![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/fury-as-rude-and-dismissive-tory-says-no-one-asks-about-a-levels-in-10-years-time/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/0_Rishi-Sunak-Holds-Government-Cabinet-Meeting-On-Budget-Day.jpg&description=Education Secretary Gillian Keegan came under fire after making the remark in a TV interview, and then doubling down later on as ministers are accused of being unfair to students A brazen top Tory was branded "rude and dismissive" after claiming people "won't ask you anything about your A-level grades in 10 years' time" as top grades plummeted. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan made the remark as ministers were attacked for "abruptly" returning to pre-pandemic marking in England. Unions said the move "risks damaging the future of students" after a 10% drop in A* or A grades compared to last year. Labour Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "I think the comments from the Secretary of State are incredibly rude and dismissive. This is a nerve-racking day for young people who've worked incredibly hard. The last thing that they need is the Secretary of State offering comments like that, and it really does add insult to injury coming from a Government that completely failed to put in place the kind of support that our young people needed coming out of the pandemic, after all of the disruption they'd experienced." Ms Keegan later doubled down on the remark, made during a Sky News interview, saying: "It is true, it is just real." She added: "It's an important step to get to your next destination, but when you're a couple of destinations further on there'll be other things that they look at." Exam boards in Wales and Northern Ireland delayed going back to pre-pandemic marking systems until 2024. This year 25.4% of grades awarded were either an A* or A, down from 36.4% last year. The overall pass rate fell by just over 1% to 97.3%. National Education Union joint general secretary Mary Bousted said: 'The decision to return abruptly to pre-pandemic grading risks damaging the future of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, whose lives and learning have already been hit hard by the pandemic. "The exam system itself is badly in need of reform. The ways in which){kind=link}
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan came under fire after making the remark in a TV interview, and then doubling down later on as ministers are accused of being unfair to students
A brazen top Tory was branded “rude and dismissive” after claiming people “won’t ask you anything about your A-level grades in 10 years’ time” as top grades plummeted.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan made the remark as ministers were attacked for “abruptly” returning to pre-pandemic marking in England. Unions said the move “risks damaging the future of students” after a 10% drop in A* or A grades compared to last year.
Labour Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “I think the comments from the Secretary of State are incredibly rude and dismissive. This is a nerve-racking day for young people who’ve worked incredibly hard. The last thing that they need is the Secretary of State offering comments like that, and it really does add insult to injury coming from a Government that completely failed to put in place the kind of support that our young people needed coming out of the pandemic, after all of the disruption they’d experienced.”
Ms Keegan later doubled down on the remark, made during a Sky News interview, saying: “It is true, it is just real.” She added: “It’s an important step to get to your next destination, but when you’re a couple of destinations further on there’ll be other things that they look at.”