Scottish government U-turn over downgraded exam results

125,000 Higher students in Scotland whose results were downgraded in moderation will now receive their original grades estimated by teachers after a huge U-turn by Scottish ministers.

The Scottish Education Secretary John Swinney apologised for the “feeling of unfairness” caused by the downgrading of results and added that it was “deeply regrettable we got this wrong”.

The moderated results caused an outcry from students when it came to light that the higher pass rate for pupils from the most deprived backgrounds was reduced by 15.2 percentage points, and only by 6.9 percentage points for those from wealthier backgrounds.

One student who spoke out against the moderation was 17-year-old Eva Peteranna, who wrote an open letter to the Education Secretary last week. She described how her dream of attending medical school was impacted after her predicted grades of three As, a B and a C in her highers were downgraded to three Bs, a D and an F.

She said: “Growing up in the islands we were always told that we needed to work harder than those on the mainland if we want to achieve our goals.

“To say I am devastated is an understatement.”

Mr Swinney is now instructing the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to reissue grades “based solely on teacher or lecturer judgement”.

Today, the Education Secretary faces a no-confidence vote in Scottish Parliament over the exam controversy. However, this motion is predicted to be defeated.

According to the BBC, Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour and the Liberal Democrats want him to resign after the results were downgraded.

We now accept the risk of undermining the value of qualification is outweighed by a concern that young people, particularly from working-class backgrounds, may lose faith in education

– John Swinney, Education Secretary

Following the U-turn, the higher pass rate will now be 89.2% – an increase of 14.4 percentage points from 2019.

Erin Bleakley, who organised a student protest in Glasgow, said: “I think we would all like to say a generous thank you for not only the apology but the results being reverted to teacher estimates.

“I did not think this day would come.”

Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said: “The rest of the UK must now ensure that no student misses out because of a flawed system of awarding marks.”

Similarly the National Union of Students (NUS) claimed the UK government should “follow the lead of Scotland by scrapping moderated grades.”

Speaking to the Scottish Parliament, Mr Swinney said: “We now accept the risk of undermining the value of qualification is outweighed by a concern that young people, particularly from working-class backgrounds, may lose faith in education.”

The exams regulator for England, Ofqual, has also used a standardisation model for results to be released today. Results have been moderated by the regulator based on factors including each school’s previous performance.

The UK government has argued that this approach is crucial to prevent grade inflation and protect the integrity of qualifications.

The education spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, Jamie Greene, claimed Mr Swinney’s statement was the “longest resignation speech in history, minus the resignation”.

Maria McGoldrick (17) has an unconditional offer to study Politics and Philosophy at Stirling University, but was downgraded from a band 1 A to a C.

She said: “I think it was good he apologised and that I’m going to get my A, but it doesn’t make up for what happened. I don’t know one person who wasn’t affected, and I know lots of people who didn’t get their conditional offers and are heartbroken. This wouldn’t have happened if they had listened to young people from the start.”

Mr Swinney has said the government will make sure there are enough places at colleges and universities available to ensure no learners were “crowded out” due to the U-turn.