‘We’re incredibly proud of them’.

That’s the message from headteachers in Dorset today, as thousands of students find out their exam results for A Levels and BTEC qualifications.

It’s the first time since 2019 that exams have taken place due to the pandemic, with pupils forced to learn at home through online teaching during several periods over the past two years.

In 2020 and 2021, exams were scrapped with teachers submitting predicted results in 2020 in conjunction with a controversial algorithm and in 2021 grades were based on teacher assessments.

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Andrew Mead, headteacher at Lytchett Minster School and chairman of the Dorset Association of Secondary Headteachers said: “It’s been a challenging time for all young people.

“Everyone did their best during lockdown and at-home lessons, but there really is no substitution for face-to-face teaching.

“We’re very proud of all our students, they have shown great resilience.

“Nationally, it has been recognised these periods of learning at home has had an impact on students mental health and learning.

“The rise in mental health concerns generally and referrals nationally to services shows how difficult this has been for students.”

In an open letter to students, Ofqual’s Chief Regulator and UCAS’s Chief Executive have written about the results this year.

In it they say: “This week, you’ll get your results. To get to this point, you have shown real dedication to your studies and resilience in sitting your formal exams and assessments after the disruption of the pandemic.

“Whatever your results, you can be confident that it’s no harder or easier to achieve a particular grade no matter which exam board’s specification you took.

“It’s not meaningful to compare this year’s results to those in 2021, because it was a different form of assessment.”

The Dorset Association of Secondary Headteachers also said they would be focusing on the success stories of students, rather than sharing “unvalidated school results”.

In September, Ofqual, the exams regulator for England, announced that this year’s grades would aim to reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019.

N The Daily Echo will be running live updates from schools on Thursday with coverage in Friday’s paper and a special picture supplement on Monday.