Students whose GCSE and A-Level exams have been axed because of coronavirus will be given final grades based on teacher predictions, mock results and coursework from the past 12 months – with emergency exams in the autumn if they appeal, it was claimed today.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has refused to be drawn on how the results will be calculated but said the Government’s plan will be revealed tomorrow.
But Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, which represents UK academies, has shared a leaked email to teachers about emergency arrangements for schools after they close tomorrow – including handing out results.
‘Perhaps the most controversial of decisions announced today relates to public tests and exams,’ her email read, according to Buzzfeed News. ‘There will be no primary assessment. GCSEs and A-levels will be awarded on the basis of moderated assessment with the exam boards and Ofqual [Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation]. Of course this is not ideal.
‘But I am persuaded there is no better option. For those young people who feel that they could have done better than their predicted grade, I believe there will be [a] mini-session in the autumn.’
Earlier today, the Education Secretary warned parents they should ‘assume’ their children will be at home ‘for a considerable amount of time’ when asked if the academic year is over until the Autumn when all schools close their gates.
It comes as coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the UK, killing 137 people – up 33 in 24 hours. London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has said only ‘critical workers’ should use the Tube and supermarkets have been emptied by shoppers queuing through the night to buy household goods.
Mr Williamson had confirmed there will be no SATs, GCSE or A-Level exams this year but has only said children will be graded only to say their path to work, sixth form or university will not be impeded – not how they will be graded.
As millions of working parents face the extraordinary prospect of having school-age children at home for six months – and students had their exams cancelled, it has emerged:
- Universities could be forced to honour all offers to students, even if their teachers lower their final grades based on coursework and classwork;
- Nurseries asking parents to keep paying thousands of pounds in fees even though children are at home to ensure they don’t go bust;
- A final list of who will be classified as a key workers will be published today – but schools warn only couples where both parents are key workers will be guaranteed a place in school or nursery for their child;
- Gavin Williamson insists no child who would usually be eligible for the free meals should go without while their school is closed or they are self-isolating with voucher system proposed;
- NQT teachers could be allowed straight into work in the Autumn to ease the crisis of staff are in isolation;
All exams in the UK will be axed but it is not yet clear how children will be graded and how the system will be kept fair including the system of appeals. However, a school leader today said formal end of year exams would be replaced with a combination of predicted grades, mock exams, coursework and assessment
Gavin Williamson today admitted schools could now be closed until September at the earliest because of coronavirus but gave no detail about how GCSE and A-Levels students will be graded without any exams
Gavin Williamson today didn’t rule out keeping schools closed until September but there was scant detail about how children will be graded
Mr Williamson has said formal guidance will be issued on Friday about how pupils unable to sit their exams due to school closures will get their grades.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Universities UK chief executive Alistair Jarvis said: ‘If an appropriate way can be found to assess students, perhaps a combination of teacher assessments and assignment works that’s already done, then awards could be granted this summer. This would allow students to get their grades and the university admission process to go ahead this summer.’
Asked whether students who have already been offered a place at university could get it as an unconditional offer, Mr Jarvis said: ‘That is possible, that would be a good option to immediately remove the uncertainty for students.’
The Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the Government would be prepared to waive the newly-qualified teacher status to ensure new teachers currently in training can enter the classroom in September.
During an interview with Sky News, he was asked whether – for trainee teachers who will not have had the required classroom time by September – the Government would be prepared to waive the newly-qualified teacher status.
Mr Williamson said: ‘We will be prepared to waive that, we will be working with teacher training establishments in order to do this.
‘We’re also starting to roll out something called the Early Career Framework which in a number of regions will be starting the next academic year and right across the country the following year to make sure new teachers are supported’.
Mr Johnson vowed students’ academic careers would not be ‘impeded’ – but the Prime Minister declined to go into detail about exactly how they would be assessed. He stressed: ‘It will be done fairly and in order to protect their interests.’ Scores of pupils protested online, saying mock results did not reflect the progress they made in revision.
One student wrote: ‘How can we possibly get awarded A-level grades when we can’t sit our exams and prove what we’re worthy of getting. Mocks don’t reflect our capabilities and I think most Year 13s are devastated right now.’
Many parents are in despair about how they will look after their children for the next six months and hold down their jobs – while key workers in the NHS, the police and other vital services are in the dark about who will care for their children while they remain working.
Mr Johnson announced the bombshell move yesterday evening and said that when school gates shut at the end of the week they will not reopen for the foreseeable future.
However, a skeleton operation will be kept in place across the country so that the children of key workers – including NHS staff, police officers and supermarket delivery drivers – can be looked after and enable their parents to continue to work.
There was confusion over which professions will be classed as key workers with a full list expected to be published tomorrow and over how they will prove their status to schools.
Mr Johnson’s announcement on school closures – confirmed by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson in a statement to the House of Commons at the same time as the PM’s daily coronavirus press conference – came after the other three Home Nations had already committed to closures.
The Welsh government had said earlier all of its schools will close on Friday while Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, said her country would be doing the same amid claims up to 20 per cent of teachers are in self-isolation.
