Schools: Coronavirus

(asked on 17th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of restricting the exam curriculum for (a) GCSE and (b) A-Levels taken in Summer 2021 to reflect the attendance levels during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 23rd November 2020

It is a priority for the Department that there is a consistent approach to what is taught and will be assessed across schools. We know schools will be making every effort, including in areas where there is a high prevalence of COVID-19, to deliver high quality teaching, including through remote education. All schools are expected to plan to ensure any pupils educated at home for some of the time are given the support they need to master the curriculum and make good progress.

Changes to assessments in certain subjects, announced by Ofqual over the summer, will give schools and colleges extra time to plan teaching, and pupils extra time to study. The outcome of Ofqual’s consultation on summer 2021 exams is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-the-assessment-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2021.

The Department will continue to work with Ofqual and engage widely with the education sector to identify risks to examinations at a national, local, and individual student level, and to consider measures needed to address any potential disruption. This could, for example, be a student unable to sit examinations, or schools affected by a local outbreak. More details will be published shortly.

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