Announcement
Year 11 & Year 13 Exam Update
Re: GCSE & A Level Examination Grades
As of the 26th of March, Ofqual and the government have shared further details as to how GCSE and A Level exam grades will be awarded for Year 11 and Year 13 students who were due to sit exams in May/June 2020. Further information and specific details will be published next week.
Ofqual Statement:
We are rapidly working up plans to implement the arrangements the Secretary of State for Education has set out for exams this summer and, with exam boards and teaching bodies, are making considerable progress.
Students understandably want reassurance, and teachers urgently need to know what to do, and when. We expect to publish detailed information about the process and timetable which will apply this summer next week. This will include the steps we would like teachers to follow and more detailed guidance on how to consider the full range of evidence they will have available when submitting their assessment grades. We are talking to teaching representatives to make sure that what we are planning is manageable and appropriate, so that students, parents, carers and teachers can have confidence in the approach.
We will outline by Easter the process we will follow to make sure grades are fair across schools and colleges, as well as our proposals for appeals. We will also say more as soon as possible about the arrangements for additional exams in the new academic year.
We want to reassure students waiting for news that we are doing everything we can to make sure they are not disadvantaged by these unprecedented circumstances.
The government have advised that they aim to provide students with their calculated results before the end of July and that there will be an opportunity to sit an exam later in the year if students do not feel that their grade accurately reflects their ability.
As included in the letter sent on the 20th of March, Year 11 and Year 13 are still very much part of our school community. We will continue to support them both academically and personally.
Year 11 and Year 13 will continue to have work set via Google Classroom by their subject teachers. The majority of our students will be continuing onto further education, whether this be sixth form, college or university, and it is essential that they continue learning from home to minimise gaps in their education which may occur during this time. Work set will aim to support the educational development necessary for their next steps, whether this be Post-16 or Post-18. If Year 11 students are returning to sixth form at Thomas Bennett they will be contacted by Mr Ghosh and Miss Day in the coming weeks with work to further bridge any gaps in their learning.
To date, we have not had a request to cancel the Year 11 Prom organised for Friday 3rd of July. We have spoken with the prom venue and they are fully supportive and ready to re-arrange the date if guidance from the government still advises social distancing at that time. Our aim, in that circumstance, would be to have prom either at the end of the summer break or in the autumn.
Leavers hoodies are still available to buy online and we are arranging a leavers book through a dedicated Google Classroom that all Year 11 students have been invited to. The classroom code for this is 4ya2cz6. In here, students can give permission to use images, upload pictures and quotes to contribute to the leavers book.
Thank you for all of your continued support in these extraordinary times. We will continue to update all parents and students regularly as further updates are released by the government and Ofqual.
Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions. We will endeavour to answer these as best we can.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs Buchan and Mr Ghosh
Assistant Headteachers for Year 11 and KS5