Ms Sturgeon had already suggested parents are in for the long haul on school closures as she said she could not ‘promise that they will reopen before the summer holidays’.
News of Northern Ireland shutting its schools emerged immediately before Mr Williamson and Mr Johnson announced their plans for education provision in England.
Mr Johnson was under huge pressure to follow the lead of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and he said yesterday evening it was now the ‘right moment’ for English schools to shut ‘for the vast majority of pupils until further notice’ and that the ‘objective is to slow the spread of the virus’.
‘But of course we also need to keep the NHS going and to treat the rising number of cases so we need health workers who are also parents to continue to go to work and we need other critical workers with children to keep doing their jobs too,’ he said.
The PM committed to providing children who receive free school meals with food vouchers to ensure families are not left struggling while on the exam issue, he said tests will ‘not take place as planned’ but pupils ‘will get the qualifications they need and deserve’.
As well as fears about an impact on staff levels in key services, the government had also been reluctant to proceed with school closures because of concerns shutting classrooms could lead to elderly grandparents being asked to look after grandchildren while parents continue to work.
The over-70s are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus and have been urged to avoid all non-essential social contact.
Mr Johnson was unequivocal on the matter as he said ‘children should not be left with older grandparents, or older relatives, who may be particularly vulnerable or fall into some of the vulnerable groups’.
The move to close schools came as the government vowed to increase coronavirus testing in NHS hospitals in order to get a better picture of the scale of the outbreak.
Meanwhile, leading supermarkets introduced forms of rationing to try to stop unnecessary panic buying. There are now calls for ministers to impose a single policy on all stores.
Boris Johnson inside Number 10 tonight announcing that all schools in England are to be closed as of Friday, following the lead of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, said she could not make any promises about when schools will be able to reopen
Education is a devolved matter in the UK which means devolved administrations have the final say on what happens to schools within their borders.
Minister for Education in the devolved Welsh government Kirsty Williams announced this afternoon that closures in Wales would go ahead.
She said: ‘Today, I can announce we are bringing forward the Easter break for schools in Wales. Schools across Wales will close for statutory provision of education at the latest on 20 March 2020.
‘I have been clear up to now that the continuity of education and the wellbeing of our learners has been at the heart of my decision making. This will always be the case.
‘From next week, schools will have a new purpose. They will help support those most in need, including people involved in the immediate response to the coronavirus outbreak. I am working with my colleagues in the Cabinet, with government officials and our partners in local government to develop and finalise these plans.’
She said those plans would focus on ‘supporting and safeguarding the vulnerable and ensuring continuity of learning’.
Ms Williams said that ‘childcare settings are expected to remain open until we have definitive advice from the Chief Medical Officer and from Public Health Wales that any closures are required’.
Ms Sturgeon said schools in Scotland had now lost too many staff through self-isolation to continue functioning as normal.
She said: ‘My view is that it is now inevitable that we will close schools and nurseries and my planning assumption now is that schools will close to pupils at the end of this week. I wanted today to give parents notice of that now.’
She added: ‘We have the reality on the ground as people do the right thing and follow the advice to self-isolate or to isolate as a household, more and more schools are approaching the point where they have lost too many staff to continue as normal.’
The Scottish First Minister said measures would be put in place to try to ensure doctors, nurses and other critical staff who have children can still work.
‘Lives are on the line if they cannot,’ she said.
Meanwhile, Ms Sturgeon said she did not know when schools in Scotland would be able to reopen.
‘On the question that I know parents and the wider public will have of how long this will last, the clearest guidance I can give now is that people should not assume that schools and nurseries will reopen after the Easter break,’ she said.
‘We will of course only keep them closed for as long as we absolutely have to but at this stage I cannot promise that they will reopen before the summer holidays.’
Mr Johnson had told MPs during PMQs earlier today that decisions on education provision in England would be taken ‘imminently’ in a clear hint towards yesterday’s announcement.
He said: ‘We will do everything we can to remove burdens on schools and Ofsted is one in particular we can address.
A petition calling on the government to close schools across the UK had surged in recent days to more than 672,000 signatures
‘The House should expect further decisions to be taken imminently on schools and how to make sure we square the circle both of making sure we stop the spread of the disease but also making sure we relieve, as much as we can, pressure on our NHS.’
The announcements came after it emerged that pupils in some parts of the country were apparently sitting in empty classrooms while others were believed to be ‘faking coughs’ to stay home amid parents’ fury that schools were still open.
A petition demanding all schools and colleges be shut down for an ‘appropriate amount of time’ has been surging in recent days.
Before the school closure announcements were made, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Geoff Barton, had warned many schools would not be able to remain open past the end of the week.
He said roughly 10 to 20 per cent of teachers were self-isolating but the number was ‘rapidly rising’.
Concerned teachers have also claimed as the outbreak has worsened they were unable to keep classrooms clean enough around the clock.
Alderman White School in Bramcote, near Nottingham, had this morning asked parents to keep their children at home today, if they could provide childcare.
