Education Secretary Gavin Williamson

• THE government’s appalling handling of A-level and BTEC results is symptomatic of incompetence and lack of care for our young people.

As a governor and student of Hampstead School, we have seen first-hand how terribly the government has let down young people.

This is the generation that, after celebrating 18th birthdays in quarantine, will enter a job market battered like never before by both Brexit and the effects of Covid-19.

This year’s cohort was also first to sit the reformed GCSE exams which, according to Michael Gove, were designed to drive up standards.

If the new, harsher, GCSEs truly led to the improvement of A-level standards, we simply cannot understand why the Conservatives chose to reject the high attainment that they hoped to create and instead opted for days of anxiety, confusing press releases, and chaos.

Far from risking the kind of overpromotion that has swelled the ranks of its front bench, the government chose to irresponsibly gamble away the aspirations of a generation.

Students remain furious, and rightfully so.

The chaos continues as universities are now oversubscribed and students are uncertain if they will need to take an unplanned gap year to take up a deferred place once they have their CAG, centre assessment grades, results.

None of these students deserved to have their futures undermined by education secretary Gavin Williamson or prime minister Boris Johnson – who, if they are truly so concerned about people being “overpromoted beyond their ability”, should maybe take a look at themselves first.

ANNE CLARKE
Labour London Assembly Candidate for Barnet and Camden & Barnet Councillor

CHARLOTTE HARRISON Hampstead School
Sixth Form Leaver 2020