Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's consultation on how GCSE, AS and A level grades should be awarded in summer 2021, which closed on 15 January 2021, when he plans to publish the findings of that consultation.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that examinations cannot be held in a way which is fair. The Department has therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.

The Department has already confirmed that students taking GCSE, AS and A levels, regulated by Ofqual in the Summer 2021 series, should be awarded grades based on an assessment by their teachers.

To ensure that our approach is developed with the sector, Ofqual and the Department have now concluded a two week consultation on how to ensure all pupils are supported to move to the next stage of their lives. The Department is working at pace to provide further clarity of the sector and details of alternative arrangements to examinations will be confirmed in our response to the consultation, which will be published by the end of February 2021.