Derby College Group ‘Perplexed’ By Student Grades

More than 360 @derbycollege (DCG) A Level students will receive their A level results by email at 8am this morning (Thursday August 13).

Whilst many are celebrating their grades and finalising their plans to progress on university, an apprenticeship or work, a number of student grades which had been assessed through a rigorous process at the College have since been downgraded using the Ofqual algorithm.

DCG have therefore lodged appeals across several key subjects.

DCG Vice Principal Kate Martin said: “Although we are delighted with the success of a good many students in the class of 2020, we are perplexed on the rationale used that has resulted in the downgrades.

“We underwent a rigorous quality control process to predict accurate grades for our A level students and were confident that these were a fair reflection of what the examination results would have been for each individual student.

“We are therefore submitting appeals to the awarding body for several subjects and will support students who wish to lodge appeals themselves.

“The curriculum and support teams are working proactively to support those students affected to ensure that they can progress onto their chosen destination and everyone will also be given the option to sit the A Level examinations in October.

“This has been an extremely stressful time for students, their families and for the staff at College and the latest confusion has not helped allay the concerns.

“We are extremely proud with how students have remained engaged with their education throughout lockdown and commend them for their mature approach to such unprecedented times.”

Hundreds of students on vocational programmes will also receive their results today – which is the first time that these have coincided with A Level results.

Kate Martin concluded: “We have had some significant successes across a wide range of technical and professional subjects and are also working with any students who are unhappy with their final grades to ensure that they too can progress to their chosen destination.”