Pupils face exams postcode lottery, school leaders warn

EXAMS must take into account disruption to education at a regional level or children will have their results “decided by the fortune of their postcode”, ministers have been warned.

Academy trust leaders, as well as senior local authority leaders from across the country, have urged the Government to recognise that some pupils are far worse prepared for GCSES and A-levels than others due to the pandemic.

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, more than 40 heads of academy chains and council education chiefs say students from areas worst hit by Covid-19 have faced far more disruption due to “repeated episodes of self-isolation”.

Their intervention comes as ministers prepare to announce the changes that will be made to exams next summer to address the amount of school

‘Disadvantaged pupils are least likely to have access to resources needed to make remote learning a success’

that pupils have missed. Earlier this week, The Telegraph revealed students could be told which topics will appear on 2021 exam papers, under plans being considered by the regulator.

But in a letter to this newspaper, academy chiefs have warned that exams must also be amended to reflect regional disparities in pupils’ learning.

The trusts and councils, which together teach roughly three quarters of a million secondary schoolchildren, said those from the most deprived backgrounds risked being subjected to a “Covid penalty”. The letter added: “The disadvantaged pupils most likely to be self-isolating are the least likely to have access to the quiet learning environment … [and] resources needed to make remote learning a success.”

An Ofqual spokesman said it recognised the loss of learning varied across the country and it was determined to do what it could, but it was “not at all straightforward” to address the issue in a fair way. It was working hard with the Government and school leaders, and listening to parents and students.