Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20200817

Millions of self employed workers can apply for a second round of grants from today, to help support their businesses against the effects of coronavirus. A woman has been charged with the murder of a ten year old boy in west london. In the first weeks of lockdown, someone called the police about domestic abusive every 30 seconds according to new research for panorama. More protests are expected in belarus following sundays huge gathering to try to force president Alexander Lukashenko to step down. The foreign secretary says the uk does not accept the result of the election. And coming up on sportsday misery for the manchester clubs in europe. After Citys Champions League shock, united are knocked out of the Europa League by sevilla. In the last hour Northern Ireland has decided to award gcse grades on the basis of teacher assessed grades. It adds to growing political pressure on the government over a level grades in england which have been described as flawed and unfair after almost 40 were less than Teacher Assessments. Northern irelands Education Minister peter weir said he wanted to ease the anxiety of pupils and their parents ahead of thursdays gcse results. There are growing calls to delay publication of those gcse results including from conservative mps such as Stephen Hammond who describes the Current Situation as simply unacceptable. It comes as new analysis suggests that a level grades awarded in sixth form colleges this year fell below the average of the last three years in england. The Grammar School Heads Association said a great injustice has been done with utterly baffling results for some students by the standardisation model used by the regulator, quual. Pupils protested over the weekend after almost 40 of grades in england awarded last week were lower than teachers predictions. This report from charlotte gallagher. The fury over a level results is not going away. Feeling let down, angry and upset, students protest outside westminster. Others contacted the bbc directly. I hoped to to come out with three as on results day to study medicine at lancaster university. Unfortunately, i only came out with three cs which means i was rejected from both my firm and insurance offers. The grades that my teachers submitted this year for me were a, a, a. And had i gotten these, i would have met my offer and gotten into cambridge. However, after standardisation, i received a, a, b, which meant i was rejected. 40 of a level grades were marked down from teachers predictions and, over the weekend, the appeals system plunged into even more uncertainty when guidance for pupils in england was withdrawn within hours by the exams regulator quual. The education secretary Gavin Williamson has borne the brunt of the anger, but there are now calls for borisjohnson to take charge of a situation widely described as chaotic. We are going into week three of this debacle, we knew about the situation in scotland two weeks ago and last week with a levels. Here we are two or three days away from gcse results day and the government still has not got a day and the government still has not gota grip day and the government still has not got a grip on the problem. Two penalises students with further delays because of government failure is really hard and we want action today. Grammar school and 61 is havejoined the growing criticism. The Grammar School Heads Association said the model used by quual is completely unfit for purpose giving utterly baffling results. Six punk is also believed their pupils are being treated unfairly. We looked at 65,000 entries which is almost half of all the a level entries in sixth form colleges across 401a level subjects, every single a level subject, and in every single a level subject, and in every single one of those 65,000 entries in 401a level subjects, they came out lower than the previous three year average. So the algorithm has failed. Gcse results are due out this thursday. The man who introduced the exams it says they should be delayed. There will be a massive number of downgrades this thursday, a massive number. Half a Million People take maths gcse so you are into numbers of hundreds of thousands complaining they have been hit. The department for education says it has been clear it wants to build as much fairness into the appeals process as possible and is working with 0fqual to achieve that. With me now is our Political Correspondent iain watson. Developments overnight on this, we had over the weekend the abandonment of the guidance by the exam regulator 0fqual on how to appeal against a decision which pupils may wish to challenge. I am told it is likely we will see the updated guidance today. There has been some debate over the amount of credibility people sitting mock exams would have if they are using that as the basis of appeal so there will be adjustments. I am getting no sense at all that the Education Department and education secretary Gavin Williamson is about to do a major u turn and adopt the Scottish Government system, which was to allow Teacher Assessments to form the basis of the exam results. In Northern Ireland, for gcses, the results were meant to be out on thursday but they have said Teacher Assessments will be used which will put further pressure on Gavin Williamson to try to make a similar decision in england. There havent been a massive number of government backbenchers, conservative backbenchers, conservative backbenchers speaking out. If you have become vocal now mentioning government naivety and incompetence saying it should be borisjohnson running the country are not an algorithm. Stephen hammond has been speaking to the bbc saying the confusion over how to appeal should be sorted out as quickly as possible. And frankly this is a problem that should have been anticipated. I think the government has handled large elements of the pandemic crisis very well and it has been very difficult and unusual. But in this instance, 0fqual had the opportunity to get this right all the way through. You have seen a number of articles from people who know more about statistics suggesting there were quirks in the algorithm which could have been sorted out earlier. But people knew this day for a level results and gcses months ago. To find ourselves now, the monday after a level results, worrying there isnt a proper appeals process in place and not enough confidence about gcses, frankly is simply unacceptable. Stephen hammond talking about the concerns he and other conservative