‘Impolite and dismissive’: Education Secretary Gillian Keegan faces backlash after remarks about A-level grades

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has been criticised for suggesting employers will not ask pupils about their A-levels in a decade’s time.

Ms Keegan mentioned college students “shouldn’t be disappointed” if their outcomes weren’t what that they had hoped for as prime grades fell from final yr – though they continue to be above pre-pandemic ranges.

The cupboard minister informed Sky News: “Somebody asked me ‘What will people ask you in 10 years’ time?’

“They will not ask you something about your A-level grades in 10 years’ time.

“They will ask you about different issues you’ve carried out since then: what you’ve carried out within the office, what you probably did at college?

“And then, after a period of time, they don’t even ask you what you did at university.”

She added: “It is really all about what you do and what you can demonstrate and the skills that you learn in the workplace.”

Joy and nervousness as leads to – A-level outcomes reside

Labour’s shadow training secretary Bridget Phillipson branded Ms Keegan’s feedback “incredibly rude and dismissive” – and accused her of “talking down England’s young people”.

She mentioned: “This is a nerve-wracking day for young people who’ve worked incredibly hard.

“The final thing that they want is a secretary of state providing feedback like that.

“And it really does add insult to injury coming from a government that completely failed to put in place the kind of support that our young people needed coming out of the pandemic after all of the disruption they’d experienced.”

The cohort of scholars who’re receiving their A-level outcomes didn’t sit GCSE exams and had been awarded teacher-assessed grades in the course of the pandemic.

Education leaders have warned that this yr’s group might face disappointment as they could have greater expectations after receiving document excessive GCSEs in 2021.

Ms Keegan attributed the autumn to the grading system returning to what it was pre-COVID, saying it was necessary that it “holds its value” and is “well respected”.

But requested what she would say to those that is perhaps upset with their grades, the cupboard minister informed Sky News: “Well, they shouldn’t be disappointed – they have just done an amazing job.

“They ought to be congratulating themselves and I need to congratulate them as a result of they’ve labored so arduous.

“They have faced disruption. They have been the cohort that’s gone through the pandemic and also faced other disruption as well.”

Ms Keegan went on to say that A-level pupils will “still get the same access to university” as these in earlier years.

“The whole grading system will be back to normal and so the universities will calibrate to that,” she mentioned

“And in fact they already have done so in their offers to some degree – they have already taken that into account.

“So we now have labored with the colleges so that they perceive it, with the admissions officers. And additionally with companies, so that they perceive it.

“Everybody knows that these are different conditions to the teacher-assessed grades and even last year, which was part way between the two systems, more similar to what they have done in Northern Ireland and Wales.”

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Today’s outcomes present A* and A grades had been awarded to 27.2% of scholars, in contrast with 36.4% final yr, 44.7% in 2021 and 38.5% in 2020.

However, the quantity is up by 1.8% in comparison with pre-pandemic ranges, when 25.4% of A-level entries had been awarded A or A* grades.

The total cross fee – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – has fallen to 97.3% this yr, which is decrease than 2022 (98.4%) and the pre-pandemic yr of 2019 (97.6%). In reality, the speed is at its lowest degree since 2008 when it stood at 97.2%.

Ms Keegan later defended her feedback and rejected the suggestion it was insensitive to college students fearful about their grades.

She informed reporters on the City of London Academy Islington, in north London, that “it is true, it is just real”.

“It’s an important step to get to your next destination, but when you’re a couple of destinations further on there’ll be other things that they look at,” she mentioned.