A-level angst and a crisis for students

12 April 2012

Today's A-level results will be controversial — although, for once, not because of arguments about the exams allegedly becoming "easier".

The pass rate may have inched up but the new A* grade appears to have worked as intended, allowing universities to distinguish the best candidates. The problem is the shortage of places. Candidates face a perfect storm: record numbers of applicants, as both young people and would-be mature students seek to avoid a grim job market, combined with a squeeze on university funding. As many as 200,000 could be left without a degree course place.

Such problems are prompting some to ask whether A-levels are the best test of students' potential. They are not a clear predictor of degree performance, although they are an indicator. But they are universally recognised and understood by students, parents, universities and employers alike — a key test for any meaningful qualification, and one failed by the last government's muddled plans for a new system of diplomas.

The real problem — too many applicants — is less easily resolved. This year there is unlikely to be extra cash to fund more places, and universities face swingeing penalties if they over-recruit.

In the future, the prospects may not be much better. Most universities, at least in the elite Russell Group, are lobbying for an increase in the £3,290 limit on annual student fees. That seems likely but it would hit students from poorer backgrounds — and it would not necessarily lead to a large increase in places.

It may be time, instead, to accept that the previous government's aim of a massive increase in university places is neither financially realistic nor, whisper it, necessary. It is good that university entrance is broader than it once was, but it should be reserved for the most academically able — not as a right for those whose real employment interests would be better served by other forms of training.

The truth about Dr Kelly

The Attorney General's hint that he could grant a full inquest into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly is overdue.

Dr Kelly apparently committed suicide in July 2003 after he was exposed as the source of the notorious BBC report on the "sexed-up" Iraq weapons dossier. His death has become a focus for conspiracy theorists who believe he was murdered, while various doctors have said they are not convinced by the official explanation for his death. Rather than a full inquest, it was the discredited Hutton Inquiry which had the last official word on his death, pronouncing it suicide in January 2004.

The greatest likelihood is that Dr Kelly did indeed commit suicide. That is the opinion of many medical experts. And for all their occasional bumbling, our intelligence services have never resorted to murdering Britons. It is hard to see why anyone in power would have wanted Dr Kelly dead: the damage to the government's credibility over Iraq had already been done.

It is quite unacceptable, though, that he should not have had a full inquest, as would normally be carried out for any such death. That should put the issue to rest and give his family some closure. If an application for a full inquest is made, the Attorney General should grant it.

Sculpture with a smile

The fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square is becoming a home for sculpture and other public art informed by a uniquely British brand of wry humour. Works shortlisted today to appear there include a giant brick Battenberg cake and a pipe organ played on the buttons of an ATM. Some may not think such installations art; whether they are or not, they challenge and amuse. More cake, anyone?

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