Parents and school governors have described the devastating effects of what they say are this summer’s “unfair” WJEC exams in Wales. One mother said her usually confident, high achieving 18-year-old son came home from his maths A level, broke down in tears and told her: “My life is ruined. I won’t get into university.”
One governor of a school in Cardiff reported pupils walking out of exams in tears. She said her school has written to complain to exam board the WJEC about A level questions and an A level chemistry practical with content she claimed should not have been there.
A mother said her 16-year-old daughter’s confidence “was on the floor” after an AS maths paper “had questions that didn’t look like anything they’d seen before” while another said her teenager sat there "not knowing what to do" when set text questions were missed off the A level English language and literature paper.
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The National Association of Headteachers Cymru said heads are doing their best to “restore confidence” in the system after multiple complaints while Education Minister Jeremy Miles took to Twitter to reassure candidates saying: "I want to reassure learners sitting exams that you will be treated fairly."
Complaints continue as the WJEC was forced to apologise on June 8 after set text questions were missed off the A level English language and literature A level on June 7. Officials insisted candidates would not be disadvantaged but said they would wait until results day in August to determine what had gone wrong.
Candidates and teachers have also claimed both a maths A level and AS exam included content they were told would not be there and that questions were far harder than pre-Covid papers - there have also been complaints about A level chemistry and music.
One mother said her daughter’s “world fell apart” because the AS Unit 1 maths paper was so unexpectedly difficult: “My daughter is a diligent and hard working student. Her teachers expected her to do well.
“The paper did not look like anything they had seen before and my daughter had done past papers going back to the early 2000s. She was crying in my arms when she came home and her confidence is on the floor now.
“I don’t get what they are doing to this cohort of kids. T hey have not sat external exams before and have not had parity of access to face to face learning. We go on about the effects of the Covid pandemic but this group seems to have been ignored - the maths and science exams have been ridiculously hard.”
Another parent from Abergavenny insisted content teachers and candidates were told would not be in the A level maths exam was included. She said her son achieved A*s for GCSE maths and maths numeracy and a distinction for additional maths under teacher assessed grades and had revised hard.
“I can’t question his focus or how much work he did. He was fully prepared for the A level, but when he went in to sit the paper he had the wind ripped out of his sails because the questions were so incredibly difficult and had content they did not expect to be there.
“He thinks his chances of university are ruined and his confidence has been knocked. It was horrible to see how upset he was.”
She said her son’s education had been constantly disrupted throughout the year because of the pandemic but he had worked hard at home.
“Lessons were cancelled at short notice and they had to learn remotely. I feel angry because this is so unfair.
“My son is a strapping and confident 18-year-old but came home from the A level maths exam broken and saying 'I am not going to get to university. My life is ruined.' He was in tears, disheartened and in shock.”
One mother, who is a school governor and works in a senior position in higher education said her school is complaining about the chemistry A level practical.
“Eleven of the 30 marks were for content taken off the syllabus, or very, very borderline. That was really disappointing and really floored people,” she said.
“The maths A level paper was also the hardest people had seen. It included content not meant to be there. My daughter was really deflated and a number of her friends have walked out of exams, some crying.
“I am a school governor and the school has written to complain to the WJEC. “This has left me feeling let down by the system. After two years the WJEC has messed up for two years. They messed up with the algorithm in 2020 and then kept changing the goalposts.
“They have not set exams for two years and have had a change of management but I wonder whether they quality assured papers effectively. If ever there was a year to make 100% sure questions aligned with the syllabus it was this year.
“To give them exams that are harder than pre-Covid is really unfair. Mental health and wellbeing has rocketed and I think in terms of the Future Generations Act this year’s exams are not taking into account the long term resilience and sustainability of the workforce. This group will feel the system is rigged against them.
“It doesn’t matter if grade boundaries are lowered. This has knocked the confidence of this group taking exams for the first time.”
On the A level maths paper on June 7 one parent also said: "My daughter sat the A level maths exam on Tuesday in tears. A couple actually cried their way through the exam feeling completely useless. Obscured questions, many have said it's a paper unlike any past paper as they have reviewed them all. Teachers in many schools are in agreement.
"I have checked) WJEC specifically advised that work from Year 12 would not be included - then actually most of the questions were based on Year 12 subject matter."
None of the parents or governors wanted to be identified for fear of making things worse for their children or bringing their schools into disrepute with feelings running so high.
In response to the apology over missing pages in an English paper and what she described as “continued confusion with maths”, NAHT Cymru director Laura Doel said: “This continues to be a very challenging exam series for our learners, many of whom have never taken exams before. While we anticipated some disruption, four pages missing out of an English A level exam paper is unforgivable.
“Our members have reported continued confusion over the maths papers, citing a lack of specificity in the adaptations to the exam specifications published by WJEC. Issues with this subject have been compounded by the fact that there is a comparatively new format to the Maths exam, with very few examples of past papers to share as part of the revision process.
“We will continue to highlight any issues raised to the WJEC and we take some reassurance that the WJEC will take these concerns into consideration when setting grade boundaries. However, this will not repair the damaged confidence of pupils who may have struggled to perform at their best in examinations as a result of any confusion.
“Our leaders and teachers are working tirelessly to support learners, painstakingly talking them through any concerns they have, speaking to parents and doing the best they can to restore their confidence in our examination system and for the exams that remain left to take.”
Education Minister Jeremy Miles tweeted to reassure candidates saying: "I want to reassure learners sitting exams that you will be treated fairly.
"WJEC set grade boundaries when exams are marked, to take account of an exam being more demanding than another year."
The WJEC declined to comment on new complaints but has previously insisted this year's exams are fair. After the mistake with the English language and literature exam the board apologised and said it was a "rare occurrence" which is being taken very seriously.
"All examination answers will be considered carefully during the marking and grading process to ensure all students are provided with a fair qualification result," a spokesperson said.
On maths, the WJEC added: "We can confirm that all of the questions within the A-level mathematics unit three examination were from the subject content in the specification and did not rely on knowledge and understanding of any topics identified as removed from assessment in 2022."
