Affected BTEC students will be reissued their results by Friday 28 August

Joint statement from @EducationGovUK, Federation @AwardingBodies and @Ofqual 

“Our priority is making sure every student receives the grade we know they have all worked so hard for, so they can move on to the next stage of their lives.

“Many vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) results were not affected by the change in how grades were awarded, with millions of results issued on time over recent days.

“However, our focus is now on supporting those students who require reissued results. We are meeting with the relevant awarding organisations, AoC, SFCA and UCAS daily, and we are committed to working together to ensure that fair results can be issued to those students swiftly.

“Where qualifications are most similar to GCSEs and A levels, awarding organisations are actively checking that outcomes are fair for all students. However, not all results are being reissued, because not all were calculated in the same way to A levels and GCSEs. Where such results are being reissued it is because awarding organisations want to ensure that their process means students grades are fair when compared to their A level and GCSE peers.

“Critically, no student will see their result downgraded as a result of this process, so results already issued will either stay the same or improve. Universities, colleges and schools are holding places for students awaiting final results and working hard to prepare for students starting in September. Many further education colleges are allowing students to enrol without confirmed grades and we anticipate that most sixth form colleges will be in a position to do that too. UCAS has also confirmed that the vast majority of VTQ students have already been placed at their first choice of higher education institution.

“We understand this delay is disappointing and frustrating, but it is right to make absolutely sure that no student is adversely affected by the circumstances of this year.

“We want to reassure students, schools and colleges that awarding organisations are working as hard as they can to make sure affected students are reissued their results by Friday 28 August. Ofqual is monitoring the situation very closely.”

Vocational and technical qualifications results are assessed differently to A levels and GCSEs. The statistical approach used for A levels and GCSEs results was not generally used for VTQs. Results generally took into account coursework already completed. Centre assessment grades formed a small part of the final results, and the majority of results are in line with centre assessment grades.

However, some of the awarding organisations are reviewing their approaches to make sure students’ grades are fair as compared to their A level and GCSE peers.