North students will sit exams next year
GCSES AND A-LEVELS TO GO AHEAD, SAYS WILLIAMSON
EDUCATION Secretary Gavin Williamson has pledged that next year’s GCSE and A-level exams will be fair - and insisted there was no question of cancelling them.
However, he was challenged by a North East MP who said some pupils had been affected more than others by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, raising questions about whether every student really had the same opportunity to succeed.
Blaydon MP Liz Twist said some pupils had been sent home from school but did not have access to technology such as computers, which meant they struggled to continue their education.
Speaking in the House of Commons, she asked the Education Secretary: “What measures will he be taking to ensure those who have been through isolation, and there are many of those in the North East and my constituency, and don’t have access to technology are really able to make up that difference and are able to be tested fairly in that system?”
Mr Williamson has published a package of measures for students sitting their A-level and GCSE exams in the summer to compensate for disruption to their schooling during the pandemic.
Pupils in England will be given advance notice of some topics ahead of their tests and they will be allowed to take in exam aids, like formula sheets, to ensure they are not disadvantaged.
Students will also be awarded more generous grades - in line with 2020 results where pupils received a larger proportion of higher grades than previous years after exams were cancelled amid the pandemic.
Last month, Welsh education minister Kirsty Williams announced GCSE, AS-level and A-level exams will be replaced by coursework and assessments next year amid ongoing Covid-19 disruption which she said made it “impossible to guarantee a level playing field for exams to take place.”
In Scotland, National Five exams have already been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Mr Williamson insisted exams in England would go ahead, although the majority of GCSE and
A-level exams will be delayed by three weeks to give pupils more time to catch up on learning.
Under new contingency measures, students who miss one or more exams due to selfisolation or sickness but who have still completed a proportion of their qualification will still receive a grade.
If a student misses all their assessments in a subject they will have the opportunity to sit a contingency paper held shortly after the main exam series.
If a pupil has a legitimate reason to miss all their papers, then a validated teacher-informed assessment can be used - but only once all chances to sit an exam have passed.
Making a statement to MPs, the Education Secretary said: “We are not going to let Covid damage the life chances of an entire year of students by cancelling next year’s exams.
“Exams are the best form of assessment we have and we are therefore taking steps to make sure any student preparing to sit them in 2021 has every chance possible to do their very, very best.”
Highlighting comments from exams watchdog Ofqual, Mr Williamson added: “We support Ofqual’s decision that in awarding next year’s GCSEs/AS and A-Levels grading will be as generous and will maintain a similar profile to those grades awarded this year.
“This is to recognise the exceptional circumstances students and teachers continue to work under and to make sure students are not at a disadvantage compared to previous years.
“Ofqual is also working with the exam boards to make sure students studying for vocational and technical qualifications and other general qualifications benefit from the same generous approach.”