South Yorkshire teachers want clarity "sooner rather than later" on exams
The Education Secretary will update MPs today
Last updated 6th Jan 2021
South Yorkshire teachers tell us they need clarity from the government "sooner rather than later" on how students will be assessed this year.
The Prime Minister announced on Monday that GCSE and A-Levels won't go ahead as planned because schools and colleges are closed until at least mid February under the new national lockdown.
The Education Secretary is due to set out more detail to MPs later in a statement in the House of Commons.
Some BTEC exams are still going ahead this month, but Sheffield College has postponed all its assessments.
Principal Angela Foulkes wants them to be rearranged - but if not tells us there are other ways of assessing young people:
"There's a variety of ways that we could discuss. I don't think that every programme can be assessed in exactly the same way - it's very different assessing an apprenticeship, for example, to assessing a GCSE. But there are ways to adapt how we assess young people.
"If the exams for GCSE and A-levels in the summer are to be adapted in some way then so should vocational and technical assessments. And we need that information sooner rather than later - this isn't new, it's not a surprise, we need this information to support our students."
There was controversy last summer when teachers gave grades based on predictions, some of which were initially downgraded, before a government U-turn.
Angela says it's vital that situation's avoided this year:
"It was a lot of distress for people and a lot of uncertaintly. And an awul lot of hard work went into the Centre Assessed Grade process right across the country. I think that can be avoided - I think there is time to make these decisions."
Some South Yorkshire students may face a year's delay in getting their qualifications as a result of the lockdown.
Sheffield A-level student Evey Leigh-Oldale's been told she'll have to wait until 2022 to take her exams - she's an independent candidate so can't get predicted grades from teachers.
She says her whole life's been put on hold:
"It's a long time a year and it's pushing my entire life back a year. And I know that a lot of people have been in the same situation but studying was something we could do this year. We've been able to study all year so we've done all that for nothing.
"To cancel it now is just crazy. I don't really know what they can do about it but I'm having to put my life on hold again. I was really looking forward to going to uni - I'd really psyched myself up that I was going to do it this year and it's cancelled. It's really frustrating."
The Education Secretary is due to give a statement on assessments to the House of Commons this afternoon.