backbenchers now have. What is interesting in terms of how the story may develop politically is that rob halpin, anotherformer minister, said he also wants a robust appeals process. If the guidance does not satisfy those mps they expect, we expect them to become more vocal. The body representing Grammar School is todays spoke in terms you would normally associate with opposition politicians, talking about a great injustice in the system which is not fit for purpose. What they are calling for is teacher assessed great to be used for a levels but also for the cap on University Admissions to be lifted to allow people who got disappointing grade to get in. I think where the Grammar School is going to date some conservative mps will go tomorrow. The former head of the schools inspectorate sir michael will show speaking to the bbc today has also repeated that call saying it is an imperfect system but it is the teachers assessment which should be used. If that leads to grades vision amidsta used. If that leads to grades vision amidst a pandemic crisis, that is something the government should be happy to live with. Of course we are all worried dog of course we are all worried about standardisation, because we are all worried there should not be rampant grade inflation. But our poor children, the great majority of children suffered hugely over the last six months particularly poor youngsters. And if we err on the side of generosity now, no one will blame the government for that and no one will blame 0fqual for that. This is an exceptional year. So we should follow the Northern Ireland example and the scottish example, and say that we will accept the estimated grades. The government says hundreds of thousands of students have the grades they need to go on to further study or to get a job. They are saying injecting fairness into the system, they are injecting fairness into the system. They can, stu d e nts fairness into the system. They can, students can sit an actual exam in autumn. They can technically tweak this appeals process, they can have another safety net of an exam further down the down the line. But there is a perception or a government which has talked about levelling up the country, which has w011 levelling up the country, which has won seats historically held by the labour party, it will be difficult for them to shake off this system they are presiding over a system disadvantage in the most disadvantaged people a system which is disadvantaging. Professor tina isaacs, who sits on 0fquals Advisory Group says it will be hard to restore complete public trust in the system. Right now what is happening is the public is losing confidence in the system. And it is up to 0fqual which i know has worked very hard, it is up i know has worked very hard, it is up to 0fqual and especially the government to try to put in place something that will claw back some of that public confidence. I am afraid it will not be able to claw back all of it. With me isjohn craven who is the ceo of the social Mobility Charity upreach. Also im joined by nicky graham, excutive principal at Harris Academy chafford hundred which teaches 11 18 year olds. Good to have you both with us on bbc news. Nicky, as a head teacher at the sharp end of all of this, is that what worries you most, confidence in the exam system, as much as the impact on individual lives of young people effected in the exams this year . Good morning. Yes, absolutely. The biggest priority is the children, a lwa ys biggest priority is the children, always the children, to make sure they get to do what they want to do next which they should have been able to do. We are doing lots to help them. We are putting lots in place to try to work with universities, work with students, to make this 0k. Universities, work with students, to make this ok. But it has been a very stressful time for them. They have been worried while they were off school how this would all work. They we re school how this would all work. They were quite anxious and emotional coming to collect their results. So we really need to make sure that they get what they need out of this. It is the only fair thing we can do. John, there seems to be pressure on the government in england to do what has already happened in scotland and 110w has already happened in scotland and now in Northern Ireland which is to say we will just now in Northern Ireland which is to say we willjust rely on Teacher Assessments. What is your view of that given the analysis you have done of how this algorithm worked . The expedition was the algorithm would have a levelling out the effect and take some of the extremes, particularly overestimation of grades out, and come up with something that was fairer. You have looked at it. Indeed, there are three major issues. Firstly the algorithms plants on historical schools data meant outstanding students where few people had got top grades, were u nfa i rly people had got top grades, were unfairly capped. They have missed out on Top University places as a result. An evidence for this is the attainment gap between students eligible to Free School Meals widened for the top grades despite assurances that they wouldnt. This had reversed here years of progress by schools. Secondly this reliance oii by schools. Secondly this reliance on historical grades and prior attainment particularly disadvantaged students at schools which have been improving. 0r which had weaker prior attainment data. Thirdly and most importantly, the bias which favoured those in small subject cohorts, favouring smaller schools and those doing niche subjects. This has passively favoured private schools where top grades raised 4. 7 compared to 0. 3 at six my Research Estimates this small subject effect and i meant sixth form College Students were 20 more likely to have their teacher assessed grades downgraded than private schools. If you look at subjects like latin and classics commonly taught at independent schools they saw rampant grade inflation. 0fqual said they were trying to avoid this. 7. 7 more a and that is compared to last year. In those subjects students at almost all schools were given school gotch schools which factored in Teacher Assessment which 0fcom admitted were over optimistic. In latin, 97. 