Skip to main content
Williamson's last minute ‘triple lock’ changes for A Level and GCSE students ‘smacks of incompetence’
Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson

THE government’s 11th-hour move to meet concerns over the reliability of exam results in England was condemned today as “embarrassing” and “shambolic.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that students could pick their result — from a choice of their calculated grade, valid mock grade, or autumn exam grade — after exams in May and June were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Williamson’s “triple lock” announcement came ahead of A-Level students receiving their results on Thursday. GCSE students receive theirs next Thursday.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
DIY POLITICS: Trade unionists, community activists, students and staff from the University of Dundee protest at job cuts to £35 million deficit, April 2025
Aw That / 17 January 2026
17 January 2026

It is time to stop tolerating the governing elites incompetence which makes our lives a daily misery, argues MATT KERR

People look at ‘The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret’ on display during a preview of the CC Land: The Wonder of Art exhibition in the refurbished Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery in London
Culture / 12 September 2025
12 September 2025
BRAVE NEW WORLD? Annual British Educational Training and Technology conference in London, January 2025, where Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson set out plans to use technology to ‘modernise’ the education system, support teachers and ‘deliver’ for pupils
Technology / 27 June 2025
27 June 2025

NICOLA SARAH HAWKINS explains how an under-regulated introduction of AI into education is already exacerbating inequalities