Welsh Conservatives will today call on the Labour-run Welsh Government to provide details of its review into the January’s GCSE English Language exam results, which were unexpectedly low.
In a Welsh Conservative-led debate in the Assembly, the Party’s AMs will urge the Labour Government to publish more information about the review process and evidence received.
Last week, all secondary school headteachers from Rhondda Cynon Taff wrote to the Education Minister to express their frustration and disappointment, saying that parents and pupils were ‘losing faith in a once reliable examination system’.
The letter confirmed that all schools which had entered students for the January exams had seen a drop of around 25 percentage points in the number of pupils gaining a grade C or above.
Labour’s Education Minister brushed aside the headteachers’ concerns as ‘reckless scaremongering’.
Angela Burns AM, Shadow Minister for Education, said, “While we support the need for an urgent review into what has gone so badly wrong in the launch of the new GCSE English Language qualification, its work is shrouded in mystery.
“This is a very worrying and distressing time for parents, pupils and teachers and they deserve answers.
“The Welsh Government must make information publicly available to help the education sector understand why exam results have tumbled as well as providing reassurances that students will receive a fair grade.
“Labour’s meddling in the examinations system has undermined confidence in the rigour of Welsh qualifications.
“We warned Labour Ministers that separatism by departing from the three country GCSE to devise Wales-only qualifications would put international recognition and respect at risk.
“In launching a new Wales-only exam, Labour Ministers promised that pupils would not be disadvantaged. Grades should be comparable with GCSEs in other parts of the UK to ensure the qualification currency carries the same weight and it is difficult to see how that can be the case with an entirely different examinations system.
“Instead of providing reliable information to worried students and their families, the Labour Minister chose to attack the very teachers who have worked so hard to deliver these new qualifications.
“At this difficult time, teachers deserve support from the welsh Government and but instead are being accused of scaremongering for raising legitimate concerns about Welsh qualifications.
“Labour Ministers must use this debate to provide teachers, parents and students with the answers they deserve.”