4 of schools factored in teacher assessed grades. What you are saying is and this sounds baffling to me as an unbiased observer, it is a long time since i took exams and i dont have children soi took exams and i dont have children so i havent had this anxiety, are you saying the Teacher Assessments we re you saying the Teacher Assessments were effectively giving, bumping up grades in some of these smaller groups in smaller subjects in some independent schools . We were anxious to eliminate this grade inflation in schools generally because those two things seem to contradict each other. Completely. It is inconsistent. 0fqual has allowed grade inflation in certain subjects but only those many studied at independent schools 01 many studied at independent schools or top state schools while those subjects more commonly taught at it from colleges such as psychology, sociology, business studies, saw little or no grade inflation. 0. 5 increase in psychology, that is because most schools and almost all sick from colleges had their teacher assessed grades completely ignored by the algorithm. Let me go back to nicky. In light of hearing that, is the best way forward that the government should just go back to relying on Teacher Assessments this year and regrade based on that. That the government should direct 0fqual to do that . I dont think there was ever going to bea i dont think there was ever going to be a perfect system in the situation we find ourselves in. Less than perfect circumstances. There was always going to be some amount of dissatisfaction around whatever decision was made by the government to award these grades. However a lot of work has gone into sending the best grades possible in an awful lot of centres. I can vouch for the amount of work that has gone in, in the Harris Academy is, to send in great reflective of what students we re great reflective of what students were capable of. If you are saying you did not inflate grades, you are not overly generous to pupils, you think you got the first assessment possible in these unusual circumstances . That was our objective all the way through. The most important thing was to be honest about where stu d e nts was to be honest about where students could go. The problem is they have to sets of grades. They may even find themselves conflicted between them because they have the Centre Assessed grades they can access and the calculated grade they we re access and the calculated grade they were sent through by the exam board. That has caused confusion between them. I think the most important thing now is we have a clear direction forwards. We have gcses coming this week. We need no last minute changes. Clear and consistent messages. And a very fair appeals system for these a level students. We havent got the grace ofa students. We havent got the grace of a lot of time. Universities are putting pressure on students to accept places so they can have accommodation etc. The longer they wait, theyre less likely they are to get their places at university and to secure accommodation which is really important from a social point of view when you join university. They are caught at the moment. Possibly the best scenario for them is to get a successful appeal and at least have that on their permanent record even if it is too late to change anything for their university. Thank you for being with us this morning. And well be answering some of your questions about the exam results and what could happen, with an education expert atjust after 9. 30 this morning send them to yourquestions bbc. Co. Uk, or you can tweet bbcyourquestions. Millions of self employed people whose trade has been hit by coronavirus can now apply for a second support grant from the government. More than three Million People may be eligible for the payment of up to £6,570 each, which chancellor rishi sunak said would be the final hand out. The first grant, launched in may, saw £7. 8 billion claimed by 2. 7 Million People. Our Business Correspondent ben thompsonjoins. How will this work out . Good morning. This is the second and final payment offered to those who are self employed who have seen their income take a hit as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. You may remember the first round of this that paid people up to 80 of their profits up to a limit of up to a limit. This second round is less generous in some respects. But it comes with the same conditions. When the government bought this there was criticism millions of people who are self employed still fell through the gaps, those who were recently self employed or those who did not earn about half of their income from self employment. There were calls for them to be addressed. You will know this runs alongside other schemes from the government, the furloughing scheme, the Job Retention scheme protecting those who are employed and paid by an employer, and a Business Loan schemes. The second part of this opens today, it began at 6am. We are told already 39,000 people have taken advantage of it. We were speaking earlier about how this would work and how people could claim. We are trying very hard to contact all of those people who are eligible in order to help them to understand when they can make their claim, our claims window is initially open for a four day period. But if somebody thinks they are eligible and yet they have not been contacted by us, they can go on to the online system. And when it is they can make theirclaim. But people should not worry about needing to do everything in a rush. If you dont manage it in those first four days, the claims system is actually open until the 19th of october so everybody has the time to this do things that suit their working situation at the moment. Is the deputy chief executive at hmrc. It is worth bearing in mind the old system is now closed, applications closed on the 13th for the first slice of this payment. But evenif the first slice of this payment. But even if you are not eligible for the first month and you now find your situation has changed and you are now eligible, you can apply for this second round of payments without necessarily having qualified for the first. That is not a barrier to this. As you had applications until 0ctoberfor this. As you had applications until october for the this. As you had applications until 0ctoberfor the scheme. This. As you had applications until october for the scheme. The government is clear to point out this is a second and final payment. But that does not address the millions who still fall between the cracks of these various different schemes and finding it increasingly difficult given the effect the pandemic has had on incomes, finding it difficult to get any financial support. More business use throughout the day on bbc news more business news. A woman has been charged with the murder of a ten year old boy in acton in west london. 