Everyone connected with the Labour Party in St Helens borough sends our congratulations to all the young people who have worked so hard for their qualifications.

Sadly, a generation of young people and their families have been put through hell in the past week, and if the Education Secretary had any decency he would resign.

The fiasco we’ve witnessed was an entirely avoidable disaster and the blame lies squarely with the government. They have had months to prepare for this and it’s clear to everyone that they’ve failed miserably.

While Ministers have finally seen sense on A Levels and GCSEs, at the time of writing BTEC students are still in limbo. Government needs to give clarity as soon as possible for all those waiting, and they also need to start thinking now about next year’s exam cohorts who have missed 6 months of education. We can’t have similar chaos in 12 months and they need to prepare now to make sure the system is fair for all.

Those young people who have been so badly let down will not forget the way they have been treated, and Labour stands with them.