Reduced GCSE courses for pupils likely

Pupils in England who are due to sit their GCSEs next summer will be taught a reduced curriculum in a small number of subjects and will have their exams delayed by a few weeks, under new proposals drawn up by the exams regulator, Ofqual.

The changes have been drawn up to try to mitigate the impact of learning time lost due to school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has meant that students will not have enough time to cover the entire curriculum.

However, headteachers said the measures failed to address the scale of the learning loss and called for an urgent “plan B” in case of continuing major disruption due to the coronavirus made it impossible to hold a full exam series next year.

Ofqual has asked exam boards to draw up plans for GCSE exams to start after the summer half term next year – moving the exam series back from May to a starting date of June 7 2021, running into July – in order to allow more teaching time. This could delay results. Delaying A-levels is also under consideration but this may be more complicated because of the pressure to deliver results promptly so students can secure places in further and higher education.

“We are also seeking views on whether such a change would be appropriate for the AS/A-level exam timetable, and the impact of any delay in issuing results,” Ofqual said.

The regulator has also drawn up proposals to reduce the amount taught in some subjects including GCSE history and geography, with more optional questions in some exams, so teachers have the freedom to choose topics to concentrate on, rather than being required to teach the entire curriculum.

GCSE English, maths and science are seen as essential, however, and will be unchanged, and – under the current plans – there are no proposals to reduce what’s taught at A and AS-level in any subject.