School leaders, teachers, and governors put forward proposals to make 2021 exams fair

Five education organisations, representing school leaders, teachers, and governors, have submitted a set of joint proposals to make next summer’s A-levels and GCSEs as fair as possible amidst the ongoing disruption of the Covid pandemic.

Their proposals include putting in place robust contingency plans for students who are unable to take exams or whose studies are very significantly disrupted; allowing students more choice over the questions they answer in exams; and prioritising symptomatic students in key exam years for Covid tests.

The paper submitted to the government warns that simply moving the start of exams a few weeks later will not be enough on its own to address the disadvantage to students caused by the Covid crisis and more must be done.

The proposals have been put forward by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL): the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the NASUWT teachers’ union, the National Education Union (NEU), and the National Governance Association (NGA).

They have been submitted to Schools Minister Nick Gibb, and Department for Education officials, ahead of a meeting today, and to officials at exam watchdog Ofqual.