After six months in which we have lived through unprecedented and challenging times, Oakham School has been simultaneously supporting and congratulating the class of 2020 who received their A-Level, PreU and BTEC results yesterday. The results follow on from the IB Diploma results that were obtained by pupils in early July.
Headmaster, Henry Price, says;
“In a unique year for all involved with examinations, it feels more important than ever to balance the overall statistics with individual stories. We are of course delighted to hear of the many successes of our pupils, including all pupils made offers for Oxbridge have made the grades required and taken up their places, and others are accepting their places into other leading universities across the UK and the world. More details of individual success stories will be posted next week. The guidance of our extensive Careers team this year, in particular, has been remarkable.
In celebrating deserved success, however, we are also aware of the inconsistencies that have been engendered by the Ofqual standardisation process. We are disappointed that some Oakhamians, along with other pupils across the country, now find themselves in an unsettling period where they have to address the anomalies in their results, having been awarded grades below those that they had anticipated and hoped. Gavin Williamson’s last-minute decision to allow appeals based on mock grades will, I am confident, ameliorate this for some, due to our robust mock examination process and data, but the timing and process on this remain unclear. We will, of course, stay on hand to help and support our pupils to navigate this process to achieve the best individual outcomes.
How to manage external examinations has been a hugely challenging process for all involved in education, including examination boards and schools. There was no easy solution once the decision to cancel A-Levels, BTEC, Pre-U and indeed GCSEs had been made, but I have tremendous sympathy for all of those pupils feeling a sense of injustice at the moment. Like many schools, we have seen a high proportion of our centre Assessed Grades down-graded and this has had a tangible impact on a number of students. We will continue to work with HMC and Ofqual in the days and weeks ahead.
As Headmaster, I am proud of the resilience that has been shown by this group of pupils and the staff who have supported them over many years. Their school careers have not ended as we would have wished, but all these talented young people will move forwards from this and go on to thrive in the future, taking with them not just good academic results, but the values and sense of responsibility that they have learned in their time at Oakham.
I wish them all well and thank them and their parents for all they have done for the School.”
