Harrow-educated Lord Bethell tells A Level students not to worry about grades because 'fluffing' his exams taught him to 'hustle'

Lord Bethell was educated at Harrow School and became a hereditary peer in 2018
Lord Bethell is a hereditary peer
BBC
Charlie Duffield14 August 2020

A hereditary peer who attended a top independent school has prompted outrage after telling students not to worry about bad A-levels results because "fluffing" his own exams taught him "how to hustle".

Scores of A-level students were left distraught on Thursday after approximately 280,000 marks were downgraded from teacher assessments, with schools vowing to unleash a flood of appeals.

There has been widespread controversy over the exam system which, due to coronavirus, this year relied on an algorithm, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) warning the English exams regulator Ofqual must consider the "equality impacts" of its decisions.

In response to the controversy, Lord Baron Bethell, who attended Harrow School, tweeted: "I fluffed my A-levels. Taught me how to hustle. First to get a place in Univeristy (sic). And haven’t stopped ever since.

"Grades are great, but grit and perseverance win every time."

Students embrace each other after collecting their A-Level results at Ark Academy, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease
REUTERS

His tweet was widely condemned, with many suggesting that a hereditary peer was not in a position to advise youngsters who have had "none of the advantages and the privilege that he has had".

The biggest reduction in the proportion of students awarded A-level grades of C and above after moderation was recorded within those from disadvantaged backgrounds, according to analysis of Ofqual's results.

Siobhan Benita, the twice Mayor of London candidate, tweeted: "Harrow educated hereditary peer lectures the young people that his Government has destroyed on "grit and perseverance"."

Similarly, the Labour MP Paula Barker wrote: "Born to a Lord. One of the few hereditary peers. Attended Harrow. Lectures working and middle class kids about the ‘hustle’. Old money advocating for some non-existent meritocracy conjurs images of a looking glass. Except this isn’t Alice in Wonderland. It’s Britain in 2020."

The comedy writer and author James Felton tweeted: "S*** A-Levels? Why not consider being a hereditary peer. Inspiring."

Likewise, the TV critic and broadcaster Toby Earle said: "I’ve been searching through the classified ads & job ads but can’t find one for becoming a hereditary peer, pls advise on how you get that job".

Meanwhile the writer Otto English tweeted: "Despite going to Harrow Bethel failed his A levels. He then failed to win a seat as an MP. He's only in the House of Lords and an Under Secretary because this mad country still has 92."

The former MP Laura Smith Crewe said: "Says the hereditary peer!!! Give me strength. This is an absolute disaster for so many".

Likewise, the writer and comedian Tessa Coates tweeted: "Firstly, f*** anyone whose name starts with Lord having an opinion. And then f*** all the way off with ‘they don’t matter’ when you’ve spent 18 years in education being told they’re the only thing that matter. Let’s put a lid on the hereditary peers thinking they had to hustle."

LBC presenter James O'Brien also tore into the peer during his radio show, saying: "He honestly can't see how disgraceful his comments are. He honestly can't see how pupils, who have had none of the advantages and the privilege that he has had, have been shafted by the government of which he is a member.

"And he genuinely thinks that grit and perseverance played a greater part in his life than background and education. Born 3-0 up, thinks he's scored a hat-trick."

Lord James Nicholas Bethell was educated at the fee-paying Harrow school and is the son of the 4th Baron Bethell, Nicholas Bethell.

He entered the House of Lords in July 2018, after successfully contesting a Conservative hereditary peers' by-election, and is currently the Minister of Innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care.

There are currently 92 hereditary peers in the House of Lords, and there have long been calls to abolish it, because the chamber is not elected by the British public.

The Standard has approached Lord Bethell for comment and is awaiting his response.

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