Colleges plead for more cash to fund autumn exam expenses

MINISTERS have been told to give colleges extra cash to put on exams this autumn, as they said they would have to close to other students to do it safely.

The Association of Colleges warned that going ahead with GCSE resits next month could pose “public health risks”, especially in “high risk” northern areas.

In a letter to Nick Gibb, the schools minister, the association’s chief executive said: “We have serious concerns about the potential public health risks this presents and would welcome urgent discussion about whether going ahead with this series of exams is the right thing to do.”

David Hughes warned that many colleges with large student numbers for English and maths resits were in “high”

‘ We would welcome urgent discussion about whether going ahead with the exams is the right thing to do’

or “very high”-tier areas of the country.

“For many it will result in the closure of entire campuses to other students on the exam days to manage numbers safely. Controlling entry and exit points will be a particular issue because exams have fixed start and end times,” he said.

A Sage document, dated Sept 21, suggested all college teaching should be online unless face-to-face lessons were “absolutely essential”.

Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, announced this week that next year’s GCSE and A-level exams would go ahead in the summer, but the majority will be delayed by three weeks.

Mr Hughes added: “There will be even greater logistical challenges in summer 2021 than this November.

“For colleges there will be very large cohorts of candidates in popular exam subjects and in GCSE English and maths which will need special planning.

“At the very least we would urge you to consider supporting the additional costs for these colleges.”