Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that students due to sit International Baccalaureate exams in the UK in the 2020-21 academic year are not at a disadvantage compared with students able to sit the baccalaureate in other countries.

The Extended Extraordinary Regulatory Framework published by Ofqual sets out how qualifications, including the International Baccalaureate, can be adapted to mitigate disruption from COVID-19 to the teaching, learning and assessment of qualifications.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to Ofqual on 13 January 2021 stating that the Department cannot guarantee that all pupils will be in a position to sit their exams fairly this summer and that alternative arrangements may be needed to award qualifications. The letter set out the Secretary of State for Education’s view that some other general qualifications, such as the International Baccalaureate, which are similar to GCSEs and A levels, should be subject to similar alternative arrangements to those for GCSEs and A levels. These arrangements will be considered through consultation the Department is taking forward with Ofqual, which includes consideration of how the arrangements will seek to ensure fairness for all pupils.