Private school parents are twice as pushy, study finds

Private school parents are twice as likely to have pressurised teachers over grades, a study has found.

Almost a quarter (23 per cent) of teachers at fee-paying schools said they have been approached or pressured by students’ families into giving out higher predictions, compared to just 11 per cent of teachers at state schools in deprived areas, according to a survey.

The poll of over 3,000 teachers, commissioned by the social mobility charity the Sutton Trust, also found that just under one in five (17 per cent) of teachers at state schools in wealthy areas felt pressured over grades.

Next month pupils will be awarded teachers’ predicted grades for A-levels and GCSE after exams were cancelled for the second year in a row owing to the pandemic.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, insisted that grades would be based on pupils’ performance rather than those whose “parents have the sharpest elbows”.

He said teachers had tried to ensure grades were fair but many had the “additional strain” of coping with pressure from parents.

“We know these parents think they are doing the best for their children. But it is yet another issue which has added to the stress of an extremely stressful period,” Mr Barton added.

The Sutton Trust urged universities to give “additional consideration” to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who had narrowly missed their offer grades in light of the disruption to their learning.

Its polling found that 15 per cent of private school students received one-to-one tutoring this year, compared to nine per cent of their state educated peers.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chair of the Sutton Trust, said: “This year’s cohort of university applicants have faced almost two years of disrupted education. As we approach results day, it’s vital that poorer students are not disadvantaged by the greater impact of the pandemic on them.”

The report identifies a wide variation in the number of “mini-exams” that the predicted grades of A-level students were based on.

Almost two in five (38 per cent) teachers said their pupils were doing three to four "mini-exams" per subject, according to the survey. Meanwhile, a fifth of teachers surveyed said their students did fewer than two and another fifth said their students did more than six.

Dr Michelle Meadows, deputy chief regulator at Ofqual, said: "Although exams didn't take place, students will receive grades so they can move on with their lives.

"Those parents who tried to influence teachers' judgements behaved wrongly. Exam boards provided guidance to schools and colleges on recording and reporting any such activity.

"This was important as it was essential that teachers' already difficult task was not made more difficult by having to deal with these unacceptable pressures."