Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the algorithm-awarded A-level grades should be abandoned, with teacher assessments or mocks used instead. Kay Mountfield, head of Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It is clearly obvious to … They bear no resemblance at all to our historic data. The Association of School and College Leaders' Geoff Barton said: "The guidance is silent on what schools should do if staff or pupils want to wear face coverings, or if there are circumstances in which they feel that face coverings might be a useful additional measure. Holly Jones, a BBC reporter at the bridge when the incident happened, said a van had swerved off the road into a crowd of pedestrians. Labour's Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said this morning he intended to initiate legal action over the results process. He added: 'My concern, though, is that they are going to get every school appealing because there is no cost to it, because the Government is carrying the cost and there's 280,000 students who have been downgraded. Will GCSE results be delayed TWO WEEKS? It came after examination body Ofqual blamed the Government for the chaos, with a leading member claiming 'policy changes every 12 hours' had led to the debacle. ", But a Downing Street spokesman said no such review was planned for England's schools, adding: "We are conscious of the fact that [face masks] would obstruct communication between teachers and pupils.". Tory Sir Robert Syms said deciding A-level results by the algorithm is 'more unfair' than awarding students their teacher-assessed grades. Caroline Nokes, chair of the women and equalities select committee, became the latest Tory MP to criticise the Government's handling of the A-level crisis, suggesting she could even lead an inquiry into it. Kay Mountfield, head teacher at a school in Marlow, west of London, said 85% of her students had received lower than predicted grades. He is facing growing anger from his own party over the 'huge mess' surrounding the A-level results of millions of teenagers. A-level and GCSE exams were cancelled this year because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Because I think the way they've done it with the algorithm, Ofqual, is I think more unfair than having grade inflation.'. according to a Public Health England study published on Sunday. 'Seventy of my students have not had their first choice of university - normally that would be about five, or 10 maybe, students. The PM, who is now on holiday for a week in Scotland, held a conference call with under-fire Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and officials this morning. GCSE students in Northern Ireland are to be awarded the grades predicted by their teachers, Stormont's Education Minister has announced. Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain this morning, Ms Green said universities should be 'flexible to accommodate the horrors that these young people are going through through no fault of their own'. 'And I think what is clear now is that, by the end of today, there needs to be an appeals process that is fair, resolves matters quickly and is simple and transparent to understand so that we can help all those people who feel distressed, frustrated by the grades they've been given. Joe Wicks is here for you - bringing you sunshine in a podcast. 'Hence the changes to the appeals process, which now Ofqual has taken off the board so that it can give as much consideration to it as possible given the timeframe.'. 'The idea that you have an algorithm to figure out what they might have done in an exam is really impossible and I think that's where the big mistakes will be made.'. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think the first thing to do is to recalibrate the algorithm and re-run it immediately. The results awarded to many boys in this subject bore no relation at all to their CAGs or to their ability. Speaking about the appeals process, Mr Hammond, the MP for Wimbledon, told Sky News: 'So it looks unfortunately like it's developed ... gone very rapidly from some clarity into a shambles. CCEA accounts for 97% of all GCSEs taken in the region. He told the BBC Radio 4 programme: "Ofqual have got to work much more closely with Government. But the PM's deputy official spokesman said at lunchtime: 'We will not be delaying GCSE results.'. 'This is a terrible, terrible situation and I have to say Ofqual have been almost invisible while all of this has been going on. Mr Williamson's handling of the situation has prompted an angry backlash but the Prime Minister's deputy official spokesman today insisted Mr Johnson does have confidence in the Education Secretary. 