GCSE and A Levels cancelled

[Jean.Brodie]

They should have postponed the exams IMO, not cancelled them.

Totally agree. It would have been fair to every one.

Hi Surferfish and Tiffinboys!

When would you hold postponed exams and how? When could you hold them safely?

How many of us would be willing to send our kids into these situations for exams if we are not sure of ‘normal’ safety?

I work with schools in part of my work. I do not expect to work normally any time soon, assuming I’m still in work at all for much longer. Teachers I know have no idea when they will hold normal classes again or even when schools can host any pupils in any normal size of group again, for exams or for anything else. No one knows when it will be safe again.

At the same time, A Level classes need to be planned based on GCSE grades, effective from September. Universities need A Level grades, no later than mid-August or the whole UCAS system seizes up. How will Unis start in September-October without these grades? Most of them are financially crippled anyway now – how much worse they will be if their Tuition Fee-Rent-Catering incomes are delayed!

By the way, the Teachers I work with have a good idea what Grade/Level each exam candidate is worth. They understand statistical models for exam marks and the need for national moderation based on these models, applied judiciously. Let’s see, though, what pressures are applied to them and how they respond. What games will schools choose to play to ‘boost’ their pupils’ grades and how effective will the authorities be in countering these tactics?

We all have to be pragmatic and adjust. In a very, very difficult situation, the proposed way forward on GCSEs and A Levels is sensible.

My daughter's Finals at University and her plans for Masters-PhD degrees and funding are all up in the air. Me? I'm just glad that she is safe and that she is home.

[kenyancowgirl]

No school can compel invigilators to work - they are in the majority, retired (at risk) individuals - most plan to be available for the summer exams in May June but would not necessarily be available any other time. The unions preclude teachers from invigilating and you would not have enough teachers who were not that subject to cover all the exam rooms and SEN students anyway. for those working in schools it is very obvious thatthis is the best solution in a difficult time, for those who have not worked in a school (or worked in one a long time ago) they may not understand the ramifications of actually what a complex thing the whole external exam organisation is.

With regards to what the kids can do for the next 5 months - a lot of them have already signed up to work (within the legal allowed) - there will be a lot more jobs in the gig economy - and a lot of farms are crying out for staff too.

[streathammum]

I can't imagine how difficult it would be for children who have now been off school for weeks to still be in limbo about when their exams would be held and whether there would be any more teaching time before them. I can't imagine lockdown lifting for the next three or four weeks, and until it does you wouldn't be able to set the exam dates with any confidence. That's a long time to leave the young people hanging.

All the options have downsides but cancelling seems to be in the best interests of most.

[ToadMum]

Well, it won't have been all for nothing, surely, as their teachers will have at least 2/3 years of their hard work - and presumably commensurate achievements - upon which to base their grade assessments?

When I say all for nothing I mean that if a student does well it will be pointed out by their peers that they wouldn’t have done so well if they had took the exams and if they don’t do as well it would be said if they had taken the exams they could’ve done better. The kids in this situation don’t win either way and more should’ve been done so that exams went ahead even at a later date

Whatever their peers say, Ofqual have made it clear that the grades obtained this year are as valid as grades obtained in any other year.

Tbh, given that the universities have been able to commit themselves to accepting the situation, their peers will just have to get over themselves.

[tiffinboys]

When would you hold postponed exams and how? When could you hold them safely?

When ever schools open, unless some is suggesting that schools would not reopen in near future.

[Tinkers]

When would you hold postponed exams and how? When could you hold them safely?

When ever schools open, unless some is suggesting that schools would not reopen in near future.

I suspect that’s the big issue. No one quite knows when that will happen. It might happen in 3 weeks time. It might not. And until we know, no plans for holding the exams can be confirmed.

As it is given the amount of work my sister (a teacher) is doing behind the scenes to sort out the grading etc for GCSEs and A levels and the time it is going to take, cancelling at the time, when we had no idea what was going to happen was probably the sensible approach. It means the grades will get given out in a decent time frame so students can move on to the next stage of their education.
Students will still have the opportunity to sit exams in the Autumn, so those who tend to cram and do better in exams will have the chance to do what they do best then.

By making the decision early and getting on with it, it means that at least everyone knows what’s going on and can plan for that, rather than being in limbo for several weeks. I know that would have seriously messed with my DDs head, but everyone has been affected differently.

I really didn’t think at the time they would cancel them.

