'I don't buy the argument this year's results reflect a dumbing down of A-levels'
10 August 2021, 15:47 | Updated: 10 August 2021, 15:55
'I don't buy into the argument this year's results reflect a dumbing down of A-Levels'
This is the moment Dr Mairi Watson of the University of Hertfordshire told LBC she doesn't buy into the argument that this year's exam results reflect a dumbing down of A-levels, GCSEs and other qualifications.
Dr Mairi Watson, Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Student Experience at the University of Hertfordshire, made the remark after nearly 45 per cent of students received an A or A* on A-level results day.
She told LBC's Shelagh Fogarty: "I absolutely don't buy into the argument that this year's results reflect a dumbing down of A-levels, GCSEs and other qualifications."
Dr Watson said the argument is "really unfair" given "the enormous challenges that our young people have faced during the pandemic".
She added: "You know some have achieved some really exceptional results in quite challenging circumstances.
"And of course any talk of dumbing down really doesn't do justice to the hard work of my colleagues that work in schools and colleges who have supported students, sometimes in very difficult circumstances themselves, to achieve really fantastic results."
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