LIVE BLOG: A-level results day 2020
With 40 percent of young people having results downgraded due to the coronavirus, we follow the fortunes of Jewish students as they find out their grades
Kantor King Solomon ‘disappointed’ by cancellation of exams
Kantor King Solomon High School said it remains “disappointed that the cancellation of examinations has led to a system that robs our students of the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learnt.”
Headteacher Hannele Reece said: “I am disappointed that the debacle around the way students’ results have been calculated has led to a situation where students are judged on the basis of a moderation system that has not seen any of their work.
“Having already coped with the challenges of Covid-19 and unprecedented school closures they are now being asked to accept results that may determine their futures on the basis of a statistical exercise.”
The school said its fine art, digital, photography, geography and Spanish departments “performed exceptionally well despite the confusion around results.”
Top performers include pupils Jack Chevin, Ellie Grant, Anava Maman, Saule Miskinyte, Latifah Nalubwama, Aimee Nossek, Justas Pakstys, Pristesh Patel, Harris Singh, Jaspreet Singh, Iman Tai and Jacob West, the school said.
Over half of all JFS grades awarded A* to A
Over half of all JFS grades were A* to A, the school announced, with another 77. 3 percent of grades ranging from A* to B.
One third (33 percent) of students were awarded all A*/A grades, the school revealed.
Fourteen students secured places at Oxbridge colleges with a further six students accepted to medical school.
Headteacher Rachel Fink said: “Congratulations to all our students who will now be embarking on a wide range of higher education opportunities as well as apprenticeships and gap year programmes.
“We commend all our students who have coped superbly with the huge uncertainties as a result of COVID-19. Our staff have shown huge commitment to our students and have demonstrated that they know them well.
“Every JFS student is so much more than a national statistic and we wish each and every one of them much continued success”.
Hasmonean says ‘vast majority’ got results they needed
Hasmonean said “the vast majority of students” got the grades they needed to enter university, or continue pursuing their career paths.
Heads of Hasmonean High School for Girls, Katherine Brice, and Hasmonean High School for Boys, Debbie Lebrett, reflected on the “extremely challenging year”, thanking students and staff for “working so hard.
“Hasmonean will always be a place they can turn to for support and guidance and we hope that the ethos of Hasmonean will act as a bedrock for them as they enter the wider world.”
Menahel (principal) Rabbi Jeremy Golker said students’ “social, emotional and spiritual development is as important to us as their academic development. We are proud of how well they have focussed on this despite the immense challenges they have been confronted by this year”.
The school’s CEO, Andrew McClusky, paid tribute to teachers’ “tremendous hard work ..in educating our students and the pastoral support which has been given to them is hugely appreciated, as is the wonderful support which we receive from trustees, governors and the wider Hasmonean community”.
Nearly a third of Yavneh pupils get all A or A* grades
Close to a third of Yavneh College pupils (31 percent) gained all A or A* grades.
88 percent of vocational students achieved at least three distinction, while 100 percent of all grades ranged from A* to C.
Executive headteacher Spencer Lewis said he was “extremely proud” of the grades pupils were awarded and said students had worked “incredibly hard for a year and a half.”
He said: “This has been the most extraordinary year for everyone, everywhere.
“Students did not get the opportunity to sit their exams and show what they are capable of, they had worked so hard and they were very disappointed. Of course, Covid -19 has changed the way in which we all look at things and the students have accepted things with good grace and a smile.”
Immanuel head pleased given ‘unprecedented conditions’
Immanuel College has announced that 87 percent of A-Level grades were between A*-B, which Head Master Gary Griffin said he was pleased with, given the unprecedented conditions.
The school’s head and governors announced that 31% of grades weree A*, and 34%, A.
Gary Griffin, said he was “delighted for the Year 13 students, who have worked so diligently and effectively over their two years in the Sixth Form and have faced a period of great uncertainty in recent months, as a result of the Pandemic.
Moreover, he was keen to thank and congratulate staff on the extraordinary effort they have made to enable our students to achieve excellent results and university entry.”
JCoSS ‘delighted’ with record-breaking results
JCoSS in Barnet has announced that 49% of grades were either A* or A, and 78% were at Grade B or above.
Reflecting on the unusual circumstances and method of calculating results, the school said: “While any such system has its drawbacks it is gratifying that it has recognised the talents of our students.
Headteacher Patrick Moriarty commented: ‘This cohort have faced exceptional challenges and disruption to the end of their schooling, and we are both relieved and delighted that these excellent results recognise their huge strengths. I salute the unstinting hard work done by them, their teachers and (given the strains of the past 6 months) their parents also.
“We take pride not only in the academic accomplishments of our students but in the qualities that have grown in them during their time at JCoSS.
“They leave as accomplished Mensches.”
How do A-Level results work this year?
Teachers were told to submit grades they thought each student would have received if they had sat the papers, alongside a rank order of students, after exams were cancelled amid the pandemic.
Exam boards moderated these grades to ensure this year’s results were not significantly higher than previously and the value of students’ grades were not undermined.
In England, a total of 35.6% of grades were adjusted down by one grade, 3.3% were brought down by two grades and 0.2% came down by three grades, figures from Ofqual show.
But overall, the proportion of entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 9% – the highest proportion since the top grade was first introduced in 2010.
The Government announced late on Tuesday that students in England will have the “safety net” of being able to use mock exam results as the basis for an appeal if they are higher than the calculated grade.
Welcome to the JN A-Levels 2020 Live Blog!
Follow the fortunes of Jewish students as they find out their grades, and where they will be heading to next year.
With the coronavirus pandemic impacting upon how results are decided – with almost 40 percent of young people having outcomes downgraded – we’ll be sharing all the latest news and opinion about grades, and what it means for young people in the next 12 months.
If you have something to share, whether news, an opinion, a video or a picture of you opening your results – send it in to: Editorial@jewishnews.co.uk. Please put ‘A-Levels 2020‘ in the subject line!
Best of luck to all Jewish students!
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