Category Archives: Exams

Universities will adjust to lower exam results in England, says minister

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Government seeks to reassure pupils taking GCSEs and A-levels after sharp rises in grades during pandemic

The government has sought to allay pupils’ fears over GCSE and A-level results, which are expected to be lower in England this summer after two years of record increases, reassuring them that universities will “adjust accordingly”.

The schools minister Will Quince said it was important to “move back to a position where qualifications maintain their value” and reassured students that grades will still be higher than in 2019, before the pandemic.

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Bring back free Covid tests for exam candidates, UK schools urge

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Pupils set to take first GCSEs and A-levels for three years, but invigilators are wary of working in halls with no protective measures

After the disruption of the pandemic, Helen Fields knew this Easter holiday would be a crucial time for her sons to revise for their GCSE and A-level exams. Instead, 16-year-old Solomon caught Covid and has been too unwell to concentrate, and 18-year-old Gabriel is suffering “serious anxiety”, having never sat high-stakes exams.

Summer term starts this week for many, but the Association of School and College Leaders union (ASCL) told the Observer that the first public exams for three years, which start on 16 May, will “certainly not be a return to business as usual”. The union says soaring infection rates played havoc with exam preparation last term, and their members can’t see why the government won’t bring back free Covid tests for these pupils, to avoid the virus spreading in exam halls.

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Museum visits do not improve GCSE results, study reveals

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Report finds no correlation between better exam grades and exposure to ‘middle-class’ outings

A family trip to the theatre or an afternoon at a museum may be a fun day out, but new research suggests that such cultural outings will not actually help children secure higher grades.

There have been persistent theories that wealthier children may be given an advantage in their school careers by being pressed into visits to art galleries and exhibitions. According to a new academic study, however, outings often regarded as “middle class” had no correlation with improved GCSE results.

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Wales government says there will be no GCSEs or A-levels next summer

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Education minister says teacher-managed assessments will replace exams in 2021

There will be no end of year exams for GCSE, A-level and AS-level students in Wales next summer, the Welsh government has said.

The education minister, Kirsty Williams, said that in place of exams the government would work with schools and colleges to carry out teacher-managed assessments.

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Boris Johnson faces Tory wrath as party slumps in shock poll

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Party in despair, senior MP says, as Labour draws level in wake of exam chaos and Covid U-turns

Boris Johnson is facing a showdown with furious Conservative MPs over his government’s chaotic handling of Covid-19, as a new poll shows the Tories have surrendered a massive lead over Labour in just five months.

As MPs prepare to return to Westminster on Tuesday, Charles Walker, who is vice-chair of the 1922 committee of Conservative backbenchers, told the Observer that a recent string of U-turns had left many colleagues in despair, with some struggling to support and defend their government to constituents. Governing by U-turn in this way, he said, was unsustainable.

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UK coronavirus: top GCSE grades surge to record high in England – live news

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Nearly 550,000 pupils in England receive GCSE results awarded entirely by assessment for first time, but BTec students face further disruption

My colleagues Pamela Duncan and Tobi Thomas from the Guardian’s data unit report discrepancies in today’s GCSE results:

A rising tide lifts all boats and this year’s algorithm-to-teacher-graded-U-turn has resulted in an increase in top grades across every subject. However, some subjects’ boats were lifted higher than others.

After all the uncertainty of the exams fiasco, head teachers across the country are celebrating their pupils’ GCSE success, but they say recent experiences have damaged relations with the Department for Education (DfE).

Jules White, head teacher of Tanbridge House secondary school in Horsham, West Sussex and leader of the Worth Less? education funding campaign, was with pupils this morning, watching with delight as they found out their grades.

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Hancock defends appointment of Dido Harding to lead new health body – as it happened

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Health secretary defends Tory peer’s appointment after speech about axing PHE; Williamson plans to keep role and tries to blame Ofqual for exams mess

Here’s a roundup of this afternoon’s key UK coronavirus developments:

Pizza Express has confirmed plans to close 73 of its restaurants, impacting 1,100 members of staff, as part of a major business rescue plan.

The chain has formally launched a proposal to reduce its restaurant estate and rental cost base through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

Today we have confirmed that 73 of our pizzerias are proposed to close permanently.

“In most cases, there is another Pizza Express nearby, either already open or reopening soon, to welcome our customers. Our focus is on our people whose jobs are impacted and we will be doing everything we can either to redeploy them or to support them in finding roles elsewhere.

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Gavin Williamson seeks to blame Ofqual for exams debacle

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Education secretary forced into humiliating reversal on A-level and GCSE grades in England

Gavin Williamson has tried to lay the blame for the exams fiasco at the door of the regulator Ofqual after a humiliating climbdown that overturned up to 2.3m grades but left thousands of pupils in limbo.

Two days after saying there would be “no U-turn, no change”, the education secretary apologised and ordered a complete reversal whereby pupils in England will be able to revert to the A-level grades recommended by their teachers, if those are higher.

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UK coronavirus: Gavin Williamson apologises over ‘inconsistencies’ in exam grading process – live news

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Exams regulator Ofqual announces all A-levels and GCSEs in England will now be graded according to teacher assessment following similar moves in Wales, NI and Scotland

One of the groups that had been planning to take the UK government to court over exam grades has said it is dropping its legal action, following the U-turn. Jo Maugham QC, the director of the Good Law Project, tweeted:

Statement on Government A Level U-turn pic.twitter.com/wEWYElgCil

Mary Curnock Cook, the former chief executive of Ucas, said the government must announce immediately that the cap on university admissions will be lifted to accommodate the new grading system.

Many universities will have already filled their courses based on the grades published last Thursday. Speaking on BBC News, she said:

Decisions have already been made by universities about who they accept, who they don’t accept, who goes into clearing and so on. This change will mean that universities have to rethink completely.

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Sturgeon promises urgent review of 124,000 downgraded exam results

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First minister apologises after predicted awards downgraded more heavily in poorer areas

Nicola Sturgeon has apologised to tens of thousands of Scottish teenagers whose exam results were downgraded last week and promised urgent changes to their awards.

The first minister attempted to defuse a growing crisis for her government by confirming that her deputy, John Swinney, would lay out proposals to regrade results in the Scottish parliament on Tuesday.

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EU bans Pakistan national airline flights over pilot exam cheats

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PIA will not be able to fly into the EU for at least six months because of doubts over validity of pilot licences

The European Union’s aviation safety agency announced today that Pakistan’s national airline would not be allowed to fly into Europe for at least six months after the country’s aviation minister revealed that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated during their pilot’s exams.

Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said PIA had not been flying to Europe because of the pandemic. But the airline had hoped to resume its flights to Oslo, Copenhagen, Paris, Barcelona and Milan within the next two months.

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Secret report reveals government fear of schools chaos after no-deal Brexit

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Risk of axed exams and food shortages, while informing the public ‘may cause panic’

Schools may have to close, exams could be disrupted and fresh food for pupils’ meals could run short because of panic buying with prices soaring by up to 20%, according to a secret Department for Education analysis of the risks of a no-deal Brexit obtained by the Observer.

The five-page document – marked “Official Sensitive” and with the instruction “Do Not Circulate” – also raises the possibility of teacher absences caused by travel disruption, citing schools in Kent as particularly at risk.

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