Students in the island will not receive grades lower than the predicted grade submitted by their school.

Exam board Cambridge International has told Isle of Man Newspapers that it is now working to issue new grades to students.

With exams cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s results were calculated from recommendations by teachers combined with statistical modelling.

Students in the island were facing a wait to discover their fate after their counterparts in Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland were informed their teacher recommended grades would stand.

A spokesman for Cambridge International has said: ’It is important to us that Cambridge students can compete on an equal basis with students who have similar national or international qualifications, and that their hard work and achievements are compared fairly.

’We recognise the urgent and practical need to help Cambridge students get on with their education and their lives.

We have decided that the grades we issue for the June 2020 series will not be lower than the predicted grade submitted by their school. Where grades issued last week are higher than the predicted grade, that higher grade will stand.

’We will issue new provisional grades to affected students as soon as possible and will share these with universities and admissions organisations as soon as we can.’

Schools in the island have been informed of the change and it includes all Cambridge International examinations in the June 2020 series: Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge O Level Cambridge International AS & A Level, Cambridge Pre-U, Cambridge IPQ, Cambridge AICE Diploma and Cambridge ICE.

The decision came after Education Minister Dr Alex Allinson wrote to the exam board to demand that all exam results downgraded by statistical modelling are immediately withdrawn and replaced with teacher-predicted grades.

In an open letter Dr Allinson said that its results feature ‘inconsistencies which are impossible to explain and undermine the efforts of pupils, their families and their schools.’

‘Given the level of distress and disruption caused this week,’ Dr Allinson wrote to Cambridge International, ‘I insist that the downgraded awards across all subjects at IGCSE, AS and A Levels are withdrawn immediately and are replaced with the Centre Assessment Grade.’