0lga freeman, who is 40, is expected to appear in court later today. Police believe they know who the boy is, but are awaiting formal identification. The uk and eu will meet for a seventh round of negotiations in brussels this week. The two sides remain split on the fishing and the so called level playing field. A deal must be reached between the two sides before the end of october for it to ratified by december 31st. That is when our transition out of the eu ends. Paul blomfield is the shadow ministerfor brexit and eu negotiations, hejoins me now. Good morning to you. Seventh round of negotiations. It was said earlier this year by the Prime Minister if there wasnt sufficient progress he would pull out of negotiations in june. We are in august. That is a positive sign, isnt it . It isa positive sign, isnt it . It is a far cry from the promises borisjohnson made it is a far cry from the promises Boris Johnson made in it is a far cry from the promises borisjohnson made in the election last year where if you remember he said he had an oven ready deal which was based on the Withdrawal Agreement and political declaration signed with the eu. There is not much sign of that deal really. We should be very concerned because if we do reach 0ctober without agreement or a sub optimal agreement, the Economic Impact on top of the difficulties we will face with coronavirus will be very serious forjobs with coronavirus will be very serious for jobs and with coronavirus will be very serious forjobs and the economy. You say a sub optimal agreement, thatis you say a sub optimal agreement, that is realistically the greater threat, nobody seriously believes the two sides do not want to get some kind of a deal because neither side would benefit from a no deal exit from the eu. 0n side would benefit from a no deal exit from the eu. On that basis, both sides would have to shift before the end of the year and you might not get a private arrangement, but you will get something. You are probably right there is an imperative for both sides. The idea of leaving the transition without an agreement is very serious particularly for the uk economy. But we need to look very carefully at the deal. The promise the Prime Minister made last year was for something that was for tariff free and barrier free trade, something that was for tariff free and barrierfree trade, offering protection for workers rights and the environment. What seems to be happening and the problem seems to be the government is backtracking on all those commitments it made to the eu and the british people. That is presumably one of the practical difficulties, if there is an element of distrust on either side, it makes that side less willing to make a compromise or offer something. Isnt there also a practical issue, with these kinds of negotiations, but the officials do is lay out the framework and haggle but in the end trade negotiations are always result at ministerial level so until the big beasts get involved we will not crack it. That is probably true. Part of the problem is and we have seen it with the a levels crisis last week, the prime list has a hands off approach. Backin prime list has a hands off approach. Back in june he prime list has a hands off approach. Back injune he met with the president s of the commission and parliament to try to move things forward. There doesnt seem to be much progress. He needs to get a grip of the process as he does with the crisis facing school students. Let us talk about that. You are an mp as well as having responsibilities on brexit. Asa responsibilities on brexit. As a constituency mp who is getting calls and e mails from parents never mind from pupils, what do you think has to happen between now and thursday when gcse results come out . There is a danger we will go through the agony of a week ago this thursday as well. That is right. I had been getting contact from students as well as pa rents contact from students as well as parents and schools. Hla all Party Parliamentary group on students, so i very much feel the agony many young people are going through. Two things need to happen. Firstly, the Prime Minister needs to get a grip of this, this is a crisis facing a generation of young people. The most urgent thing is an investigation into the process for standardisation and the algorithm which delivered so u nfa i rly and the algorithm which delivered so unfairly and badly for a levels. That must not happen again for gcses. Should the government bite the bullet and follow Northern Ireland, peter weir said whatever the best intentions of having this system, it will now be savoured to rely on or at least more public trust in letting Teacher Assessments carry the day . First we have to sort out the a level crisis and the government suddenly should acknowledge the problems it has created and say, and there is no perfect way out of this, there is no perfect way out of this, the only fair way out of this is to accept Teacher Assessments. If the review of the Technical Specifications of the process cannot resolve the unfairness last week, for gcses this week, that might be a step that needs to be taken. These shadow minister for brexit eu negotiations, thank you. Let us go to belarus. Following the election result which showed 8 of people supported the president who has been in charge for 26 years. It hasnt looked like that on the streets this weekend. Tens of thousands of people in minsk calling for the president to quit. A new wave of strikes are expected to start in belarus this morning in efforts to force its president , Alexander Lukashenko, to step down. It comes amid allegations of poll rigging in the countrys recent elections and Police Violence at earlier marches. Meanwhile, in an address to a smaller crowd of several thousand, Mr Lukashenko urged supporters to defend their country. This morning exiled president ial candidate svetla na tsikhanowskaya released a video to her supporters. She said she is ready to step up to lead the country, and called on law enforcers to end the violence against the protestors and take their side. And this morning, the foreign secretary dominic raab has called the violence against protestors appalling, and says the uk does not accept the result of last weeks election, calling it fraudulent. We will have more on that story and hopefully here from belarus in a short while. Sport, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres sally nugent. It has not been a good weekend for manchesters