How to make a difficult few months even worse:
1. Cancel exams which students have worked towards since they were 5 years old (questionable whether that was necessary, but still ...);
2. Decide exam results will depend on teacher assessments and mocks results (not ideal, but still ...);
3. Decide to involve something called an algorithm to make sure results reflect earlier results in that school (even less ideal, but still ...)
4. On the day those results are issued, still not have an appeals process in place, bearing in mind that Universities had the results last week so they could make arrangements for a FEW WEEKS TIME, (descending into farce now, but still ...)
5. The day after that, announce the appeals process, but make it awkward (getting beyond parody now, but still ...)
6. Later that day, announce that students can rely on their mock results, with checks that those mocks have been carried out in exam conditions, OR teacher assessments, OR retake exams - a so-called triple lock, (confusing, slightly reassuring maybe, but still ... )
7. On a Saturday (see point below regarding access to advice) say that students may rely on their mock results only (confusing ... hadn't they said that before?) Still ... onwards and upwards to ...
8. Hours after the last announcement, on a day when students have little or no access to advice from their schools, remove the right to rely on mock results, (... ... ... ... ... )
Before anyone asks what I would have done differently - I'd have let the exams go ahead, with increased social distancing, hand cleansing on entry to exam rooms - not ideal and logistically difficult, but still ... If not that, then rely on teacher assessment, with moderation by examiners who would normally mark papers, anonomised as they always are, (not a flippin' algorithm), again not ideal, but still ...
I'd also have prevented newspapers printing headlines such as "Now Choose Your Own Exam Results" as happened on Friday (Daily Mail), but that's a whole other issue.
They've had 5 months to sort this.