At some UAE schools that follow the British curriculum, there has perhaps been an even greater sense of trepidation than normal ahead of this year's A-Level and AS-Level results.
This is due to the expectation that fewer A* and A grades will be awarded than in 2020, 2021 and 2022, when there was a bumper crop of top results.
UK government ministers, who are responsible for education in England, want results there to revert to the levels of 2019, when far fewer A*s and As were given out.
Cambridge Assessment International Education, which provides A-level, AS-level and other qualifications for schools outside Britain, follows the standards set in England and a spokeswoman told The National this week that, as a result, the organisation was looking to return to 2019 grade patterns.
It released its results for Cambridge International A-level and AS-level students on Thursday.
The remaining exam results for pupils in the UK and overseas will be released next Thursday.
When Covid-19 hit, teacher assessments were used in place of written exams in 2020 and 2021 in the UK, and many other countries taking the exams, which led to a big increase in the number of top grades. In 2021, almost 45 per cent of A-level entries were awarded an A* or A.
Back to the drawing board
The reversion to 2019 standards began last year in England, when results dipped slightly but remained above pre-Covid-19 levels.
Few people analyse A-level results more closely than Prof Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham.
During the period of teacher assessment, Prof Smithers said grades "got completely out of hand" but reverting to the pre-pandemic proportions of top grades was not easy.
"The bonanza of A* and A grades changed expectations of what [pupils] could receive and changed the distribution of A*s and As," he said.
"This numerical imperative of getting the exams back to a solid basis comes up against human nature and the changed expectations and changes in the distribution of the awards."
In a recent report, Prospects for A-levels 2023, Prof Smithers noted that in 2020 and 2021 combined, the percentage of A* grades increased from 7.8 per cent to 19.1 per cent, while the proportion of entries awarded either A* or A jumped from 25.5 per cent to 44.8 per cent.
"I don’t know how it will work out," he added. "My guess is the numbers and percentages will be reduced this year but they may not get back to the level of 2019."
In the years up to 2019, results had remained relatively stable after efforts by the UK government to stem the grade inflation that had taken place in preceding decades.
While it meant good news for many students, the surge in the numbers of top A-level grades in 2020 caused a headache for some universities, as they had more pupils who achieved the required entry grades than would have been the case in another year.
Typically, universities make more conditional offers to would-be students than they have places in the expectation that many will miss out on the required grades and attend a different university instead.
After grades spiked in 2020, some universities found themselves with more qualified candidates than places.
Prof Smithers said the increase in the number of top grades meant greater pressure on places at some institutions has continued.
Academic competition
A number of young people have deferred to later years, which has raises new concerns given that grades are expected to fall this year.
"People are saying that [students] this year are going to find themselves in competition with people who got grades in easier years," Prof Smithers said.
"With so many top grades, universities cannot tell applicants apart. That’s why it’s so important to restore the value of the grades."
If top grades are awarded in larger numbers, universities would look for additional information to distinguish between candidates, according to AS Careers founder Ann Starkie, a careers adviser in the UK.
"The message for candidates is if you want to go to a top university, you should be looking to do additional things that will make you stand out," she said.
"If you have so many candidates looking the same, you have to have something that you’re offering that’s a little bit different."
For vocational courses in particular, securing a place at university may require much more than good A-level results.
"For some university courses you still need to do additional tests," she said. "You won’t get through [just] by having three As.
"Some universities have put in additional testing and interviews. They’re not just looking for top academics but people who can do the job – soft skills, communication."
While there has been much grade inflation, Prof Smithers said pupils in the UAE and elsewhere could be confident of the value of their grades, given the efforts made to restore the 2019 standards.
Every year, some pupils receive grades below expectations, which may mean they have to rethink which university they attend, their subject choice or whether they go to university at all.
Alan Bullock, a careers adviser who has given talks in UAE schools, said there were "always alternative options" for young people whose grades were below their expectations.
These include trying to find a place on a course through the university clearing process, resitting A-levels with a view to applying the following year, looking at degree apprenticeships or taking time out to reassess options.
"Over many, many years I’ve seen many young people who had gone for a particular course and not got in," he said.
"It can often be devastating at the time but there are always different solutions. Quite often it can be a blessing in disguise.
"The following year they’ve applied for something else which turns out to be much more suitable. They’ve had those extra months to mature … a year later they go into something different to what they originally planned. Often it’s a more realistic choice."
Zayed Sustainability Prize
HAJJAN
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Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
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The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
Sir John Jenkins review of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK
The then British Prime Minister David Cameron asked Sir John Jenkins to undertake a review into the Muslim Brotherhood in 2014.
Sir John, a former diplomat who served in the UAE and was ambassador to Saudi Arabia, worked with Charles Farr , Director General of the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism at the Home Office.
The main body of the report was not made public but a summary of the main findings was released to Parliament.
The report says that from the beginning the Muslim Brotherhood adopted a “secretive ‘cell’ structure” and “this clandestine, centralised and hierarchical structure persists to this day”.
Sir John looked at the Muslim Brotherhood’s “complex” relationship with violence and terrorism.
The founder of the Muslim Brotherhood Hassan al Banna “accepted the political utility of violence”.
The views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect
Islamic society”. These views “have never been institutionally disowned” by the Muslim Brotherhood.
His report stated that the “Muslim Brotherhood at all levels have repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians”.
The section of the report on the Muslim Brotherhood presence in the UK was written by Charles Farr, who said in the 1990s it “established public facing and apparently national organisations in the UK to promote their views”.
“None were openly identified with the Muslim Brotherhood and membership of the Muslim Brotherhood remained (and still remains) a secret.
“But for some years the Muslim Brotherhood shaped the new Islamic Society of Britain (ISB), dominated the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and played an important role in establishing and then running the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).
“In 2009 the government suspended dialogue with the MCB after an office holder signed a public document which appeared to condone violence against any country supporting an arms blockade against Gaza.
Sir John and Mr Farr concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood that any engagement “did not take account of Muslim Brotherhood support for a proscribed terrorist group and its views about terrorism which, in reality, were quite different from our own”.
“Aspects of Muslim Brotherhood ideology and tactics, in this country and overseas, are contrary to our values and have been contrary to our national interests and our national security.”
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Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
