Commenting on the consultation published
by Ofqual today about GCSEs, AS levels, and A levels in 2021,
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said:
“These plans appear to amount to little more than tinkering
at the edges of next year’s exams, despite the massive disruption
to learning caused by the coronavirus emergency.
“We note that exam boards are being asked about the
implications of moving the start of the exam series to June and
this may help if it proves possible, but it adds up to a few
weeks more learning time to compensate for a shutdown which has
lasted for four months.
“The young people who will take these exams have lost a
huge chunk of face-to-face teaching time, and there is likely to
be more disruption next academic year, with the possibility of
localised full or partial closures in response to coronavirus
outbreaks, and students who have to self-isolate.
“We understand that it is difficult to scale back exams in
a way that is fair to all pupils, but we fear the very minor
changes in this consultation fail to recognise the enormous
pressure on schools and their pupils to cover the large amount of
content in these courses.
“We are also extremely concerned that there does not appear
to be any Plan B in the event of widespread disruption next year
which would make it impossible to hold a full exam series. It is
surely just a matter of common sense to have an alternate
strategy in place.”
