Nearly two-thirds of headteachers and principals have called for
a rebate of 75% or more on exam fees following the cancellation
of this summer’s public exams and the responsibility for
assessing students in A-levels, GCSEs and other qualifications
shifting to schools and colleges.
The Association of School and College Leaders conducted a survey
of 457 headteachers and principals in England in which 45% of
respondents said exam boards should apply a rebate of 75% to exam
fees for summer 2021 GCSE, AS level and A level qualifications,
and a further 20% favoured a rebate of more than 75%.
Public exams were cancelled by the government in January because
of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The
government did not have a contingency plan in place which was
ready to roll out and a system had to be hastily pieced together
which entails schools and colleges assessing students on a range
of evidence and submitting grades to the exam boards by a
deadline of 18 June.
Although assessment has been done by schools and colleges, the
exam boards have still billed them for upfront exam fees –
although AQA gave the option to
pay 50% – with the expectation that there will be a rebate at a
later stage once the costs incurred by the exam boards have
become clear. A similar approach was taken last year following
the cancellation of public exams with rebates of between 26%
and 23%.
Exam costs are
considerable. The average GCSE in 2020 cost £42.02 and the
average A-level was £101.44. The cost to a school or college will
vary according to the number of students and what qualifications
it provides. Among respondents to our survey, the average total
bill for all exam fees (GCSEs, AS levels, A levels and vocational
qualifications) this summer was £116,967 for schools with a sixth
form, and £75,238 for schools without a sixth form.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said: “It will seem bizarre to the public that
schools and colleges have been billed for exams that have been
cancelled – but that nevertheless is the case and indeed a
similar thing happened last year.
“On that occasion, rebates of around 25% were handed back to
schools and colleges, but our survey shows there is a real
strength of feeling for something more significant this year.
“Last year, schools and colleges were asked to assess students on
the basis of the work that had been completed prior to the
lockdown in March, but this year they have been asked to carry
out an entire assessment process from scratch in the summer term.
“They have had to do all the marking, grading and quality
assurance that would normally be carried out by exam boards – so
it seems pretty reasonable that they should receive a rebate that
is commensurate with this massive task.
“We understand that the exam boards have incurred costs such as
managing an external quality assurance process but it will be
crucial that they set out very clearly and publicly an itemised
list of their costs together with the resulting rebate that will
be paid to centres, and that they do this as soon as possible.”
We asked the following question of respondents.
|
Q, What level of rebate should awarding bodies apply to
exam fees for
summer 2021 GCSE/ AS level/ A level qualifications (as
applicable to your
centre) in light of the cancellation of public exams?
|
|
|
|
%
|
Number
|
|
No rebate is required
|
0.00%
|
0
|
|
25% rebate
|
1.75%
|
8
|
|
50% rebate
|
32.60%
|
149
|
|
75% rebate
|
45.08%
|
206
|
|
More than 75% rebate
|
19.69%
|
90
|
|
Don't know
|
0.88%
|
4
|
|
TOTAL
|
|
457
|
Our survey was conducted from 26 to 28 May by sending a survey
link to 3,189 headteachers and principals in England. The
majority (81%) of the 457 respondents were from state-funded
mainstream secondary schools, with (12%) from independent schools
and the remainder from colleges and other providers.
