Exams will go ahead in Wales in November, says Drakeford
NOVEMBER’S GCSE exams will go ahead in Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed.
All this summer’s exams were cancelled due to Covid-19 and students will get grades awarded based on teacher assessment and previous work.
Mr Drakeford confirmed November exams will take place in answer to questions from members of Wales Youth Parliament during a virtual session this week.
Qualifications Wales, the independent regulator, confirmed that English and Welsh language and maths and maths numeracy GCSEs will take place in November.
No details were given on how they will be held in relation to guidance regarding Covid-19 precautions.
Asked if exams would be deferred “to give pupils a fair chance” with education disrupted and schools shut, Mr Drakeford said: “The intention is to proceed with the exams in November. But, as we have done over the past years, just to focus on those pupils re-sitting, not to just draw others in.
“We have not yet made a decision on January yet, but Qualifications Wales is still working with the Education Minister to prepare for January and they will be taking decisions on what they intend to do about January.”
The First Minister added that he recognised young people have been doing schoolwork in “very difficult circumstances” during school closures and are concerned about exams and what happens next.
Exam board the WJEC now lists GCSE exams as taking place from November 2-11. The first exam listed is English language GCSE unit 2 on November 2.
The WJEC also lists Welsh literature and English literature exams as taking place between January 4-8, 2021.
It also lists a provisional exam timetable for AS, A-level, GCSEs and vocational awards in summer 2021.
These do not appear to be later than normal, although that is being considered by Qualifications Wales in light of disruption to learning.
But the First Minister told members of the Wales Youth Parliament that a final decision is yet to be reached on whether January exams will go ahead. Those exams are Welsh and English literature GCSEs.
November GCSEs are now usually taken by pupils as re-sits if they aren’t happy with summer grades.
In the past schools often entered larger numbers of pupils for early entry in November, rather than resits. The Welsh Government discouraged this by ruling that the first grade awarded was the one used to judge school performance.
From summer 2019, schools have only been judged on the result of a pupil’s first entry to a GCSE exam, even if they retake it and gain a better grade at a later date. Pupils can take whichever is the better grade.
Some heads have privately predicted large numbers of appeals after results day this year. As exams were cancelled grades will be awarded based on assessments and rankings from teachers.
Schools will reopen full-time on September 1 in Wales, but Welsh Government guidance on how they should do that, published on July 13, does not mention exams. This summer’s GCSE, AS- and A-level exams were cancelled in March.
Qualifications Wales and the WJEC were approached for comment.