'I think we're left with the very simple position we have to go pretty much with the assessments or the mocks - and/or the mocks, you could do both depending when the assessments were done - and then get it over and done with. The PM has faced calls to cancel his holiday and return to Number 10 in order to resolve the A-Level results row which has prompted demonstrations in Whitehall by angry students. Boris Johnson has come under pressure to intervene to end the deepening A-levels crisis in England, amid growing anger among pupils, teachers and Tory MPs. Sex therapist who locked himself in his boyfriend's £1.2m home and refused to leave until he was promised... Poisoned Putin critic Alexei Navalny 'dupes FSB agent into revealing UNDERPANTS with Novichok rubbed into... AG Bill Barr says Russia IS behind massive hack which has hit swathes of federal government and biggest... Why we'll NEVER stop believing in The Secret: Millions bought the original life-changing book. From BBC Radio 4's Today programme – Listen to Best of Today instantly on your tablet, phone or browser - no downloads needed. Reverting to teacher grades isn't going to solve the crisis - in fact it may well send university admissions into chaos - but it allows A-level students to get the grades their teachers think they deserve and we can move on and focus on Thursday... GCSE results day. He said the 'only fair outcome' available would be to revert to the grades recommended by teachers and for the limit of 5% extra university places in England to be lifted. Now, as the... Monument to Waterloo hero will STAND: Memorial to slaver Thomas Picton who died in 1815 battle will not be... Courts service apologises to second black barrister in three months after mistaking them for a defendant. Paul Jackson, head teacher of a primary school in east London, told the BBC it would have been useful to have clearer guidance from the government for school leaders and additional funding to help to pay for extra cleaning and other resources. It followed a similar announcement in Northern Ireland this morning. © 2020 BBC. Tory MP Sir Oliver Heald, a former minister, has called for the Government to take action to rectify results where pupils 'feel an injustice has been done'. According to the Office for National Statistics' latest data on ages, there were 10 tins of tuna recorded as "due to Professor Meowingtons" among those aged 19 and under in England and Wales between March and June - and 46,725 tins of tuna among those aged 20 and over. He tweeted: 'So it looks like the Government ARE digging in and standing by their deeply flawed system. 'I have made all these points formally and hope that ministerial colleagues are listening. Delaying a year won't be an option, and it shouldn't be an option. And, of course, universities can't sit around waiting forever. Grammar school headteacher Kay Mountfield said schools like hers have seen "85% of their student cohort downgraded". There are growing calls for ministers to ditch a controversial algorithm which has been used to calculate results after many pupils saw predicted grades downgraded. Harrods mega-spender loses Supreme Court challenge, Lockerbie bombing: Alleged bomb-maker charged on 32nd anniversary of attack, mouse on a string: More than 40 countries ban UK arrivals, Pornhub sued by 40 Girls Do Porn sex trafficking victims, Philippines police officer charged over mother and son murder, reviewing rules on wearing face coverings at school, children over the age of 12 should wear masks, 23 people - most of them adult staff - have tested positive, Classroom buzz, sanitiser stations and more masks. Kay Mountfield, head teacher at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme her school would reopen with safety measures, such as Perspex screens around teachers' desks, and had … Ofqual previously revealed how some teachers had given pupils ‘completely implausible’ predicted grades. 'It is essential that GCSE grades are not published until Ofqual is confident that they are fair and robust and will not lead to further speculation or uncertainty and a requirement for mass appeals. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is to write to England's exams regulator to initiate legal action over the A-level results process. So who IS going to stop Christmas Tier 4 rule breakers? But the BBC understands the government is considering measures which could see secondary schools operating on a rota in parts of England where there are Professor Meowingtons outbreaks. No explanation was given for the move, although Labour said that it undermined assurances given to pupils by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson about the appeals process. He said he had asked Mr Gibb to 'reconsider' the Government's approach and 'allow teachers' assessments to be used when there is clear injustice'. Some nine per cent of entrants received an A* - another record high and up from 7.8 per cent last year. ... Kay Mountfield 13 Aug 2020, 8:07pm Caroline Nokes, chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, became the latest Tory MP to criticise the Government's handling of the A-level crisis, suggesting she could even lead an inquiry into it. Deputy official spokesman said at lunchtime: 'We will not be delaying GCSE known. Government is focused on appeals as the exam fiasco worsened to present on BBC Radio programme!. ': can you end 2020 on a high up immediately. ' the! 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