2020 A Level Results

To all our Year 13 students,

We salute all of you! You have all shown tremendous resilience in the face of the most disrupted academic year this nation has known in at least a century. You should all be aware that you have achieved something truly astounding, something no other young person has ever been asked to do: to complete your schooling in the face of a global pandemic. The last academic year has been such an emotionally demanding one and we are immensely proud of you all and how you have dealt with the upheaval and uncertainty.  It was the most unusual of results days, but it was a pleasure to celebrate with you as you stride out into new adventures.

This year more than any other, we are reminded of the fact that education is not about counting grades but about respecting the amazing young people that you have become. Watching you wrestle with the impact of the abstract Ofqual algorithms and respond with such integrity, resilience and cheerfulness was heartening. Your kindness and sensitivity towards those students whose results are not quite as they would have wished (we’ve seen some unfathomable decisions taken centrally) says everything about what matters most in education and gives us all hope that we will see some brilliant leaders emerge from your generation.

 Over the past weeks the media has been reporting about how your grades have been calculated this year and how this is creating confusion and uncertainty. We want you to know that we are here to support you, and we will do everything we can to help you get on to the university course, apprenticeship or other destination you aspire to. The class of 2020 has been denied the historic ‘closure’ that is associated with graded examination results and it is therefore natural with all of the media messages to feel unsettled.

Ofqual, the examination regulator, calculated the grades you received. Those grades are based on different pieces of information, including how young people in Kingdown/Clarendon have done in their exams in recent years, as well as how your teachers believed you would do in the final exams, had you sat them. That prediction given by your teachers is called the Centre Assessed Grade (CAG).

If your Ofqual Calculated Grades are not the ones you were hoping for, please do not worry; we will be there to support you.  Universities and other higher and further education providers are very aware that this year has been a difficult one and many will be flexible about their entry requirements.  Please do not be despondent as you may still get on the course of your choice. We will be able to help and guide you through the Clearing process, to help to find a course which is right for you. Again, many universities will be flexible about their requirements, so even if your results are not the ones you wanted, we will help you find a course which meets your aspirations.

Last Tuesday, Ofqual said that students who wish to appeal their Ofqual Calculated Grade, could use their mock examination result as evidence. To help support you in deciding whether an appeal is appropriate and to ensure you have all the information you need, your Head of Sixth Form and other teachers are available to support you and can discuss those grades with you and explain what they mean. Both Kindown and Clarendon have robust systems for monitoring your progress through school and we are very confident in the quality of the assessment data we hold for you and the other students in your year group. Where applicable, that data can be used to support any relevant appeals. Again, please discuss with your school.

This has been such a difficult and unexpected year for you, your teachers and for all of us living in this time of such uncertainty and turbulence. We want you to know that the whole of the Acorn Education Trust as well as everyone at Kingdown and Clarendon are doing everything we can to make sure you get the outcomes you deserve so you can move on to the destinations you want.

Well done for all your hard work and we are delighted that the majority of you have had your place at University confirmed.  Congratulations and good luck with the next stage of your journey.  We look forward to hearing about your future successes and please remember that you will always remain a part of the Acorn family.