EXAM CHAOS
BTEC grades have been pulled just HOURS before results day - with 450,000 pupils now set to receive revised marks.
Exam board Pearson tonight confirmed all BTECs would be regraded to bring them in line with A-levels and GCSE results.
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It follows the Government's U-turn on Monday that GCSE and A-level students would this year be able to receive grades based on teachers' estimates.
The move plunges this year's exams into further chaos after algorithm results saw A-Level pupils receive heavily deflated grades, especially at state schools.
Around 200,000 students of both level one and two BTEC vocational courses will now not see their results published on Thursday morning as expected.
BTEC students' grades were not included in the government's original announcement, but now exam board Pearson has said it will be regrading the BTECs awarded to 250,000 pupils on A-Level results day.
A spokeswoman for Pearson, the provider of BTECs, said: "Following Ofqual's announcement that A-level and GCSE students are to receive centre-assessed grades, we will be applying the same principles for students receiving BTEC results this summer.
"We will be regrading BTECs to address concerns about unfairness in relation to A-levels and GCSEs and ensure no BTEC student is disadvantaged."
She added: "We know this could cause additional uncertainty for students and we are sorry about this.
"Our priority is to ensure fair outcomes for BTEC students and we will work around the clock to provide revised grades as soon as we can."
A date has not yet been confirmed for the release of BTEC grades - though the disruption is expected to cause further chaos for pupils looking to secure a place at Sixth Form college or university this autumn.
LAST MINUTE MOVE
The announcement comes as the Labour party and other education unions urged Pearson earlier this week to provide clarity on the impact of the government's U-turn on exam results for BTEC students.
MPs and education leaders have criticised the timing of the 11th hour announcement.
Kate Green, Labour's shadow education secretary, tonight lashed: "This latest chaos is totally unacceptable.
For some young people to find out less than a day in advance that they will not be receiving their grades tomorrow is utterly disgraceful
Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green
"For some young people to find out less than a day in advance that they will not be receiving their grades tomorrow is utterly disgraceful."
Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat's education spokesperson, also slammed the decision as "yet another shambles from the Government".
The Association of Colleges' chief executive, David Hughes, labelled the timing "worrying".
He said: "The timing is worrying, because thousands of students were due to get their results in the morning and others have already got results which we know will not go down, but which might improve."
The Department for Education confirmed that no student will see a result downgraded as a result of the review, but acknowledged the decision "will be disappointing for students".
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It comes after a week of chaos for A-Level students and universities following the government's u-turn on exam results.
Around 39% of students last Thursday had results downgraded by the Ofqual algorithm - with many missing out on university places as a result.
Students are now able to use their teachers’ recommended grades if they are higher than the grades issued to them on Results Day - which were determined by a controversial algorithm designed by exam regulator Ofqual.
But it has left leading universities scrambling to cope with a surge in admissions as many students have now met their first-choice offers with their new grades.
There are also fears that many lower-ranked universities could lose out on a significant chunk of their student intake as prospective undergraduates prioritise their first-choice offers.
Meanwhile, embattled education secretary Gavin Williamson has refused to resign over the A-levels fiasco.
Mr Williamson insisted he was "incredibly sorry" for the debacle, but appeared to shift the blame onto Ofqual - claiming the regulator "didn't deliver the system that we had been reassured and believed that would be in place".
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England SCRAPS A-level and GCSE grades and replaces marks with teachers’ scores as Gavin Williamson says sorry for distress
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