Results dates will not be changed
GRADES for cancelled GCSEs and A-level exams in Wales will be published on their original planned days, the Welsh Government has confirmed.
Pupils studying over the current academic year in Wales will receive their results as originally scheduled in August, alongside students in Northern Ireland and England.
AS and A-level results day will take place on August 13, while GCSE student will receive their envelopes on August 20.
Education Minister Kirsty Williams made the announcement yesterday, shortly after the Department for Education confirmed results days in England would go ahead as planned.
Ms Williams said: “Sticking to the existing results dates has been the intention in Wales, supported by the advice of our independent exam regulator Qualifications Wales.
“Proposals in England to move to a much earlier results day introduced an unnecessary risk, and I had expressed my concerns to counterparts in the UK Government, as well as the education sector here in Wales and UCAS.
“I therefore welcome today’s announcement for England.”
Ms Williams said ministers from all devolved governments in the UK worked together to ensure the results schedule would go ahead as planned.
She expressed her frustration that a joint statement with the UK Government was not made.
“Education ministers from across all governments in the UK have worked well together during these challenging times, but on this occasion I regret that we were unable to make a joint announcement,” she said.
“GCSEs and A-levels are shared and owned across three countries within the UK.
“Making a joint announcement would have helped provide much needed assurance and certainty for all of our learners, their parents and practitioners at this difficult time.
“I hope that now confirmation of results day has been provided that our learners are able to make future plans with a little more confidence, although I recognise this continues to be a time of great uncertainty.”
GCSE and A-level exams in Wales were cancelled after schools in Wales shut last month amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Grades for GCSE and A-level qualifications in 2020 will be calculated on a combination of factors which may include marks for work completed to date, for example AS results for A-level grades, and standardised teacher assessed grades.