When the dust settles on the process of confirming this year’s A-level grades - based on whatever metric is finally settled on - we’re going to have to start grappling with a much larger set of issues.

Many of this year’s students will have been through laborious processes of appeals, negotiations, attempting to reconcile competing (arbitrary) metrics of their worth. As anyone who’s had to contest an exam result knows, these are emotionally punishing processes.

At the same time, various bodies are already stoking concern about the ‘value’ or worse ‘accuracy’ of results calculated in this way, paving the way for an even worse ‘grade-inflation’/‘falling standards’ discourse than usual, which will be toxic for these students.

We’ve got to do the work now to ensure that students are treated fairly and get the right outcome in terms of uni places (especially ensuring that disadvantaged students do not get downgraded) - but we’ve also then got to ensure that the students who come to us know they belong.

We’re familiar with imposter syndrome in HE, to feel unsure if you’re good enough. We need to do all we can to ensure that students are not internalising media/government/public anxiety over results, and to recognise what damage these narratives are doing

In a fully- or partially distanced 2020/21 year, this kind of pastoral work, of getting to know our students and helping them feel they belong in the community, will doubtless be different and may be harder, but it’s work that’s more urgent than ever.