WHAT a ridiculous farce the release of this year’s A-level results has become.

A difficult situation has become even worse by ill-thought out last-minute government policy changes.

The fact is that students’ futures depend on the outcome.

The demise of AS levels in England, if not in Wales, has meant that predictions are not standardised properly between schools and although teachers’ estimated grades will have been decided in good faith, they are based on teachers giving students the highest grade they are likely to be able to achieve.

Intense pressure on schools from parents to over predict grades, a phenomenon particularly strong in high achieving schools, and from senior management, with one eye on league tables, causes grade inflation.

Furthermore, moderating results based on schools’ past performances leads to students in improving schools are being unfairly downgraded while those in declining schools are being given flattering results.

To introduce mock exam results into the mix at the eleventh hour makes the outcome lack all credibility.

An urgent overhaul of the A-level application procedure and awarding of grades is required.

I propose a three-point plan.

Firstly, move the start of the university year to January. Students would apply to university in September after they have received their actual results.

This would be far fairer than making offers based on notoriously unreliable estimated grades.

This could be done for next year’s A-level students.

The A-level examinations could be delayed until July and the UCAS application process, which takes up a lot of student time, could be postponed until September thereby releasing time to catch up on the lessons missed this year.

Secondly, remove any choice of examination board. For each A-level subject, different boards should be allowed to tender and, based on their bid, one of them would be given a five-year franchise to examine that subject.

There would no longer be such a thing as an “easy” or a “difficult” board for any subject as all students in the country studying say, chemistry, would sit the same examination.

Thirdly, keep the percentages of students achieving each grade the same, year on year.

For example, award A* grades to the top five per cent every year.

This would eliminate grade inflation at a stroke and if there was only one board, numbers taking each subject would be large enough to make this statistically sound.

It would help universities and employers in their selection and provide greater fairness for students.

Although these changes cannot be made for this year, there is time to implement them for 2021.

Something positive could come out of the current pandemic and A-levels would then become more of “a fair test”.

Andrew England Goldsmid ward organiser Brighton and Hove Liberal Democrats Retired A-level chemistry teacher