CORNWALL Council is reassuring young people who’ve had their GCSE results today that expert help and advice is on hand for anyone that needs it.

The Council has also spoken out to dispel the myths surrounding the Centre Assessed Grades which have been used to determine the results published today.

More than five thousand young people in Cornwall join more than half a million across the country in receiving their grades after a turbulent year.

There are lots of myths and misconceptions about how these results are calculated and what the term ‘Centre Assessed Grade’ means, said Cabinet Member for Children, Health and Well Being and Liskeard Councillor Sally Hawken.

’There has been a lot of rigorous work going on behind the scenes to make sure these grades are as fair as possible for our young people, and the change to Centre Assessed Grades is welcome news for students.

’Schools assess, moderate and predict the results of young people every year – not just this year. This normally involves teachers, senior leaders and the head teacher, all of whom understand the capabilities of their students and can accurately project how well they will do.

’I think it’s important to highlight this system that schools have in place, because there are myths of students getting downgraded if they didn’t get on with a particular teacher, which is just not true.’

The government moved to centre assessed grades (CAG) after issues with A-levels last week, which forced a move away from the algorithm implemented by Ofqual. For GCSE results the algorithm will still be used, but it will only be possible to see results moved up, to meet national standardisation.

David Barton, Executive Officer of the Cornwall Association of Secondary Headteachers said: ’All schools have followed a rigorous standardisation process following strict guidelines laid down by the government and the examination boards, and all the grades were then sent to Ofqual by June 12. Students and parents can be confident that the results within each school have been properly and thoroughly moderated.

For any young people now not sure of their next steps, there are a range of resources available These include the Cornwall Careers Hub.

Councillor Hawken said: ’The term unprecedented has been used a lot during this pandemic, but I think it is the only word suitable to describe the situation these young people find themselves in.

’It’s been a big day for all of them and I want to wish all the children in Cornwall who have collecting their results good luck and thank all the teachers and school leaders for their work in securing the centre assessed grades that students will receive”.