unfortunately, these young people have been denied the opportunity to prove themselves in the usual way.
“As schools and colleges we regret that we could not complete that journey with them.
“Nevertheless, many students will be celebrating based on their hard work over time.
“For students who have missed the grades they require, schools and colleges will be working with them to secure successful transitions to their next step in education, employment or training.
“The Ofqual grade awarding process is designed to produce results that offer equal standard of achievement with previous cohorts, and students should be proud of their achievements.
“We offer our congratulations to all students receiving results in this exam season, and our best wishes for the future.”
Nationally, grades have remained broadly stable with a 2.5 percentage point rise in A and A* grades at A level, and a 0.7 percentage point rise in overall passes (A*-E).
