Labour leader Keir Starmer to meet with teachers in Wakefield visit

Labour leader Keir Starmer will discuss exam results and school reopening plans with teachers in Wakefield today.
Labour leader Keir Starmer will discuss exam results and school reopening plans with teachers in Wakefield today.Labour leader Keir Starmer will discuss exam results and school reopening plans with teachers in Wakefield today.
Labour leader Keir Starmer will discuss exam results and school reopening plans with teachers in Wakefield today.

In his first visit to Yorkshire since he was elected leader of the party in April, Starmer will meet with teachers from the district to discuss A-level and GCSE results, which are due to be released in the coming weeks.

Ahead of the meeting, he warned that the current system, which sees grades awarded based on teacher predictions, risks "robbing a generation of young people of their future".

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It comes after the Scottish government agreed that tens of thousands of results would be altered, after an outcry about downgrading of teacher estimates.

Fears have been raised that up to 40 per cent of A-level results could be downgraded before they are received by students.

However, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said that a new process, known as the 'triple lock', will give added security to the process, allowing students to accept their calculated grade, appeal to receive a valid mock result or sit their exams in the autumn.

Ahead of his meeting with teachers and parents in Wakefield, Starmer said: “Pupils and parents are rightly worried that years of hard work are about to be undone because a computer has decided to mark their child down.

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“For too long, the Tories have considered the needs of young people as an afterthought when their needs should have been central.

“It's a blatant injustice that thousands of hard-working young people risk having their futures decided on the basis of their postcode.

“The SNP have been forced into a humiliating U-turn after a shambolic few days. With 24 hours before results are released, I would urge the Prime Minister to change course, or he risks robbing a generation of their future.”

Do you have a question for Keir Starmer? Tweet it to @WakeExpress, or email [email protected].