Gavin Williamson

[Alan Medic]

I think this says 'sack me if you dare'! What a picture.

[JohnL]

The clock, The fan, The mug and .. the Whip

[Alan Medic]

The red book on the Whip.....

[seenbeen]

at least he did a U turn under unprecedented circumstances unlike that rubbish Labour government we had for years!

[diable rouge]

Gav channeling his inner Robert Mapplethorpe...

[Alan Medic]

seenbeen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> at least he did a U turn under unprecedented

> circumstances unlike that rubbish Labour

> government we had for years!

That's a plus is it? I think Gav just does what he's told to do.

[diable rouge]

seenbeen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> at least he did a U turn under unprecedented

> circumstances unlike that rubbish Labour

> government we had for years!

Yes, let's blame Covid for the leveling down algorithm, those pesky Chinese get everywhere...

[JohnL]

The strange thing was Gav only realised over the weekend what everyone else knew all week.

Someone should have had a word.

[TheCat]

Does the forum collectively think Gavin Williamson's rank incompetence over this whole fiasco actually makes Chris Grayling not the worst cabinet member in recent history?

It's a tough ask...but I think he may have done it....

[j.a.]

No, sorry. Grayling still edges it, though plucky little Gav is coming up fast on the inside...

[JohnL]

The Star claims today he knew Six Weeks ago about the algorithm preferring richer schools but Gavin's got a chance to shine when he appears before the Education Select committee next month if he can find it.

[hpsaucey]

Alan Medic Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think this says 'sack me if you dare'! What a

> picture.

I'd dare.

[diable rouge]

He's been told to save his resignation for the upcoming 'back-to-school' fiasco...

[seenbeen]

So A and A* are up from 25.2% last year to 37.7% this year under teacher assessment...watch out for the drop-outs unless the universities dumb down their courses or add on foundation years!

Obviously the previous algorithm benefitted small classes (German, Latin...) and small independent schools disproportionately but this is no better.

[JohnL]

seenbeen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> So A and A* are up from 25.2% last year to 37.7%

> this year under teacher assessment...watch out for

> the drop-outs unless the universities dumb down

> their courses or add on foundation years!

> Obviously the previous algorithm benefitted small

> classes (German, Latin...) and small independent

> schools disproportionately but this is no better.

It's a one year thing due to the special circumstances.

Why do you think people drop out of University - not clever enough, lazy, problems with accommodation or personal problems etc. I would say the social problems are the biggest reasons for drop-out not inability to do the course.

[seenbeen]

I would think if students fail the first year then given the exceptional circumstances of the A levels they may be offered a resit year but if their grades were inflated in the first place they may not be up to the work anyway.

When teachers do the predicted A level grades in the autumn term of year 12 they are besieged by students wanting grades raised up and after much discussion grades are agreed upon. The deadline for UCAS applications is the middle of January so all the predicted grades will have been entered by then and sent off to the Universities- and they are usually pretty accurate for the majority of students.

(Then you also get students who are predicted D and E grades, applying to top universities on their UCAS forms and they have to be persuaded to be more realistic in their choices.)

It is not a one year thing but will affect the following year, and the upcoming year 12 students will also have to be accounted for.