Have November entrance exams, grammar schools told

GRAMMAR SCHOOLS should delay their entrance exams until as late as November to allow children to catch up with missed learning due to Covid-19, Government guidance suggests.

The Department for Education has published advice for headteachers and local authorities on co-ordinating tests that determine whether pupils qualify for selective secondary schools.

It recommends the tests, which usually take place in September, be moved to late October or November to give pupils more time back in the classroom before being assessed.

Parents should include at least one non-selective school in their preferences for secondary school places in case their child’s test results are not known before the deadline of October 31.

Local authorities with grammar schools should offer all parents applying for a secondary school place at least one additional preference if possible to help address the same issue.

The guidance, ahead of many students returning to school fulltime in September after nearly six months out of class, adds that some children may need “to be assessed in their homes or at another safe venue” if they have been told to self isolate due to coronavirus. It says it is “unlikely to be possible to test as many children in a single hall in one sitting as is normal practice”, adding that tests may need to run over a longer period of time.

Schools should ensure hand sanitiser is placed around the test rooms to help candidates keep their hands clean and children should take their own pens, tissues and water to avoid sharing.

There are 163 grammar schools in England, with many concentrated in certain areas of the country such as Kent and Buckinghamshire. These schools, which collectively teach about 167,000 children, select pupils based on academic ability.