STEPHEN GLOVER: Why I fear Boris Johnson’s silence on exam fiasco heaps arrogance upon incompetence 

Where is Boris? We are told he’s camping in Scotland with fiancée Carrie Symonds and baby son Wilfred. It’s hard to imagine him banging in tent pegs, or hunched over a flickering Primus stove. Maybe he’s not really camping and being bitten to death by midges but sheltering in a friend’s house on some pleasant … Read more

Gavin Williamson is ‘on his last life’ after his exams fiasco

Gavin Williamson is ‘on his last life’ after his humiliating exams fiasco and will be sacked if Boris Johnson‘s schools reopening is botched, ministers claim. The Education Secretary has defied calls to resign from MPs across the board following his disastrously mishandled A-level grading debacle. Cabinet colleagues now believe that embattled Mr Williamson, who is … Read more

NEU demands reduced content for A-levels and GCSEs in 2021 as students find tests ‘too stressful’

Education union chiefs have today demanded an overhaul of next year’s GCSE and A-Level exams over fears coronavirus could cut school contact time and called for an emphasis shift away from end-of-year exams – because students find them ‘too stressful’. Bosses at the National Education Union (NEU), the UK’s largest teaching union, have written to … Read more

Boris Johnson ‘will DEFY calls for autumn reshuffle’ despite Tory pressure to sack Gavin Williamson

Boris Johnson is defying calls for an autumn reshuffle despite Tory backbench pressure to sack Gavin Williamson over his exams debacle. The PM has been accused of having a ‘lack of grip’ after a series of mishaps during the coronavirus crisis has left the Government being ‘laughed at’. He is expected to make ‘minor’ changes … Read more

Gavin Williamson digs in after A-level results U-turn

Gavin Williamson today insisted he intends to stay on as Education Secretary long into the future despite growing calls for him to quit over the A-level results fiasco.  Mr Williamson yesterday announced a screeching U-turn as the Government said grades will now be based on teachers’ assessments rather than a controversial algorithm developed by regulator … Read more

Sir Keir Starmer tells government ‘this is no way to run a country’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has slammed government incompetence following the A-level U-turn yesterday – but Gavin Williamson is still expected to stay on.  After coming under vast pressure, Mr Williamson decided to allow GCSE and A-level results in England to be based on teachers’ predicted grades. But tens of thousands of pupils still face … Read more

GCSE students WILL get teacher-estimated grades on Thursday

GCSE students will be awarded with their teacher’s predicted grades despite calls to have their results delayed in the wake of the A-level results fiasco. Pupils will be able to take the higher of either their adjusted grade or their estimate mark after the regulator Ofqual confirmed England would follow steps already taken by Scotland, … Read more

A-levels U-turn: Conservatives urge Gavin Williamson to resign

Gavin Williamson was branded a ‘lame duck’ Education Secretary last night as senior Tories urged him to quit over the exams fiasco. MPs believe he will ultimately get the boot when the Prime Minister reshuffles his Cabinet this autumn. But former ministers insisted he should go now, saying his position was ‘completely untenable’. One added: … Read more

A-levels U-turn throws university admissions into chaos

University admissions departments now face a ‘major headache’ amid the chaos of a Government U-turn on the way A-level results are awarded – and the scrapping of a temporary cap on how many students they can accept.    English universities had only been allowed to recruit 5% more UK students than their targets this year in … Read more

University admissions are plunged into fresh chaos by major exam U-turn

University admissions departments now face a ‘major headache’ amid the chaos of a Government U-turn on the way A-level results are awarded – and the scrapping of a temporary cap on how many students they can accept.    English universities had only been allowed to recruit 5% more UK students than their targets this year in … Read more