Newspaper headlines: ‘Pupil power’, and PM told to end exams ‘shambles’
“Pupil power” is the headline on the front of Metro, with images of students demonstrating outside the Department for Education in Westminster on Sunday dominating the page. Hundreds of students took to the streets protesting against the government’s mishandling of exam results, with many demanding Education Secretary Gavin Williamson stands down. As they gathered in Westminster, they called on Boris Johnson to “come out of hiding”, the paper adds, and take personal responsibility for the “chaos”.
The increasing pressure being placed upon the prime minister to get a grip of exam results also leads the front page of The Guardian. Labour and Conservative politicians have united in their criticism of the “botched” handling of the A-level results in England, the paper reports. Oxford University has said it is unable to offer further places to state school applications who have been affected by the grading fiasco “as we are constrained by government student number controls”, a spokesperson has said.
Student protests also feature prominently on the front page of The Daily Telegraph, with a protester carrying a sign reading, “our gov’t failed us”. Meanwhile, Mr Williamson and exams regulator Ofqual are divided over exam grades, the paper reports. Board members at Ofqual want to ditch their own algorithm, the paper adds, after sources allegedly said that some members believe the system has led to a “haemorrhaging” of public trust in qualifications. Mr Williamson has repeatedly defended the algorithm as the fairest way to award student grades after exams were cancelled.
“Will GCSE results be delayed?” is the question posed on the front page of the Daily Mail. The PM is facing pressure from within his own party to delay Thursday’s results by two weeks so grades can be revised following the A-level “fiasco”. There are fears millions of pupils could see their grades drop because of the contentious algorithm used to determine A-level students’ grades. Lord Baker, who introduced the GCSE system, said of the government: “If you are in a hole, stop digging.”
Conservative MPs have warned Mr Johnson that they will go on the warpath unless he tackles the “unfairness” of the English A-level grading system, The Times says. A growing number of Tory MPs have complained to their whips about the “Kafkaesque” computer algorithm used to determine results, the paper adds, with several calling on the government to base results on pupils’ predicted grades. The paper quotes former Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, who said: “This is something that cuts through to everyone.”
The government’s “chaotic” A-level exam grading has sparked legal action, the i newspaper reports, as regulator Ofqual could face a judicial review over the “fiasco”. Students’ legal challenge has been backed by Labour’s Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, who called on the government to “admit they got it wrong”. Meanwhile, education unions have condemned the “political Punch and Judy” show.
Meanwhile, the government is considering offering bailout loans to debt-laden companies owned by private equity groups, the Financial Times reports. The move is an attempt to rescue a swath of the British High Street, which has seen the loss of hundreds of jobs because of the impact of lockdown restrictions caused by the pandemic. Citing four people involved in the process, the paper says the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy department wants to help private equity-backed groups that employ large numbers of people, such as Pizza Express, Prezzo and Merlin, the owner of Legoland. Under European Union rules, however, companies whose losses exceed 50% of their share capital are ineligible for government support.
Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror leads with the sad news that search and rescue teams looking for lost brothers Muhammad and Ali Shabbir have found two bodies. The teenagers, 18 and 16 respectively, got into difficulty in the water during a visit to Lytham St Annes, Lancashire.
The Daily Express leads with an article relaying fears from senior Brexiteers that a deal with the EU could allegedly leave the UK tied to Brussels.
And the Daily Star says that Britain is due to be hit by 55mph tropical storm Kyle this week, bringing an end to the heatwave the country has been experiencing and potentially sparking an early Autumn.
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