football clubs in europe. City dumped out of the Champions League by lyon on saturday, then 2k hours later united followed them beaten by sevilla in the semi finals of the Europa League. It means a third season in a row without a trophy for Manchester United. Patrick gearey reports. The longest season has ended too early for Manchester United and theyll finish with regrets. After all, they went ahead against sevilla. Bruno fernandes didnt need to dwell on this touch. The referee had spotted a foul. Penalty. Fernandes is sometimes compared with eric cantona. A kick fit for a king. But no team has been more successful than sevilla in this competition and there was a beautiful efficiency about their equaliser scored by suso once of liverpool. Manchester united returned with purpose after the break. They had 20 shots in all, but were thwarted time and again by sevillas keeper a hero named bounou. United just couldnt find the edge. And sevilla can be razor sharp. For an absent minded moment luuk de jong got free. The five time winners into the final once more. For united, a season that lasted more than a year ends in frustration, recrimination, and ultimately elimination. Patrick gearey, bbc news. To scotland, where rangers perfect start to the season has ended. They were held to a goalless draw by livingston, mainly thanks to this brilliant save by the livingston keeper max stryjek. He was making his debut as well not a bad way to make a good impression at your new club. Ronnie 0sullivan put in an absolute masterclass at the crucible theatre in sheffield, as he won his sixth World Snooker championship. He gave kyren wilson no chance in the final, and is nowjust one title short of stephen hendrys record of seven. Joe wilson reports. Five time champion of the world, the rocket ronnie 0sullivan. Ronnie 0sullivan, the greatest snooker player of all time well, thats what kyren wilson called him, and he spent the weekend losing to him. 0sullivan only needed one frame in the evening session. Enjoy every second there werent many. If 0sullivan is at his best, well, you dont get a chance. Kyren wilson already knew that. It looked like 0sullivan would win with a century break until he slightly misjudged his position on the black and, well, then. Didnt matter. Now 0sullivan rates wilson highly, but hes been scathing of other young players. Well, he is 44 and he is the world champion. My thing has been longevity. I kind of go in and out of form. My mind can wander sometimes but then ijust get a little bit of a taste for it and think, come on, lets see if youve still got it. 2001 was the first, this the sixth world title one behind stephen hendry. Maybe thats a motivation. For if 0sullivan really wants more, who still can stop him . Joe wilson, bbc news. Lewis hamilton has another trophy for his collection. He said he touched perfection as he won the spanish grand prix having led the race from start to finish. Michael schumacher is still the Gold Standard of course, and hamilton is nowjust three wins short of the germans all time record. It now looks inevitable that Lewis Hamilton will become the most successful driver of all time. It looks like the second test between england and pakistan is heading for a draw after the weather got in the way of play this weekend. There was only an hours play on sunday. It was enough time for england to end the pakistan innings all out for 236. England then lost an early wicket, rory burns out for a duck after just four balls. And then the rain arrived again, so the covers came on with england seven for one. Its the last day today, so a draw is looking like the most likely outcome. Premiership rugby returned this weekend, and after five months away wasps resumed with a win. They beat northampton at franklins gardens. Josh bassett scored twice in the bonus point win, and that moves them up into the top four for the first time this season. Meanwhile, wigan moved to the top of super league after beating leeds rhinos. There was a landmark try for liam farrell his 100th for the club as wigan eased to a comfortable win. Elsewhere, st helens beat castleford. And stand by for a huge crash in moto gp and before we show it, i can assure you that nobody was seriously hurt. This is Franco Morbidelli and johann zarco crashing at the austrian grand prix. The rider in the yellow helmet there is moto gp legend Valentino Rossi. Hugely lucky escape for him. He said the crash was terrifying. Amazing that no riders were seriously hurt. And there is Valentino Rossi just having a moment to think about what has just happened. Thats all from us for now more from the bbc sport centre at 12 15. Now on bbc news its time for your questions answered. Still many questions remain following results day last thursday in england, wales and Northern Ireland with many students still unsure how to proceed. Hundreds of students took to the streets over the weekend to protest over the way a level results were decided this year, and theres still confusion over the appeals process for those who didnt get their predicted grades. The advice from 0fqual was withdrawn over the weekend, the appeals process for those who didnt get predicted grades and want them reassessed. Before we turn to some of your questions, lets hear from a few of the students affected. I am a first generation 0xford offer holder from a state school, and getting my offerfrom 0xford was the biggest achievement i could have hoped for. I am currently in the process of appealing my grades but that process and the criteria seems to be changing every day which is really confusing and makes me very angry when they have had all this time to prepare. Prior to my mocks, i had appendicitis and had to have an operation. This put me at a disadvantage compared to my fellow students. The government has not considered this aspect which means i have no grounds for which to appeal. Thankfully i got into my insurance but did not get into my firm choice. Applicants who apply to medicine or dentistry sat entrance exams like the ucat and bmat and attended rigorous interviews before receiving their offers. These demonstrated our capabilities and genuine passion for the career, and i believe that these are more accurate than any grade we have been given. I feel really let down and have no confidence in this government who even after three days of results coming out cant decide what the appeals process is. And with gcses coming out this week, we need it sorted as soon as possible. Some of the views from students who have been through the