Her departure follows angry clashes with ministers over responsibility for the A-level and GCSE grading fiasco. She will be temporarily replaced by her predecessor Dame Glenys Stacey while a successor is sought. Ofqual said Ms Collier had decided “that the next stage of the awarding process would be better overseen by new leadership”.
A statement from the regulator said: “The Ofqual Board supports Sally in this decision, and thanks her for her leadership and service over the past four years, which has included overseeing the successful introduction of an entirely new set of GCSEs and A-levels, and a new grading system.”
Fury over the downgrading of A-level results led to the Government abandoning Ofqual’s computer algorithm for determining grades introduced after the coronavirus pandemic led to the scrapping of exams.
In an embarrassing u-turn, ministers agreed that teachers’ predicted grades could be used as the final result for A levels and GCSE instead.
Amid the row, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson appeared to blame Ofqual by suggesting the regulator had failed to deliver the system he had requested.
Yesterday he paid tribute to Ms Collier however. He said: “Following Sally Collier’s decision to step down as Ofqual’s chief regulator, I’d like to thank her for the commitment she has shown to the role over the last four years and wish her well for the future.
Sally Collier has quit as chief of Ofqual (Image: PA)
“I welcome Ofqual’s announcement that Dame Glenys Stacey is to assume a temporary leadership role as acting chief regulator and also the new internal governance arrangements put in place with Ofsted support.
“This will make sure Ofqual can fully focus on the important functions it must deliver as the independent regulator for qualifications, examinations and assessments in England.
“Moving forward, my department will continue to work closely with Ofqual’s leadership to deliver fair results and exams for young people.”
Earlier yesterday, Boris Johnson admitted the Government should have tried a different approach.
“You know if we had to do it again, we might have done some things differently, I’m certainly not going to deny that,” the Prime Minister said.
He added: “The people that have done their A-levels, their GCSEs this year, they’ve been in many ways the remarkable generation.
Boris Johnson admitted a different approach to grades should have been taken (Image: Getty)
“They’ve had to stay at home, which has been difficult, it has posed risks, as I say, to their health, to their mental health, they’ve done a fantastic job, they’ve protected the NHS, they’ve helped to save lives, to get us through this pandemic and I’m just pleased that they now do have results that they can work with.”
Union leaders said the regulator should not be the scapegoat for the u-turn.
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Someone had to take responsibility for the exams fiasco, but the issues run far deeper than the actions of one chief executive.”
He added: “We have no sure way of knowing where the balance of fault lies, but we can be quite certain that Gavin Williamson gave direction to Ofqual that there should not be grade inflation and all candidates should get a fair grade. He must have known that both those directions are incompatible.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “School leaders will welcome a focus on establishing a robust process for exams and assessments in the next academic year.
Gavin Williamson instructed Ofqual not to inflate grades (Image: Getty)
“Public confidence needs to be re-established quickly. The future remains uncertain in the light of the current pandemic. The current plans are to prepare for a full exam series next summer – the best-case scenario.
“But the real risk that there will be further disruption next academic year must be recognised and contingency plans for a range of possibilities need to be put in place. Students should not have to endure the uncertainty and chaos experienced this year.”
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the results U-turn was not Sally Collier’s fault “alone” and ministers also face questions over their role.
He said: “We are sorry that Sally Collier is standing down as chief regulator of Ofqual, and we wish her well for the future. We have worked well with her, and found her to be a highly intelligent, principled, and thoughtful person.
“This move follows the failure of the statistical model that led to this year’s grading fiasco, but the fault is not hers alone.
Students protest in London over the government’s handling of exam results (Image: Getty)
“Ministers have questions to answer over the extent to which they scrutinised and challenged the methodology and reliability of the statistical model, particularly given the enormity of the task and the importance of getting it right.
“Schools and colleges put their trust in the Government over this matter, dutifully followed the processes advised by Ofqual, and now feel badly let down by the ensuing debacle. They deserve some answers and so do their students.
“We have written to the Secretary of State for Education to formally request that he commission an immediate independent review to rapidly establish what happened and what went wrong. We believe that public confidence has been so badly damaged that full transparency is essential.
“We wish Sally well for the future, and we look forward to working with her interim successor as acting chief regulator, Glenys Stacey.”
