Students face further chaos over university places after delayed U-turn over A-level results
Students face further chaos over university places after delayed U-turn over A-level results

Writing to the Secretary of State for Education, Imran has urged the Government to set out greater support for universities to allow them to honour initial offers and provide certainty for students on places.

Whilst welcoming the Government’s decision yesterday to reinstate teacher predicted grades for A-level results, Imran has criticised the length of time that they took to act, despite being aware of the issues with the system since July, and the chaos and uncertainty over university places that they allowed to fester in their delay.

With many students failing to achieve the grades that they needed to get into their first-choice university last Thursday because of downgraded results, and an initial refusal by the Education Secretary to change course, around 30,000 students have already accepted a place at their second choice university, with a further 25,000 students moving into clearing.

In many cases, places that were initially offered to students whose results were downgraded have now been offered to other students, and whilst the Government have lifted the cap on the number of places that universities can offer to students, Imran has voiced further concerns that with restricted budgets and a need to impose social distancing on campuses, universities do not have the support needed to honour all original offers.

Speaking on the uncertainty over university places, Imran said:

“The Government’s U-turn on A-level results was the right decision, but it should have come much sooner. In the face of the Education Secretary’s insistence over the weekend that he would not change course, many students accepted offers from their second choice university when they didn’t get the grades for their first choice because of downgraded results, which has now left them in limbo over where they can go.

“Rather than letting this turn into further chaos and yet more disappointment for students, the Education Secretary must provide clarity and allow students to retract decisions that they have already made and reapply for places, whilst also allowing universities to re-offer places to students who did not achieve the grades needed on Thursday, but whose teacher predictions now mean they do.”

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