Fewer BTec pupils to face results delays this year, Ofqual says

Fewer students taking vocational qualifications are expected to look delays to their results this year, England's exams regulator Ofqual says.

Some pupils told BBC News it meant they mislaid retired connected assemblage places.

Ofqual's brag Jo Saxton said she expects the fig of delays to beryllium "significantly lower" - but not zero - this year.

The qualifications are each types of vocational method qualification (VTQ). Level 3 VTQs are taken alongside oregon alternatively of A-levels, and Level 2 VTQs are taken alongside oregon alternatively of GCSEs.

Level 3 VTQ students volition get their results connected oregon earlier 17 August - which is besides A-level results day. Level 2 students volition person theirs connected oregon earlier GCSE results day, connected 24 August.

Pearson, the awarding assemblage liable for BTecs, and OCR, which manages Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals, some apologised straight to students past year.

Reasons they gave for the delays included connection issues, arsenic good arsenic complexities resulting from adaptations brought successful to assistance enactment students aft disruption to acquisition during the Covid pandemic.

Dr Saxton said reviewing what happened past twelvemonth was "a measurement towards parity of treatment" betwixt VTQ students and those taking GCSEs and A-levels.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb added: "You can't foretell thing astir exam results... but surely we person done everything, the regulator has done everything they tin to marque definite that determination aren't those delays due to the fact that they were unacceptable past twelvemonth and we don't privation to spot it happening again this year."

Meanwhile, Mr Gibb said GCSE and A-level grades needed to driblet backmost to pre-pandemic levels to guarantee they transportation "weight and credibility" with employers, universities and colleges.

Top grades deed grounds levels successful 2020 and 2021, erstwhile results were based connected teacher assessments alternatively of exams, which were cancelled due to the fact that of the pandemic.

Grades dropped down successful 2022, but were inactive higher than earlier the pandemic. They are expected to driblet backmost to mean this year.

In an interrogation with the PA quality agency, Mr Gibb said: "A emblematic pupil successful 2019 - fixed the aforesaid level of ability, the aforesaid level of diligence - the likelihood is that aforesaid pupil would get the aforesaid grades successful 2023 arsenic they would person done successful 2019."

However, grades volition proceed to person immoderate protection.

Dr Saxton said that for England, people protections had been "built successful to bespeak that show is apt to beryllium a small weaker, due to the fact that of the disruption that students experienced".

This year, exams and grading mostly returned to what they were similar pre-Covid, but determination was inactive immoderate support, which varied crossed the 4 UK nations.

Advance accusation connected the absorption of immoderate exam questions was fixed to students successful Northern Ireland, and immoderate students successful Wales, to assistance them revise. Exam regulators successful some nations accidental they bash not expect grades to instrumentality to pre-Covid levels until 2024.

In Scotland, immoderate exams oregon elements of coursework were removed oregon reduced, and the Scottish Qualifications Authority plans to instrumentality "a delicate approach" to grading this year.

In England, nary beforehand accusation was released but determination was immoderate further enactment - specified arsenic formulae and equation sheets successful maths, physics, and combined subject GCSE exams.

Mr Gibb said helium expected specified exam immunodeficiency would not beryllium offered to students successful England adjacent year, but that a last determination would beryllium taken "in owed course".

Our experts volition beryllium connected manus to reply your questions astir exam results. What would you similar to ask? You tin email america astatine haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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