There has been a political dimension to the A-level results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland today, with the UK education secretary being forced to defend her remarks earlier in the day that in 10 years’ time, nobody would be looking at the grades teenagers earned today.
Speaking to Sky News, Gillian Keegan had said:
Somebody asked me: ‘What will people ask you in 10 years’ time?’ They won’t ask you anything about your A-level grades in 10 years’ time.
They will ask you about other things you have done since then: what you have done in the workplace, what you did at university. And then, after a period of time, they don’t even ask you what you did at university.
It is really all about what you do and what you can demonstrate and the skills that you learn in the workplace.
Keegan, the sixth Conservative education secretary since the 2019 general election, later told reporters at the City of London Academy Islington, in north London, that what she said “is true, it is just real. 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.”
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, 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...
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