process this last few days. To help answer some of them, werejoined by Grainne Hallahan from the times educational supplement. Thank you forjoining us in putting yourself in the lions den, as it were, with roars of rage from people contacting us about results. We can start with joanne who sent an e mail, she says her son is still sitting with terrible a level grades, three marks below the Teacher Assessments, below his marks and he lost his university place, what an awful way to start this week. What are 0fqual doing and what is the next step for us . As you mention, over the weekend we thought we would have some resolution to the appeal situation but unfortunately at the last minute, late on saturday night, they retracted the appeals guidance, which when they laid it out seemed quite sensible. Mock exams had to fit the criteria of eight different points, which seem to be in the realms of normality for most schools but we are now waiting to see what the new appeals process will be. For the sun in question, he will be. For the sun in question, he will have to wait and see what the appeals process will be before he can begin that appeal and the best advice for him is to keep on contacting his university and make sure they are informed as to what his mark grades were, what his cags were. For those of us outside the educational bubble, can you tell us what the acronym cags is . The Centre Assessment grades, the grades teachers submitted when they were asked to at the beginning of lockdown is, thinking of their student on a good day, that was the guidance of 0fqual, what would a student do in an exam on a good day, and they were asked to rank the stu d e nts and they were asked to rank the students and this is how the algorithm has processed the data. The cag is the greater teacher would have given the student. And when you say centre, they mean school or couege . Say centre, they mean school or college . I do, these are the grades the teachers gave them. So if i use the teachers gave them. So if i use the phrase again in another question eve ryo ne the phrase again in another question everyone will know what im talking about. Paula says, can universities choose to admit students on predicted grades rather than the results they have been awarded . Sorry, that was john results they have been awarded . Sorry, that wasjohn on twitter, rather, who tweeted that to us. Universities can, to an extent. They had a cap put in place this year which means they cant have the full number of students they might wish to have. People are now calling for the government to lift the cap for universities so they can admit the stu d e nts universities so they can admit the students they want to admit for their courses. 0k. Students they want to admit for their courses. Ok. This one is from paula, who sent an e mail to ask, is itfairto paula, who sent an e mail to ask, is it fair to great students on mock exams when each school sits a different test. It could end up being academic if the advice being withdrawn is never reinstated but lets say for the sake of argument they still use this as one way of assessing appeals. Mock exams are set differently in different schools so how can you compare them across the piece . Not only that but different departments and subjects in schools will set different mock exams. And even within classes, two different classes might do different marks. Not only that, not even all stu d e nts marks. Not only that, not even all students will do a mock exam. When lockdown happened we know lots of colleges were still waiting to sit them. A mock exam isnt fair between two students, even in the same school. You raise an interesting question there because i was looking atan question there because i was looking at an article over the weekend which mention some research 0fqual itself did when it got an examiner to look com pletely did when it got an examiner to look completely unconnected from the exam system at old papers submitted by stu d e nts system at old papers submitted by students and they did all the different subjects and you wont be surprised there was only a variation between different examiners awarding marks of 4 in maths because most of it is about working through formulas and getting the right results but in history it went up as much as 44 . So even in a properly assessed system, with examiners who dont know the students, have never met the students and lookjust at the papers they are given, there can still be a wide variation in the marks they are awarded. Absolutely. We know this is true from historically looking at exam data and in the past when students sit normal exams, there is still an appeals process and a student might appeals process and a student might appeal and mark and another examiner might check it and give it a com pletely might check it and give it a completely different mark. In a mock situation it is even less tightly controlled than that. In proper exams where it is properly regulated, people are checking the marks given but in a school there is nowhere near the same number of cheques. A question from sarah, who tweeted us because she says there are still lots of students who still havent received their btec results. What is different about the btec system and when do you think this is likely to be sorted out . We are expecting less disruption to the btec system because it is a different qualification to a levels and they do more coursework and often do exams before the final exam injune. Often do exams before the final exam in june. You often do exams before the final exam injune. You can even take an exam and resit it so it is very different to the a levels. There is a delay to the btec results and we still dont know when those students can expect results. And just because you do btec doesnt also mean you are competing for university places. Many people do btec exams and then go to university and they are disadvantaged by the fact they cant go through clearing because they still dont have results. Lets say you didnt get the results you wanted. An a level student is then encouraged to put themselves in clearing even if they are appealing to give themselves more options. But if you havent even got a result then you cant approach any universities and say, i am waiting for results but in the meantime im looking for a place in this particular subject because they have nothing to base their offer on, if they even make an offer. All you can do is tell them what your Centre Assessed grade was, your teacher grade, and explain what you