I am VERY IN FAVOUR of students being awarded fair grades and if that means them getting their CAGs, that's what should happen. But "*massive* logistical problem" is probably a bit of an understatement. https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1295311571930021889

Some universities will end up with literally thousands of extra students. Some universities will end up with almost no students. Some students have already gone through clearing and have secured new places -- can they now go to their first choice?

Saying students can defer their places a) does not explain which applicants should be forced to defer (why should it be those with temporarily lowered results, if they've now been overturned?) b) does not explain what they will actually DO for a year c) creates a 2021/2 problem.

Teaching starts in six or seven weeks, term -- with accommodation and induction and all the new hygiene theatre -- starts before that, a lot of universities have hiring freezes and redundancy schemes in place, staff are frazzled from working all summer on online plans...

I realise I sound like a hysterical Cassandra figure / these are not the views of my employer / and perhaps I will be proven wrong and everything will somehow be okay? But... it is so worrying to see literally no policymakers taking this problem remotely seriously.