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NUT: GCSEs Judicial Review decision “disappointing”

NUT: GCSEs Judicial Review decision “disappointing”

Commenting on today’s decision by the Lord Justice that last year’s GCSE English results will not be regraded, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:

“It is very clear to the NUT and the other organisations who brought this action that a great injustice has been done. While this is a disappointing outcome the High Court has recognised that the alliance was right to bring the case to court and this was an issue of great public concern.

“An estimated 10,000 students who took their English GCSE exam in June 2012 missed out on a C grade as a result of the decisions by the examination boards. These students had achieved exactly the same standard as their classmates who were awarded a C grade just a few months earlier.

“The Welsh Government recognised the plight of the pupils affected and ordered the re-grading of those pupils affected. It is profoundly unfair that Michael Gove and the High Court have taken a different view. Parents, pupils and teachers will feel very let down.

“The education system in England is in a state of turmoil due to the ill-thought out and rushed changes the Education Secretary is pushing through. We need a time of serious reflection and consultation on the best way forward for the future teaching of millions of children. Last week, after a huge outcry from all sectors of society, Michael Gove had to drop his plans for replacing GCSEs with the English Baccalaureate Certificates due to their total unsuitability. We cannot have an education system which is perceived by many to be manifestly unfair.”
  
END   pr30-2013
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