Michael Gove attacks decision to re-grade GCSEs in Wales The move led to a sharp increase in the number of pupils missing out on C grades. In a report a week after the episode came to light, Ofqual admitted that grades set in January were too generous but insisted those in the summer were accurate. It has since refused to order a wholesale re-grading of exams. But the crisis took a new twist this week when Mr Andrews ordered WJEC - the biggest exam board in the principality - to re-grade all papers sat by Welsh pupils, even though candidates in England will miss out. Giving evidence to the Commons education select committee, Mr Gove said: "I believe that the children who have been disadvantaged are children in Wales. I think the decision by the Welsh education minister Leighton Andrews is irresponsible and mistaken and I think that he has undermined confidence in Welsh children's GCSEs. Mr Andrews yesterday ordered WJEC to re-award its English language GCSE following a Welsh Government review. Mr Gove branded the move a "regrettable political intervention" and suggested that employers would not look upon Welsh pupils" grades as highly in light of the re-grading. Students in Wales sitting the same paper had done "significantly less well" than students in England, he said. "Now you have had an attempted devaluation (of their grades) ," he added. In Wales, the Welsh Assembly has direct control over the regulation of exams, while Ofqual has the same power in England. As well as ordering the re-grading of Welsh pupils, Mr Andrews also recommended that exam regulator Ofqual take similar action for the 84,000 pupils in England who took their exams with WJEC. Today, it emerged that Ofqual had written to the Welsh Government criticising its decision and requesting an "urgent, senior level meeting" to address the row. Kate Crabtree, the watchdog's acting deputy director, said: "The stand should be one and the same for all students, regardless of where they live. And we do not agree that the qualification should be re-graded, because the evidence we have seen does not justify this. In Mr Gove acknowledged there were "lessons to be learned" from the GCSE English grading fiasco. The crisis, which has seen thousands of students awarded lower than expected grades in the key subject, shows the need for reform, he said. What happened with GCSE this year caused understandable concern for parents, teachers and students and I think it's appropriate we examine what's happened in a sober fashion and also in a rigorously analytical way. I think there are certain lessons to be learned which encourage me to believe that we need to reform qualifications.