It was also announced today that Marlborough College in Wiltshire would move to an ‘online learning environment’ and Eton College – Mr Johnson’s old stomping ground – would also close to pupils. Winchester College is stopping all lessons and sending boys home at 9pm tomorrow evening.
Boris Johnson’s old stomping ground Eton College (pictured above) near Windsor, is to shut down in order to combat the coronavirus pandemic
Marlborough College (pictured) in Wiltshire also said it was moving to an ‘online learning environment’ from 1pm today
Eton – which has fees of over £14,000 per term – decided to send pupils home this afternoon.
One member of staff at the school, who did not want to be named, said: ‘I don’t think it’s much of a secret. We’re sending the boys home at lunch today.’
A spokesman for Marlborough College said staff wanted to do their best to implement social distancing guidelines set out by the government.
They said: ‘Marlborough College is moving to a ‘virtual school’ environment from 1pm on 18th March.
‘This decision will enable the College to continue to operate, given the increasing numbers of pupils and staff taking precautionary measures to self-isolate or to preempt further global travel restrictions which is making it impossible for the College to provide effective full boarding 24/7 residential care.
‘The College will continue to deliver its timetabled academic lessons, pastoral support and co-curricular provision to pupils remotely, utilising a number of online platforms and delivery methods.
‘The College has no confirmed case of COVID-19 and the campus will not be closed. All members of staff will continue with their duties until the end of term’.
Parents have suggested some children have tried to capitalise on the outbreak in order to avoid going to school.
One said children ‘were not stupid’ and added: ‘Get Boris to close schools! All the children are making up a cough to come home anyway 40 sent home yesterday from one school yesterday and there’s probably nothing wrong with them yet!’
Meanwhile, some schools have reportedly been incorporating cleaning into lesson plans, asking pupils to help keep classrooms as hygienic as possible.
What happens to YOUR children when the schools close? Boris Johnson promises GCSE & A-level pupils will get their qualifications – but how? And will there be teaching online?
Boris Johnson has promised that pupils will get their qualifications despite schools in England closing at the end of the week amid the continued coronavirus pandemic.
The Prime Minister announced the bombshell move earlier today and stated that the school gates would should on Friday and would not reopen for the foreseeable future.
The closure means that A-Level and GCSE examinations planned for May and June have been cancelled but Mr Johnson insists that qualifications will still be ‘administered’ fairly.
Mr Johnson’s announcement – confirmed by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson in a statement to the House of Commons at the same time as the PM’s daily coronavirus press conference – came after the other three Home Nations had already committed to closures.
Announcing the closures of schools and nurseries, the Prime Minister said: ‘Of course this does mean that exams will not take place as planned in May and June.
‘Though we will make sure that pupils get the qualifications they need and deserve for their academic career.’
He added that the qualifications would be ‘administered’ fairly and in order to protect pupils’ interests but has not yet detailed how and when this would happen.
Boris Johnson has promised that pupils will get their qualifications despite schools in England closing at the end of the week amid the continued coronavirus pandemic (stock image)
It is now thought that teacher assessment and mock results will form the basis of grades – but it was unclear how this would work in practice.
Echoing the Prime Minister’s sentiment, Mr Williamson said: ‘We recognise that there are no easy choices but we have agreed that the best way forward is not to proceed with summer exam series.
‘Learners due to sit their GCSEs and A levels this summer will be awarded a fair grade to recognise their work, drawing on the range of information that is available.
‘We will be working with the sector to announce further details shortly but wanted to give this early certainty.’
He added: ‘I did not want to be the Education Secretary who was the one to cancel all exams. We will work… to ensure that children get the qualifications that they need.’
But scores of pupils have already turned to social media to protest, claiming that mock results did not reflect the progress they made in revision.
One student wrote: ‘How can we possibly get awarded A-level grades when we can’t sit our exams and prove what we’re worthy of getting. Mocks don’t reflect our capabilities and I think most Year 13s are devastated right now.’
Mr Williamson went on to say said a ‘means of redress’ will be put in place for GCSE and A-Level students if they are unhappy with their allotted grades.
Teaching unions backed the decision to shut down the increasing ‘chaos’ in schools and promised to make sure ‘qualifications are awarded fairly and consistently in lieu of exams’.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association Of School And College Leaders, said: ‘The cancellation of GCSE and A-level exams will inevitably cause anxiety to students, and we will work closely with Ofqual on ensuring that qualifications are awarded fairly and consistently in lieu of exams.
‘We would reassure the public that schools have already prepared learning resources for pupils who are sent home and will communicate with families through the normal channels.’
The official measures that the Government intend to put place are expected to be announced over the coming days.
The only pupils expected to still attend school will be those considered vulnerable, such as those in care, alongside the children of key workers – including NHS staff, police, social care workers and supermarket delivery drivers – so they can continue to work.
These ‘skeleton’ schools, which will cater for around 10 per cent of pupils, will continue to operate during the Easter holidays.
Mr Williamson also announced that educational programmes will be screened by the BBC to help children learn at home while their schools are closed as individual schools work out what they can offer using technology.
No national performance league tables will be published this year.