A STUDENT whose impressive artwork was marked down to a C by an exam board has sarcastically “thanked” them for their harsh grading.
Sean Robertson who attends Portlethen Academy in Aberdeen, was gutted when he received the mark from the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA), despite his hard work and obvious talent.
The 18-year-old is just one of many caught in the cross hairs of the SQA scandal, which saw the board mark down approximately 124,000 entries in the wake of the coronavirus.
Sean, who was predicted B grades and now may lose his university place, shared his stunning drawings online on Wednesday where they quickly went viral.
The images include lifelike pencil sketches of a baby, a group of boys, an elderly couple and two further impressive drawings.
Heartbroken Sean shared the images and tagged SQA, saying: “Cheers for the C in art.”
The post has racked up more than 20,000 likes and had social media users in disbelief.
@michaeljmarra wrote: “Thing in my head all day after seeing this: Picasso could be reincarnated in Pollock and Da Vinci reborn in Dundee and the SQA would have knocked them down from an A to a C.”
@stash62 added: “I think his appeal will be successful this year, don’t you? @SQA.”
And @WeeJaden said: “This is brutal man; you deserve an A for this amazing work.”
Speaking yesterday, Sean spoke of his disappointment, he said: “I needed two Bs to get into university but ended up getting two C’s.
“Throughout all of my final year I was told I was at a B working grade.”
“I was so disappointed and let down by the SQA. I think the SQA assumed teachers were overestimating their student’s grades and from statistics.
“I’ve seen they’ve been ‘classist”’ in their awarding of grades.
“My friends that are straight A students received Bs for the first time ever, they’re appealing too.”
“My mum and dad having known how much hard work I’ve put in, are really disappointed and frustrated as I was predicted B’s and possible A’s.
Sean added: “At first I just posted it for a laugh but after all the likes and comments I’ve got, it’s boosted my self-esteem and assured me that it wasn’t just me that thought the SQA has possibly made a mistake.”
An SQA spokesman said today: “Not all Higher coursework would have been submitted when schools closed in March.
“To be as fair as possible to all Higher and Advanced Higher candidates, while taking on board the public health advice at the time, we took the difficult decision to ask schools and colleges not to submit any outstanding coursework.”
“We advised teachers and lecturers that any completed coursework, including art and design portfolios, be taken in to account as part of an holistic judgement when estimating grades.”
“As part of our free appeals service this year, teachers and lecturers are asked to submit alternative evidence to support requests.”
