Education leaders in Fylde call for more A-Level grades to be decided by teacher assessments
It comes after a record number of students across the country got top grades in their results yesterday
A Vice Principal at Blackpool Sixth Form College is calling for more A-Level results to be decided by teacher assessments rather than just exams on their own.
It comes after a record number of students across the country got top A-Level grades yesterday.
In the North West, 41.4% of students got A* or A compared to 35.8% in 2020.
However, the regional pass rates (A*-E) fell fractionally from 99.8% in 2020 to 99.6% this year.
The record number of students getting A's and A*'s sparked criticism that grades had become 'inflated'.
Tina Cooper, Vice Principal of Curriculum at the college, said: "For anyone who thinks that there are bound to be higher grades and that these are given to the students and they haven't earned them...they really don't understand the work that's been put in and I would argue vehemently against that.
"It is absolutely down to what students and the teachers have done and they genuinely deserve this.
"We are incredibly confident with the grades that we've given to them. We've had a really rigorous quality assurance process. They have been assessed over a period of time, we haven't just taken an exam from one day.
"This way we've actually assessed them from lots of different ways over a period of time and in the real world you would never be judged just on one day's performance, you are judged over a period of time."
There are also fears reforms to the education system will leave college and sixth form students along the Fylde coast behind.
The government is planning to start rolling out T-levels over the next year. The qualification is equivalent to A-Levels and involves spending a large part of the course on a placement.
Tina said with the majority of businesses in the area being heavily focused on hospitality and tourism, there aren't many other industries for students to learn about: "So you are actually limiting those young people to enter careers that are only available as a placement in their local area.
"That's unfair, that actually sets us so far back in terms of social mobility it's wrong."