got in your marks. The good thing about the btec as you will have had coursework and performance exams marked so you can at least tell that to the university but you are in a much more difficult position. There has been a lot of talk about universities having Spare Capacity a nyway universities having Spare Capacity anyway because of the number of foreign students who wont come to the uk this year because of the effects of the pandemic. If that Spare Capacity exists, is itjust a straightforward business, since universities are businesses now and only get a budget based on the number of students they actually teach, so isnt it fair enough to say to universities, use this Spare Capacity to accommodate all these would be University Undergraduates and worry about grades and Everything Else in the course of their first Everything Else in the course of theirfirst year . Get Everything Else in the course of their first year . Get them in and get them started and if there is a problem deal with it then . But also expecting a bit of a gap because many students this year have deferred their places because they feel like going to university this year during feel like going to university this yearduring a feel like going to university this year during a pandemic isnt ideal for them, and its not the University Experience they expected so well be deferring. As to what will happen if we fill these gaps, i think it will raise more problems as well but there is definitely a call to say, lets lift those caps and change the number of students that can go to university this year and deal with that problem because thats an easier problem to solve than having lots of students who dont have grades at the moment or have grades they dont feel reflects their ability and what they are capable of and not being able to progress. The next question is from liz who asks, and this is the Million Dollar question, and bear in mind we dont have forever, how does the algorithm work and what does it ta ke the algorithm work and what does it take into account . 0k, the algorithm work and what does it take into account . Ok, so, the algorithm, the statistical model looks at the Historical Data of the school, looking at what students in previous years, how they scored in that school and the results they get. It also takes into account the size of the cohort, which is where a lot of the problems are coming from. If you have a cohort, a class of underfive students, if you have a cohort, a class of under five students, the statistical model doesnt work at such a low level so they have just taken the Centre Assessed grades, those teacher grades. If it is between five and 15 then they did a mixture of Centre Assessed grades and statistical model. 0ver of Centre Assessed grades and statistical model. Over 15 it was just the statistical model. U nfortu nately just the statistical model. Unfortunately this disadvantages school where you are not in an independent school, who traditionally have smaller classes. The fft have done data on this and you have smaller cohorts in independent schools, hence the talk about the statistical model disadvantaging students in more socially deprived areas because they are more likely to be in cohorts of 15 and above and therefore had the algorithm applied to their results resulting in a downgrading. You might be wondering why we had to do this at all. They took in the Centre Assessed grades, those teacher grades, and when they ran those through the system they saw there would be an increase of about 12 compared to last year, so because they want to keep standards over time and dont want to have sudden grade inflation, 0fqual and the exam boards wanted to moderate this down toa2 boards wanted to moderate this down to a 2 increase, hence having the statistical model. Thank you so much for explaining that, it was extremely straightforward and quite a relief to hear a straightforward explanation of the algorithm after so much baffling information over the last few days. I think people will have appreciated you answering their questions. From the times educational supplement, thank you. Looking ahead to a programme coming up looking ahead to a programme coming up on bbc one later this evening now. For People Living in abusive relationships, lockdown made it notjust harder for them to leave, but also, for the majority, it meant the violence got worse. That s according to the first in Depth Research about the impact of lockdown on the scale and nature of Domestic Abuse, carried out by the Charity Women s aid exclusively for the bbc s panorama programme. In the first weeks of lockdown, someone called the police about domestic abusive every 30 seconds. Victoria derbyshire reports. This isjess. For years her husband had been abusive to her, but when lockdown was announced, things got worse. And that stay at home message, what did that mean to you . Seriously . Yeah. The Charity Womens aid have been working on the first in Depth Research about the impact of lockdown on Domestic Abuse for panorama. Of the people they spoke to, almost two thirds of those living with an abuser said the violence had got worse. More than three quarters of women said lockdown had made it harderfor them to escape. Jess got out, and to a place of safety, but finding a room in refuge was harder than ever during lockdown. There were 1100 fewer available beds, a drop of 42 compared to the same time last year. Is it likely she is going to be accepted, or. . Marie williamson manages this refuge in london. Maries desperately trying to find the woman and her children a bed in an alternative refuge after their whereabouts were mistakenly revealed by a third party. I have had five refuges out of the seven refuges that were available, and they have all declined. I am going to ring up another and after that ive got no other options. 