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Hannah Tomes
Hannah Tomes
The government is successfully tackling A-level grade inflation

After the disruption caused to education by the pandemic, this is the first year since 2019 in which school leavers have sat traditional A-level exams. Normally, 26 per cent of A-level students are marked A or higher: last year it jumped to 45 per cent after teacher-assessed grades were brought in. Now it’s 36 per cent, as per the government’s plan to mark a halfway house between last year’s grade hyperinflation and normality. But A* grades, normally reserved for the top 8 per cent of pupils, have been handed to 15 per cent. This is slightly down on last year’s 19 per cent. For the first time in ten years (in a full, externally assessed exam season), girls have outperformed boys when it comes to getting A* A-level grades.

The government is successfully tackling A-level grade inflation
Hannah Tomes
Hannah Tomes
The government is successfully tackling A-level grade inflation

After the disruption caused to education by the pandemic, this is the first year since 2019 in which school leavers have sat traditional A-level exams. Normally, 26 per cent of A-level students are marked A or higher: last year it jumped to 45 per cent after teacher-assessed grades were brought in. Now it’s 36 per cent, as per the government’s plan to mark a halfway house between last year’s grade hyperinflation and normality. But A* grades, normally reserved for the top 8 per cent of pupils, have been handed to 15 per cent. This is slightly down on last year’s 19 per cent. For the first time in ten years (in a full, externally assessed exam season), girls have outperformed boys when it comes to getting A* A-level grades.

The government is successfully tackling A-level grade inflation
Hannah Tomes
Hannah Tomes
The government is successfully tackling A-level grade inflation

After the disruption caused to education by the pandemic, this is the first year since 2019 in which school leavers have sat traditional A-level exams. Normally, 26 per cent of A-level students are marked A or higher: last year it jumped to 45 per cent after teacher-assessed grades were brought in. Now it’s 36 per cent, as per the government’s plan to mark a halfway house between last year’s grade hyperinflation and normality. But A* grades, normally reserved for the top 8 per cent of pupils, have been handed to 15 per cent. This is slightly down on last year’s 19 per cent. For the first time in ten years (in a full, externally assessed exam season), girls have outperformed boys when it comes to getting A* A-level grades.

The government is successfully tackling A-level grade inflation
Steerpike
Steerpike
Rishi’s breakfast whoppers leave egg on his face

It's the scandal all Westminster is talking about. Appearing on ITV's This Morning Rishi Sunak told viewers that if he goes to McDonald's with his daughters they all get the breakfast wrap: 'My eldest daughter, we get the wrap so if I’m with her that wrap with the hashbrown and everything in it is what we do.' But as Times sleuth and self-proclaimed 'breakfast wrap aficionado' Geri Scott pointed out such wraps 'were taken off the menu in March 2020 due to Covid.

Rishi’s breakfast whoppers leave egg on his face
Ross Clark
Ross Clark
Is the housing bubble about to burst?

There are so many house indices that they can create confusion. Last week, the Halifax house price index showed a small monthly fall. This week the government’s own index, the HPI, shows that prices rose by 7.8 per cent in the year to June, down from 12.8 per cent in the year to May. That suggests a slowing market, but then that is hardly surprising. June 2021 marked the end of Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday, which created a rush of completions as buyers sought to avoid a bill of thousands of pounds.

Is the housing bubble about to burst?
Steerpike
Steerpike
Amol Rajan’s University Challenge disaster

Congratulations to Amol Rajan, who adds the mantle of University Challenge host to his burgeoning portfolio of BBC jobs. Rajan will succeed Jeremy Paxman in the role when the latter steps down this autumn after 28 years hosting the show. On current trends, Mr S estimates the former Independent editor will have held every top job in the British media by the year 2024...Already there have been fears as to how well the new appointee can fill Paxo's formidable shoes though.

Amol Rajan’s University Challenge disaster
Andrew Tettenborn
The EU’s bullying behaviour over the Horizon programme

You wouldn’t normally electrify the world with a press release detailing a formal UK legal demand for discussions and possible arbitration about non-admission to Horizon Europe, a EU-led scientific research programme which in all probability most people will never have heard of. But, as you may have gathered from recent news reports, there is more to this episode than meets the eye. It actually tells us a fair amount about the Brexit process, and perhaps more about the EU.

The EU’s bullying behaviour over the Horizon programme
Steerpike
Steerpike
In defence of Sanna Marin, Finland’s partying PM

Party politics is done somewhat differently in Finland. While Boris was hounded out in Westminster for some miserable looking cake and wine, over in Helsinki, his counterpart finds herself in hot water for simply having too much (legal) fun. Sanna Marin, the country's 36-year-old Prime Minister, is now facing criticism after a video of her partying with friends was leaked online. It features the Social Democrat leader throwing shapes to music and all seems a fairly innocuous affair.Not so for her critics. Talk show host Aleksi Valavuori led the charge, sneering at the suggestion that she is 'a responsible leader for a country in crisis'. He dubbed her 'the most incompetent PM we ever had' and suggested she should 'take your leather jacket and resign.

In defence of Sanna Marin, Finland’s partying PM

Yesterday

17 Aug 2022
Stephen Daisley
Stephen Daisley
Can Israelis trust the UN?

You probably think you’ve heard every story there is to hear about people getting fired over their tweets. Well, here’s the story of Sarah Muscroft. She’s got them all beat.Until last Friday, Muscroft was the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OCHA). For 72 hours beginning on 5 August, Islamic Jihad fired 1,000 rockets into Israel and Israel responded with 170 counterstrikes, with the terrorist group citing as its pretext Israel’s targeted killing of two of its senior commanders and the arrest of dozens of its members. Eventually, a ceasefire was brokered with the assistance of Egypt. Muscroft, based in East Jerusalem, tweeted a fairly tepid message:‘Relieved to see a ceasefire agreed ending hostilities impacting both Palestinians and Israeli civilians.

Can Israelis trust the UN?
Steerpike
Steerpike
Met social media spend doubles in two years

It's been a difficult year for the Metropolitan Police. Commissioner Cressida Dick was forced out in April after a string of scandals while the force's broader handling of issues around racism and sexism has also been called into question. Given all that, it can be difficult to hire new officers willing to join the force; hence why it's probably shelling out oodles on adverts urging LGBT+ applicants to sign up and a further £400,000 on a trailer which looked like a Bond film.