Exams Information

 
OFQUAL and the Department for Education has published guidance about the contingency arrangements for awarding Teacher Assessed Grades in the unlikely event that examinations do not take place in the summer 2022. 
 
We would like to explain how these plans might affect your child should they have to be put into place. The Government is clear that students entering GCSEs, AS or A-Levels in 2022 should expect to take examinations in the summer and complete any non-examination assessments in the usual way throughout the year. 

In recognition of the fact that students’ education has been disrupted by the pandemic, they will be given extra help to prepare for their examinations as confirmed below: 

•    Students taking GCSEs in English Literature, History, Ancient History and Geography will not need to cover the usual range of content in the examinations – the Exam Boards have published information on their websites on how this will work for each of their specifications in these subjects.  
•    Students taking GCSEs in all other subjects will be given advance information about the focus of the content of the examinations to support their revision. 
•    Students taking A-Levels will be given advance information about the focus of the content of the examinations to support their revision. 
•    Students taking GCSE Mathematics will be given in their examinations copies of formulae they would in other years have to memorise. 
•    Students taking GCSE Physics and Combined Science will be given in their examinations a sheet covering all the equations they might need to apply in the examinations. 
 
The contingency plans state that If examinations had to be cancelled in summer 2022, students’ grades would instead be determined by their teachers, using a Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) approach similar to that used in summer 2021. TAGs are based on teachers’ assessment of their students’ work. 
 
To inform the TAGs, teachers will use evidence as detailed below, where applicable for that subject: 
 
•    Non-examined assessments will take place wherever possible for those subjects where the NEA is part of the examination syllabus. 
•    Planned assessments will take place throughout the year. Students will be made aware that this evidence will contribute towards the TAG. 
•    The assessments will be based on previous past papers that have been set by the Exam Board and the relevant mark schemes will be used. These assessments will be completed under examination conditions within classrooms when possible. 
•    Any assessments completed will be kept by teaching staff. 
•    Any students who are entitled to access arrangements will be provided during these assessments. 
•    Should students be absent for an assessment, there will not be the opportunity for this particular assessment to be sat at another time. This is to ensure that Exam Board Guidance is adhered to. 
 
Students should continue to prepare for any in class assessment as they would normally do and also for the Mock Examinations, which take place in January 2022.