Somerville: Pupils will be able to appeal to SQA directly over grades eveningexpress.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eveningexpress.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Updated: June 2, 2021, 6:58 pm
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Scottish school pupils will have the right to appeal their assessment results directly for the first time but face a “perverse gamble” as grades could be moved both up and down, the education secretary has confirmed.
Shirley-Anne Somerville told MSPs that youngsters will not have to rely on schools to appeal on their behalf if they wish to question the grades recommended by their teachers but was accused of failing to learn the lessons from last year’s exams “fiasco”.
EDUCATION Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has announced Scottish pupils will have the right to directly appeal grades given out this year, as criticism of the process continued. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, official exams were cancelled for a second straight year, and replaced with a system of teacher grading. As a result, pupils will be given the chance to appeal to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) directly, breaking with the usual process of schools submitting appeals on their behalf. Speaking in Holyrood, the new Education Secretary said pupils could appeal based on disagreement with the grade given, allegations of administrative error or on the grounds that the Equality Act was breached.