Schools reopening: GCSE and A-Level exams will take place later next SUMMER to give kids more time to revise

GCSE and A-level students who return to school in September will take their exams later in the summer to give them more teaching time after the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

More optional questions could be used in test papers under proposals unveiled by England’s exams regulator.

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Ofqual has launched a two-week consultation on their plans for the GCSE and A-level exam series in 2021 after students have faced months of school and college closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The watchdog is considering how next year’s exam timetable could be changed to allow more time for teaching – and one of the proposals being looked at is postponing starting GCSE exams until June 7.

Meanwhile the government has confirmed that pupils who had their exams cancelled this summer have the option to sit them in the autumn.

They said: “Following the cancellation of summer 2020 exams, the exam boards will be providing students with calculated grades (except in some exceptional cases) this summer, which students will use to move onto their next step. 

“The Department for Education, however, also announced that there will be an opportunity for students to sit exams in the autumn and Ofqual has confirmed these exams will be available in all subjects.”

 

But head teachers are concerned about the practicalities of the announcement.

They say accommodating a full set of autumn exams alongside getting all pupils back to school in September will be a “huge challenge”.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are concerned about how schools and colleges will be able to accommodate and manage a full suite of autumn exams alongside the huge challenge of bringing all their pupils back in September, identifying learning gaps, and putting catch-up support in place.

“We had argued for the autumn series to be restricted to A-levels, and GCSE English and maths.

“However, we understand the pressure on the government and Ofqual to provide the option of a full suite of exams in the event that pupils and parents are unhappy with centre-assessed grades in August.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said while he supported offering exams for all of the GCSE, AS and A-level subjects this autumn, schools might need other “hub centres” to accommodate exams.

It comes as the government announced plans for getting all pupils back after the summer following up to six months at home.

Schools in England will have to group children into “bubbles” when they return to the classroom in September.

But it means if there are two confirmed coronavirus cases in 14 days, all the pupils in that group, or even the whole school, could have to be sent home.