GCSE and A-level exams scrapped, as pupils are promised fair alternatives

GCSES and A-level exams are to be cancelled, the Education Secretary announced last night as he promised to ensure that all students would get the grades they “need and deserve”.

Gavin Williamson assured MPS that no child would be “unfairly penalised” as a result of the decision which will affect hundreds of thousands of teenagers.

The Government is considering a number of possible models, including predicted grades and teacher-led assessments, to replace the formal exams that were due to take place in May and June.

One possibility would be for students to “rapidly take a fresh set of exams” in lieu of formal GCSE and A-levels, Mr Williamson said.

But he added that it was difficult to draw up detailed plans at the moment, since it is unclear when schools would be able to reopen and that there may well be a “knock on” effect to the start of the next academic year.

“We will be making sure that every child gets the proper recognition that they deserve and we will obviously update the house,” Mr Williamson told the Commons. “We are working very closely with Ofqual to have a detailed set of measures to make sure that no child is unfairly penalised.”

A “proper and substantive” appeal system will be set up, so that any pupil who feels that their grade is not a fair reflection of their work is able to challenge it, he added.

Ofqual, the exam watchdog, said it was now working “urgently” to draw up plans for alternative arrangements, which would be announced in the coming weeks.

Head teachers welcomed the move, but said it would “inevitably cause anxiety” to GCSE and A-level students who did not yet know what the alternative would be.

“We know there is probably going to be a greater role for teacher assessment,” said Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers. “But how that works and what failsafes you put in if anyone is aggrieved with their mark has to be worked through. There will be some students no doubt who think ‘I would have done better than

‘We are working very closely with Ofqual to have detailed measures to make sure no child is unfairly penalised’

that’. We need a process, but there is not a satisfactory answer to that right now.”

Alistair Jarvis, the chief executive of the vice-chancellor membership group Universities UK, warned that no students should miss out on places at university “because of the challenges posed by the pandemic”.

He added: “We await further information following the announcement that school exams will not go ahead.

“We are committed to working closely with the government, UCAS, examination regulators and school leaders on the practical implications of this and hope there will be clarity on this for students, parents, teachers and university admissions staff as soon as possible.” The decision on GCSES and A-levels came as the Government said schools must close down on Friday “until further notice”.

It followed similar announcements from the Welsh and Scottish governments. Schools will remain open for the children of “key workers” such as NHS staff, police and delivery drivers, as well as vulnerable youngsters which was defined as any child with a social worker.

Children who are eligible to receive free school meals will be given food vouchers by their schools from next week.

Mr Whiteman said talks would be taking place with ministers over the next 48 hours to examine the logistical challenges that schools will now face.

“There is a lot of detail to be worked out,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “We need to put flesh on the bones of how exactly we look after the most vulnerable, and how we make sure we can meet expectation of the Government around free school meal vouchers.”

He said that schools must be issued with detailed guidance on which jobs are classed as “key workers” so that head teachers are not making decisions “on the hoof ”.

“Where it is very easy to say that a nurse is a key worker, would you say the same of an electrician who needs to repair the electricity panel in a hospital?” added Mr Whiteman. “Maintaining the food supply to the public is as essential as health workers.”

An Ofqual spokesman said: “We will now work urgently with the Department for Education to work through the detail of this decision and to provide more information as soon as possible.”