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Basil McCrea MLA, education spokesman for the Ulster Unionist Party, said: “How can the Education Minister not see what an excellent education system we already have when she looks at these results?

“They should make her think again about her plan to outlaw academic selection from Northern Ireland.”

By Kathryn Torney, Education Correspondent, ktorney@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

702 words        Publication date: 21 August 2009

Source: Belfast Telegraph         Page: 22

(c)2009 Independent News & Media (Northern Ireland). All Rights Reserved.

News | Frantic scramble begins for university places and jobs

IT will be tragic if students who received their A-level results yesterday are not rewarded with a place in higher education or a job, according to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

A scramble for university places is expected because of a sharp rise in the number of school leavers applying to university across the UK. Applications in Northern Ireland are up 7% on last year.

The A-level pass rate for students from here has increased for the 27th year in a row to 98.4% — although there was a decrease in the percentage of top A grades awarded.

ATL’s director in Northern Ireland Mark Langhammer said: “It will be little short of a tragedy if all the hard work by this year’s students is unrewarded by a place in higher education or a job.

“It seems particularly cruel to raise expectations and then dash them by failing to provide enough places in higher education for UK students. The Government will need to do more to support those who don’t manage to get a university place this year.

“The Government also needs to work with schools and teachers, plus the careers service to provide help, advice and guidance for those who did not get the results they wanted so they can make the best choices for their future and have the chance to rethink their careers or resit their exams.”

Mr Langhammer said that the results do not hide the problems with “an exam-based education system which is obsessed with passing tests to the detriment of learning skills”.

“Too many students leave school or college with their heads stuffed with promptly forgotten facts, instead of leaving with the skills they need for higher education or work, and for successful lives,” he claimed.

“And many others are lost to education, bored and demotivated by endless testing.

“We need to have a proper debate about what we want our education system to do — whether it is just to cherry-pick the brightest students for the top universities or to provide a rounded education which prepares young people for 21st century life.”

Alliance Party education spokesperson Trevor Lunn congratulated students here on their A-level results and said that they show that standard of teaching across Northern Ireland is extremely high.

He said: “Even though there has been a slight decrease in the number of A grades in Northern Ireland, our results are still better than those in England and Wales and this must be recognised. These results underline the very high quality standard of teaching here.”

And Basil McCrea MLA, education spokesman for the Ulster Unionist Party, said: “How can the Education Minister not see what an excellent education system we already have when she looks at these results?

“They should make her think again about her plan to outlaw academic selection from Northern Ireland.”

Mark Durkin, director of student marketing at the University of Ulster, said the university received thousands of calls from students yesterday.

“Some students have not achieved the grades they hoped for but we also get some calls from students who have done well and just want reassurance that they have obtained their place,” he said.

“Any student who has an offer from a university and achieves the grades they need does not need to do anything. UCAS will contact them.

“Students who have narrowly missed out on the grades they need should contact their university. They may still get on to the programme they wanted or could be offered a place on a similar course.

“If you do not get the grades you need for the place you wanted, the Clearing process aims to match people with the vacancies available.”