'Is she really this stupid?': James O'Brien questions the logic behind the Education Secretary's comments on A-Levels
18 August 2023, 13:03
After results day yesterday which saw grades fall but remain above pre-pandemic levels, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told Sky News people wouldn't ask students "anything" about their A-Level grades in 10 years' time.
Gillian Keegan emphasised that there would be more of a focus on "other things you've done since then".
James O'Brien responded, saying that "she's tipped as a future Prime Minister", and that her "tin-eared and cack-handed" remark" means "she's almost guaranteed to be the next one if the current direction of traffic is to continue".
"Imagine you're 17, right, you're just beginning to feel the cold grip of fear about next year's exams", he said.
"You're putting yourself under pressure, your parents are probably putting you under pressure even though they try not to, your school is putting you under a modicum of pressure, you've started developing dreams of university, the places you'd like to go."
He then played a clip of what the Education Secretary told Sky News, saying that people "won't ask you anything about your A-Level grades in 10 years' time".
She said: They'll ask you about other things you've done since then, what you've done in the workplace, what you did at university, and then after a period of time they don't even ask you what you did at university."
James branded it "really stupid", pointing out that the grades you get will determine what university you go to.
"If they're even asking you about what you did at university, the presumption is if you say certain universities, they're going to know what your A-Level grades were", he said.
"Is she really this stupid?" James asked in disbelief.
"All I know about Gillian Keegan, is she's the only person from her school who got 10 O-Levels in that year", he added.
"You can't help thinking that if I know how many O-Levels she's got, then she arrived at the conclusion not long ago that it was quite a big deal!"