Allow teacher predicted grades for BTEC students
145,336 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 7 September 2020; it closed on 7 March 2021. The Government responded on 17 February 2021. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 15 March 2021.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Allow teacher predicted grades for BTEC students
The government should allow BTEC students to achieve teacher predicted grades rather than being forced into a system that is unethically downgrading thousands of students grades.
To allow fairness to all Students within the education system
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 17 February 2021; the petitions site lists the Department for Education as responsible. Its summary:
Exams for vocational and technical qualifications are only continuing currently where they signal occupational competency. We will announce arrangements for summer term exams by end of February.
The response in full:
Students have worked hard and prepared for their exams and assessments for vocational and technical qualifications, including many BTECs, so it is right that schools and colleges had the option to run them in January.
Unlike GCSE and A level exams that were due to take place this summer, students’ study and preparation for their January vocational and technical exams had not been disrupted by the new public health measures we announced on 5 January to help limit the transmission of coronavirus.
Some students need to complete an occupational or professional competency assessment to enter into the workplace – it is important they continue to have the opportunity to do so, so that they are not prevented from progressing onto the next stage of their lives.
The Department for Education has provided advice to schools and colleges on the extensive protective measures needed to make exam halls as safe as possible, which is why schools and colleges delivered the January assessments, if they judged it right to do so. The advice is part of guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision) on implementing safely the phased return to face-to-face education.
The Department for Education is working with Ofqual on arrangements for those students who did not take their January assessments, as well as for vocational and technical exams and assessments scheduled for February onwards. Responses to the public consultation (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-alternative-arrangements-for-the-award-of-vtqs-and-other-general-qualifications-in-2021) are currently being analysed. The arrangements will make sure qualifications are awarded fairly and consistently, so that no student is either advantaged or disadvantaged when compared to their peers. We aim to publish the response to the consultation by the end of February.
Department for Education
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 775, came from Thurrock.
145,042 of the signatures were from the UK and 294 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Thurrock | 775 |
| Great Yarmouth | 762 |
| Bethnal Green and Bow | 732 |
| Poplar and Limehouse | 728 |
| South Basildon and East Thurrock | 683 |
| Birmingham, Hodge Hill | 675 |
| Castle Point | 593 |
| Leicester East | 569 |
| Bradford West | 557 |
| Birmingham, Ladywood | 555 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 20,939 |
| London | 20,832 |
| North West | 18,264 |
| East of England | 16,523 |
| West Midlands | 16,356 |
| South West | 13,826 |
| East Midlands | 11,389 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 11,376 |
| North East | 6,527 |
| Wales | 2,679 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,821 |
| Scotland | 326 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 15 March 2021. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/548778.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
15fd74fe3e4ed44c… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.