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A-level results: UAE students get good scores despite 'new' grading system

Dubai - The exams for this academic year were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

British curriculum pupils across the UAE received their A-level results on Thursday. Unlike previous years, these results have been estimated based on a new grading system after exams were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
To determine grades, a statistical model was used, as announced by the exam watchdog Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).
Khaleej Times reached out to top educators who said that the new model considered a number of factors, including pupils' attainment, schools' previous performance, and the predicted grades that teachers submitted in March.
Despite the enormous pressures they have been subjected to over the last few months, UAE schools have reported that their students scored grades higher than previous year's results. Hundreds of UAE school students, who attempted the examinations, were anxiously awaiting their A-level results, as it determines confirmed seats in a good university.
Simon Corns, head master of Brighton College Abu Dhabi, said: "This school year has required extraordinary levels of resilience from pupils, parents and staff, and it is a massive tribute to all of the school community that our results are even better than last year's."
More than 790 pupils from 14 GEMS Education British curriculum schools in the UAE completed over 2,200 A Levels. Twenty-seven per cent of students achieved an A* grade, while 62 per cent of entries attained A* to B grades and 37 per cent recorded A* to A.
Jodh Singh Dhesi, deputy chief education officer, GEMS Education, said: "We are extremely proud of the performance of all our A-level students. These impressive results - in what has been a very challenging year - reflect resilience, diligence and rigour in their approach to learning."
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com