Day of emotion as GCSE grades soar
ECONOMY minister Diane Dodds voiced her frustration after exam board Pearson pulled its BTEC results on the eve of releasing them, leaving students facing more chaos.
The exam board said it would be re-grading all its BTECS to bring them in line with A-levels and GCSES.
Pearson, which announced the move on Wednesday evening, apologised to pupils and acknowledged the additional uncertainty this would cause.
However, the late decision will cause further disruption to students seeking places in further and higher education.
Ms Dodds said: “I am disappointed that this change in approach will cause further delay to learners receiving their final results. However, it will ensure that learners receive the results they deserve and those studying BTECS are treated fairly in line with their peers studying A-levels or GCSES.”
Ken Webb, chairperson of the Further Education College Principals’ Group in Northern Ireland, said it was “extremely disappointing” that Pearson waited until the eleventh hour to communicate its decisions.
“To ensure that no student is disadvantaged any further as a result of the delay in issuing results, the six regional colleges of further education have taken steps to ensure that a place is reserved for any student who has already applied for a further education or training course and who meet the entry requirements,” Mr Webb said.
“In addition, the colleges’ application processes will remain open to allow other young people to submit applications for courses once they receive their results.
“We feel desperately sorry for the students affected in a year when they have already undergone far too much disruption and hope that Pearson will act to issue revised grades within days.
“We encourage all students to contact their local college for further advice.”
Sinn Fein MLA Caoimhe Archibald said it was “simply unacceptable” that BTEC pupils were only informed of the decision to delay awarding grades 24 hours before they were to be issued.
Independent MLA Claire Sugden said waiting until only the day before to announce the delay was “bad form”.
In a statement, Pearson said: “BTEC qualification results have been generally consistent with teacher and learner expectations, but we have become concerned about unfairness in relation to what are now significantly higher outcomes for GCSE and A-levels.”