Dear Parent and Carers
As you will no doubt have heard in the press, GCSE and A Level exams will not go ahead as planned in the summer. Instead, a form of teacher assessment will replace them.
The Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, said in his statement: “I can confirm that GCSEs and A Level exams will not go ahead this summer.” He added: “This year, we are going to put our trust in teachers rather than algorithms.” While the Government will work with Ofqual, exam boards and teaching organisations on the details, the secretary of state stated: “I wish to use a form of teacher-assessed grades, with training and support provided to ensure these are awarded fairly and consistently.” A consultation will be launched next week and will conclude “swiftly”.
Subsequently, it has been suggested that the process to be used, not the final grades, will have been decided by no later for the process than the end of February has been suggested. We will be engaging with the government consultation process to ensure that the grades awarded will be both consistent and fair across the country.
What should my child be doing now?
In essence, the key message for our students is ‘business as usual’. We will complete further assessments when students physically return to school.
We expect our students to engage well with the remote provision over the coming weeks, ensuring they attend online lessons and hand in work in a timely fashion.
Feedback from teachers and parents has been that this has started really positively.
Your child’s sustained efforts on this will be part of the information informing the grades they receive at the end of the year and will ensure that they are in the best position to take on the challenges of continued education in their chosen courses next academic year.
We understand that this will inevitably be a source of worry until we have a clearer resolution, we keep you informed with key information as it emerges.
Yours faithfully
Mr A Boyle
Headteacher
