Key points from the press release sent out from the Department for Education and the Rt Hon Gavin Williamson, CBE, MP on 20^th March 2020.

• Teachers must ensure that GCSE, A and AS Level students are awarded a grade which fairly reflects the work they have put in.
• There will also be an option to sit an exam early in the next academic year for students who wish to.
• Ofqual will develop and set out a process that will provide a calculated grade to each student which reflects their performance as fairly as possible.
• Teachers will submit their judgement about the grade that they believe the student would have received if the exams had gone ahead.
• To produce the grade, teachers will take into account a range of evidence/data, e.g. performance in PPEs, other assessments. Further guidance to be given on how to do this robustly and fairly will be given to us.
• The exam boards will then combine this information with other relevant data to produce a calculated grade for each student.
• Calculated grades will be provided to students before the end of July.
• In terms of a permanent record, these grades will be indistinguishable from those awarded in other years. Students will not be disadvantaged in any way.
  • N.B. If parents/students do not feel their calculated grade reflects their performance when awarded at the end of July, they will have the opportunity to sit an exam as soon as is possible, once schools open again. Students will also have the option to sit their exams in Summer 2021.
• In the case of vocational and technical qualifications, Ofqual will work urgently to explore the options. In many cases, students may have completed modules and non-examination assessments. These could be used to provide evidence to award a grade.

Should students continue to study/revise?

• Students may ask if they need to/should continue to study and prepare for examinations. Students do not need to continue revising and preparing for examinations as they would if they were sitting them in the summer. Students should consider their most recent predicted grade. If they are not satisfied with this and think they will want to sit an examination in the autumn, they should continue some revision (little and often) for any relevant subject. This is certainly advised if a student is not predicted to achieve at least a grade 4 in English language, English literature and mathematics.
• The school will review all Year 11 and 13 predicted grades to ensure that these are accurate, supported by evidence and reflects the outcome the student would have received if the exams had gone ahead.
• Students are advised to continue to review/focus their learning for any subject that is required for their post-16 or post-18 destination if they are progressing to Eckington Sixth Form, FE college or university. Students continuing into the Sixth Form at Eckington School will not be disadvantaged in any way by the national school closure, and we will provide directed ‘bridging’ work in the near future to assist with home study. This will help students be ready for the A Levels/BTECs they have chosen to study.

For full details of the press release, go to www.gov.uk/government/news/further-details-on-exams-and-grades-announced

There is no need to do anything specifically at this moment. We will be in touch as soon as we know any further details.

Alison Burgess

Principal