Laura Doel, director of school leaders' union NAHT Cymru, said: “We remain deeply concerned about the process by which A level grades were awarded in Wales. From the outset NAHT has questioned the standardisation process and feared that students’ grades would be negatively affected by the past performance of their school. We were assured by Qualifications Wales and Education Minister Kirsty Williams that the process put in place was the most robust and reliable one available. This has clearly not been the case.

"Last week’s 11^th hour shifting of the goalposts and bringing in the no detriment rule, although welcomed in some cases, reinforced our fears that there were flaws in the process. Our position remains that if in doubt, as clearly Welsh Government is, we should trust the professional judgement of the people who know their students best, their teachers. To say that the professional opinion of teachers has ‘greater unreliability’ than the current process is an insult to teachers.

"We knew that this was going to be a difficult time and there is no perfect method by which to award grades. But we owe it to this generation of learners to revert to those who know them, who have worked with them, encouraged and nurtured their studies to have the final say and award students their centre assessment grades.”

Press and Media contacts:

Steven George
NAHT Head of Press and Media
01444 472886
07970 907730

Rose Tremlett 
Senior Press Officer 
07545 354363

Email : press.office@naht.org.uk