Protest against the GCSE marking scandal

Tuesday August 28th at the DfE, Great Smith Street, Westminster at 13:00

http://www.facebook.com/HuffingtonPostUKComedy

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who has already confirmed that they'll be atending the Lobby on Tuesday. 

Please spread the news and be there outside the DfE for our students, for our schools and for our colleagues! 

Let's keep up the pressure to reverse the gerrymandering of this June's English results and expose the target-driven privatisation culture that is suffocating education!

Instead of being able to celebrate their hard work and commitment, thousands of students and schools are facing an uncertain future because of the last-minute shifting of grade boundaries by the exam boards.

English results have been hit particularly hard by the last-minute shifting of the goalposts leaving teachers who had reliably been able to predict 'C'-grades for their students having to console Year 11's who have instead been awarded a 'D'-grade.

Many students' hopes have been dashed. Many schools also now face the threat of forced privatisation as they struggle to meet Gove's imposed 40% GCSE benchmark. Many teachers will also fear the threat of ‘capability’ proceedings  and loss of performance-pay awards as a result of this scandal.

Behind this disgraceful gerrymandering of the GCSE results stands Michael Gove. This down-grading of students suits his agenda admirably – to blame teachers for ‘failing’ students, to dissuade young people from pursuing further education and, above all, to provide an excuse for turning even more schools into unaccountable academies and dismantling elected local authorities.

THAT’S WHY LONDON TEACHERS ARE CALLING AN URGENT PROTEST OUTSIDE THE DfE ON TUESDAY 28 AUGUST at 13.00. 

Come along  and join the protest – and share the facebook event : http://www.facebook.com/events/275861032528550/

Here's an excellent summary on the scandal from a Head of English:  "It was as if Usain Bolt had won the 100 metres and was on his way to pick up the medal only to be told that he didn’t win because it was decided after the race that he should have run an extra 20 metres. Except that’s not quite right. The change in grade boundaries hasn’t affected those who came first. It’s affected the bronze medallers. Those who worked to get there, to get that bronze medal (or C grade) have been told that they can’t have it after all." http://writingcobblers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/an-uncertain-future-gcse-scandal.html

For more background and discussion, read Chris Edwards' blog on:  http://chrisedwardsuk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/an-open-letter-to-michael-gove-from.html

For the facts about the change in the grade boundaries see: http://richardspencer1979.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-aqa-boundary-changes-explained.html