Through this joint consultation, Ofqual and the Department for Education want to hear the views of students who were due to take their exams, their parents and carers, their teachers, school and college leaders and others who have an interest, including further and higher education providers, and employers.  The consultation will cover general and vocational qualifications, with this document focusing on general qualifications: A Levels, AS Levels and GCSEs only.  Further information will be released on vocational qualifications when we have this.

The government state: ‘Students need grades to continue to the next stage of their education or training, or into employment.  Grades must reflect what a student knows, understands and can do, and they must be widely understood and respected.  In place of exams in summer 2021 we propose that a student’s grade in a subject will be based on their teacher’s assessment of the standard at which they are performing.’

We strongly encourage all students and their parents/carers to read the proposals set out in this consultation carefully and respond online if they so wish.

The consultation paper and the link to submit a response to the questions posed can be found here.

Whilst the paper sets out plans, please do bear in mind that these are still very much in the consultation phase, and previous consultations from last spring and summer did lead to some significant adjustments.  As soon as we have details on the final process for awarding grades this summer, we will update you.

We appreciate that this is an unsettling time for all students, but cannot stress enough the importance of every student continuing to engage fully with all learning for the remainder of their courses, in order to be in with the best chance of securing the best possible grade and ready for their next steps.  Whilst the way that grades will be awarded is changing, the qualifications students are studying for remain the same.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely

Ms Heather Lilley

Deputy Principal