Share to TwitterA-Level student and would be medical student Chris Byrne holds up a copy of his teacher predicted results at home in London, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Thousands of graduating high school students in Britain are scrambling for university places following the government’s disastrous decision to award final grades using an unfair algorithm to replace exams canceled because of the coronavirus, resulting in mass confusion. “I’m stuck waiting,” Byrne said.
Many 18-year-olds don't know if they will be attending college in the fall. Aspiring doctors are particularly in limbo because the hands-on training medical schools provide means the number of slots can’t easily be expanded to accommodate those turned away by the algorithm debacle. High-achieving students at under-performing schools, many in deprived areas, ended up with marks downgraded, while students at above-average schools kept their predicted grades.
Universities — caught between a government in damage-control mode and students demanding fair treatment — have formidable choices to make. St. George’s and other medical schools are asking some students to wait a year before starting university. It’s the poorest students who are least able to put their educations on hold, but the pandemic also has curtailed the traditional gap-year activities of travel and work abroad.
Wow!