GCSE and A-Level: Exam Delay Declaration Promised ‘Soon’

Coronavirus: Push back GCSE and A-level exams, says Labour

Students sitting for examsImage copyright
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The decision to delay GCSE and A-level exams in England next year will be made “very soon”, School Minister Nick Gibb said.

This is expected to be part of a larger strategy on how to conduct summer tests after so many schools have been missed due to epidemic diseases.

In June, the government announced that tests could be postponed later than usual after the summer.

Labor has called for a postponement of next summer’s exams.

Many students from England and Wales are returning to school this week – almost all schools expect to be ready to teach students full-time after a long epidemic.

Concerned parents

But a Yugov survey suggests that there are still fears about safety – 1% of parents have “seriously considered” not sending their children back.

Polling firms have recorded growing confidence in sending students back, but this latest survey, as schools prepare to reopen, gives strict parental guidance.

Parents were more likely to wear masks at school, with 47% in favor and 36% against.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking at the first cabinet meeting after the summer break, said “this unfortunate coward is still likely to come” but he was “absolutely confident” that “we will be able to deal with them”.

Returning to school has raised concerns about what will happen to A-levels and GCSEs next summer, when so much teaching time is wasted.

Mr Gibb said the late start of the exam season was being considered, as the education ministers had earlier put before the exam ministers earlier this summer.

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Media captionsThe BBC’s health correspondent Laura Foster explains what schools are doing to keep students safe

Mr Gibb told the BBC: “We also need to consider other countries in the UK that use GCSE and A-level on their expiration dates.”

“You need to consider the time to identify, confirm that the results will be released on the due date for university admission, etc.

“There is a full range of test boards, offcoils and sections [for Education] See, but we’ll make a decision soon. “

‘Edge risk’

In June, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told MPs he would consult with England’s examination regulator Ofcal, “How can we take these exams back, to give children extra time to learn”.

Ofkel suggests that relatively few changes need to be made to how much is taught for the test – but chief leader Geoff Burton has criticized it as “a bit more than taking the edge”.

The ASCL Headmasters Union has called for a reduction in the amount of exam course material to take into account the amount lost during the exam.

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Media captionsThe prime minister said workers were returning to the office in “huge numbers”.

There are also questions about what will happen if schools face local lockdowns – and whether they need to plan back-up to re-use teacher forecasts.

Jules White, headmaster of West Sussex, said a one-month delay for the exams would be simply “window dressing”.

“The idea that all students, especially those who are disadvantaged will receive content very quickly, is totally optimistic and politicians around them must make urgent and meaningful changes to the exam,” said Mr White, who organized the school to raise funds.

Labor has called for tests to be taken in May and June, usually to return to mid-summer to help combat the effects of the carnivirus.

On Monday, Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green said there had been “a mountain to climb” since Sept. 11 and 13 because students missed several months of study.

He said the exam schedule will have the opportunity to teach more reading by the end of next year, he said.

This year’s exams were chaotic and left teachers, parents and students called for a rethink of next summer’s exams.

About 40% of the A-level grades given to students using the algorithm were below the assessment of teachers, with disadvantaged students being particularly badly affected.

A few days after the results were announced, and after widespread criticism, the government took a U-turn and decided to grade the teachers ’recommendations instead.

Conservative MP Tim Lawton said the test problems had become “lustful” and that after the “exciting” summer when “things should not have gone as they should”, the government needed to “regain control of the agenda”. .

“I think a lot of people will be surprised that we think we’ve got the role of a few chiefs who were in charge of civil servants and Kwangos but no minister has been held accountable yet and I think that raises a few questions.

“Ministers have lost far fewer jobs, including education,” Mr Lofton said.

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