Student protests prompt college into review of certain A-level grades

A college has promised a “wholesale” review of A-level grades it handed out for certain subjects this summer, after students protested their results were unfairly changed.

Havering Sixth Form College, part of New City College London, has found grades in certain subjects such as maths and humanities were changed more than others so will be looking at whether grade boundaries were applied correctly during its moderation process.

The review is starting today, and a result is expected as early as this week.

The college is also “actively” considering all appeals and has extended the deadline to lodge them. Information about this will be published on NCC’s website.

Students and parents held a protest outside Havering Sixth Form yesterday after many learners received results which were lower than what they were expecting, throwing apprenticeship and university places into doubt.

They claimed NCC’s management had adjusted their original teacher-assessed results downward, to keep the overall marks in line with previous year’s cohorts.

MP hopes students will be ‘reassured’ about A-level grades

Hornchurch and Upminster MP and Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez, who met with Havering’s principal Janet Smith yesterday to discuss the students’ complaints, said she was “pleased” the college “have listened to students’ concerns and will be reviewing individual appeals across the board.

“I hope that my meeting with Janet will lead to an outcome that reassures students of the integrity of their eventual grades, and helps with their next stage of education or the first steps in their working lives.”

Romford MP Andrew Rosindell wrote to NCC’s principal Gerry McDonald last week expressing his “concern” students had seen their results downgraded “significantly” by the college.

The college has said the moderation process, where teachers marked in-house assessments and grades were calculated using 2018/19 performance data before being moderated by principals, did not change the A-level grades students were given by teachers in most subjects.