19 days after lockdown began, the government announced it would give an additional £2 million to Domestic Abuse helpline is. To Domestic Abuse helplines. The timing was dreadful. It should not have taken 19 days to mobilise any sort of action. What it highlights is that it wasnt a priority for the government. Its a poor effort. Were you too slow to act . I dont think we were because when we were talking to charities in the very, very earliest days, we were very much responding. We said to them, what do you need for us to help. Can i tell you how many people were killed in an alleged Domestic Abuse cases in the three weeks between lockdown and when that announcement was made for 2 million for the helplines . It was 11 women and two children and one man. In those three weeks. The charities, the police, we all work incredibly hard to keep victims and survivors, but we must never take attention attention away from the fact that it is abusive people who committed those murders. Victoria derbyshire, bbc news. That programme is broadcast this evening on bbc one. Fiona dwyer is from solace womens aid. Thank you for being with us. You have obviously been involved in this research. What struck you most about the figures when you actually analyse them . The figures when you actually analyse them . The figures were not a surprise to us at solace. We support 27,000 people a year across london. The figures that came through our helpline, our advice line, all our refuge services, it was exactly the same picture. Women were really struggling to be able to leave from abusive homes. The figures, they we re abusive homes. The figures, they were not a surprise at all to us at solace. We have had the figures from fatalities but the figure we dont know is the number of people who suffered abuse and suffered in silence. 0n suffered abuse and suffered in silence. On this occasion, because of the peculiar circumstances of coronavirus, they had no chance of a way out. How do we avoid that problem arising again because we have to accept that there is every chance of either local lockdowns in the future, some are ongoing at the moment in parts of the country, or potentially again a National Lockdown if there is a second wave. Presumably everyone involved in this wa nts to presumably everyone involved in this wants to prevent that risk arising a second time. Absolutely. What we saw in the first week that lockdown eased, we had a 200 increase in calls to our advice line for example. So there were women trying to get through to our services to try to be able to escape and during lockdown we actually opened a 70 bed refuge funded by the Mayors Office for policing and crime and our own emergency funding that we received in partnership with southall black sisters, a 70 unit refuge, and that unit was full in its second week. There were cases that those who were able to flee during lockdown were incredibly complicated cases. They had literally left with nothing, so we are had literally left with nothing, so we a re really had literally left with nothing, so we are really worried the same situation will happen again. I think the government really needs to step forward and ensure that services are funded so those able to escape can be supported. The Programme Highlights the cuts to refuge provision, that is national, across the whole of the uk. And there is and never has been any sustainable funding for Domestic Abuse services. 0n the question of emergency funding the government announced injune of £22 million, has not already been spent . It is still coming through in dribs and drabs. It wasnt released probably as quickly as it could have been. The funding is also only until the end of october, leaving Many Services really concerned about what will happen. We are expecting a surge in cases as we get to the winter months. Will that mean future lockdowns, will it mean services. We dont have any sustainable funding in the sector across the whole of the sector, there isnt one organisation with sustainable funding. Everything is done relatively piecemeal and relies in general on the goodwill of local authorities to fund services. Fiona dwyer of womens aid solace, thank you forjoining us. And you can watch panorama, escaping my abuser, with victoria derbyshire, tonight at 7 30pm on bbc one. Now its time for a look at the weather. Yesterday we had issues with flash flooding across parts of east anglia, the midlands and lincolnshire to name just three places. There was also a report of a water spout in the bristol channel. Today, further thundery downpours in a forecast that could lead to flash flooding. There will be sunshine in between. This area of cloud in the satellite picture is producing that rain and is still doing so. As we go through the day, the rain moves out of Northern England and turns more showery across scotland and Northern Ireland but here too we will see heavy bursts at times with thunder and lightning and it will come in through wales. For the rest of england and the rest of wales, sunny spells but also some heavy, thundery downpours with large hail and gusty wind that could lead to some localised flooding. Another humid day, perhaps warmer across the north east of england. Heading through the evening and overnight, starting with showers, many of them fading but hang on to them in western areas. Mist and murk and low cloud across eastern scotland in particular. Temperatures falling to 1215. Particular. Temperatures falling to 12 15. Tomorrow we could hang onto low cloud, mist and murk across eastern scotland across much of the day. More sunshine around tomorrow than today. It will not feel as humid but we will see further showers developed and some of those will be heavy on thundery with the potential that they could lead to some issues. Temperatures of 16 23. Moving into wednesday, you can see the remnants of the weather front across the north but another one coming in across the south west. The isobars, it will turn windier. The weather front producing a lot of rain and ahead of it it will be a dry and even bright start with some sunshine but then the rain will pile in from the southwest and drift north east through the course of the day. Gusty wind, quite strong with temperatures between 16 and 22. Temperatures humid. Into thursday, with a weather front pushing into the north of scotland before eventually clearing. Dry weather with some showers but Something Else coming in from the west and the wind picking up as well with top temperatures getting up to 25. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Growing political pressure on the uk government over a level grades in england after almost 40 were downgraded from teacher estimates. Here we are on the monday after a level results worrying there isnt a proper appeals process in place and now worrying there is not enough confidence in the system about gcses. Frankly, this is simply unacceptable. In Northern Ireland the Education Minister says gcse results there will be based solely on grades provided by teachers scrapping original plans to take into account schools past performances. More protests are expected in belarus following sundays huge gathering, to try to force president Alexander Lukashenko to step down