DD is still being given work by school to do, but has been told that none of it will count towards the grade their teachers will provide.

[quasimodo]

When would you hold postponed exams and how? When could you hold them safely?

When ever schools open, unless some is suggesting that schools would not reopen in near future.

I suspect that’s the big issue. No one quite knows when that will happen. It might happen in 3 weeks time. It might not. And until we know, no plans for holding the exams can be confirmed.

As it is given the amount of work my sister (a teacher) is doing behind the scenes to sort out the grading etc for GCSEs and A levels and the time it is going to take, cancelling at the time, when we had no idea what was going to happen was probably the sensible approach. It means the grades will get given out in a decent time frame so students can move on to the next stage of their education.
Students will still have the opportunity to sit exams in the Autumn, so those who tend to cram and do better in exams will have the chance to do what they do best then.

By making the decision early and getting on with it, it means that at least everyone knows what’s going on and can plan for that, rather than being in limbo for several weeks. I know that would have seriously messed with my DDs head, but everyone has been affected differently.

I really didn’t think at the time they would cancel them.

DD is still being given work by school to do, but has been told that none of it will count towards the grade their teachers will provide.

My youngest was devastated when the GCSEs were cancelled and she had a good cry over it after all the hard work that she had put in.I was upset for her and it was aggravated by the school year finishing within two days of the news and no opportunities to say goodbye to many of her friends who were being kept off school.

As much as our upset the saving of lives was more important.Like most of us we will be aware of lives lost by Covid 19 directly and indirectly and those who have been through the illness both in and out of hospital.

We are not sure how the results will pan out under the new process.I had encouraged my youngest to only revise a couple of GCSEs where she might be weakest after she had finished work set by her school until Easter.She is revising all of them.I don't see it as a waste on reflection.As in three of them she is reinforcing her knowledge before A levels in those subjects.In the others we will see in what if any subject she will sit an exam.She can focus on those from results in July if earlier or in August.I am discounting any thoughts of Appeals as Appeals will it seems be on the process rather than the merits.

It seems that children will be back in schools by the end of May beginning of June. Amongst the reasons there are too many children who should be at school even now and are missing the social protections teachers and schools provide.The fears are that they are away from school and abuses are taking place.

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I for one will be happy for my youngest to be back at school and have a return towards normality but I understand the natural fears parents will have.Maybe parents can look at children going back to schools in some parts of Europe to allay their fears.

[Surferfish]

They should have postponed the exams IMO, not cancelled them.

Totally agree. It would have been fair to every one.

Hi Surferfish and Tiffinboys!

When would you hold postponed exams and how? When could you hold them safely?

What about this suggestion? All children, students and teachers return to school/university in September (it should all hopefully be safe by then) and complete term 3 of their current academic year. Exams would be held towards the end of term 3(as always), which would now be November/early December time, followed by an Xmas/New Year break.

The new academic year for schools and Universities would then begin in January 2021 and run until December, now being inline with the calendar year. A long break could still be taken in July/August between terms 2 and 3 although I would suggest 4 weeks rather than 6 with the other 2 weeks spread more evenly throughout the year (maybe 3 weeks at Easter and Xmas, or longer half terms).

Is there any good reason why this wouldn't work or why the academic year HAS to run from September - July, other than the fact that this is the way it has always been done?(which doesn't constitute a good reason for anything IMO).

It is perhaps worth remembering that the reason we start the academic year in September, is because when school first became compulsory in the 19th century, children were often expected to help farm the land from May thru August! That's completely irrelevant now though, so no reason we shouldn't just change the dates that I can think of. As you say, we all have to be pragmatic and adjust, so why not just restart everything from where we left off, after the whole planet has taken a necessary break to try and safeguard our health. The fact that the Earth has moved a bit further in its orbit around the sun in that time shouldn’t really matter should it?

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[PerpetualStudent]

In NZ the school year runs with the calendar year but with the summer holidays running in December and January. This gives enough time for students to apply to university with actual results (iirc). Not sure students would care for a long winter break or whether marking could be done in time without one.

[kenyancowgirl]

And what would you do with all the nursery children and reception kids in primary schools who have places to start in September? They would then be in limbo as no nursery establishment or primary school could have double cohorts - and of course parents may be returning to work based on the fact that the nursery or primary school will be their childcare - it is never as simple as “just repeat a term”...all the child benefit systems would have to be rejigged and so on and so on.

If it was planned for a few years it would still no doubt have teething problems but to cobble it together would be disastrous.