Anyone know if the government has said yet if GCSEs will be postponed next year?

[MrsStrike]

I thought there may have been an announcement but am not sure now what is going on or if they have said yet what will happen

[ExclamationPerfume]

They are still on at the moment. I have one doing GCSE and one doing A Levels.

[hippohector]

The only definite thing they have announced is that the GCSE results will be published a week later than usual next year - on 26th August 2021.
Apparently there will be an announcement in the next couple of weeks about when the exams will actually take place, but nothing definitive yet.

[AlexaShutUp]

I wish they'd bloody well make a decision and get on with it. It's so stressful for the kids not knowing what's happening.

[MrsStrike]

I wish they'd bloody well make a decision and get on with it. It's so stressful for the kids not knowing what's happening.

Exactly! surely it's not that hard to decide if it'll be moved by a few weeks?

[H1978]

True I’ve got one doing GCSEs too and another doing year 6 sats. No idea what’s happening!

[Makinganewthinghappen]

I have been trying to book my 16 year old some as a private candidate (she is home educated). This years were cancelled and the colleges are not taking private bookings for next year because they assume they will be cancelled again so we are a bit stuck now!

[MrsStrike]

That must be mega stressful Makinganewthinghappen

[hippohector]

My sons school have explicitly told parents not to book any holidays (until the official start of the main school summer holiday) as they are fully expecting the GCSE’s to be pushed back.

[bearlyactive]

No news yet. There are rumours that they will be pushed back by three or so weeks - because that will do a lot after nearly six months of self-teaching!

[MrsStrike]

Thanks hippohector and bearlyactive I hope they do say soon what the plan is, even if it's a plan a and plan b

[QueenofLouisiana]

Likely to be pushed back by 3 weeks. DH does some consultancy work for one of the exam boards and was told that is the most likely (but not confirmed) course of action.

[TheOrchidKiller]

I wish they'd decide soon, & stick to it. Pushing them back will have a big impact on plans for us as a family but the sooner they tell us the sooner we can do something about it.

[MrsStrike]

That's interesting QueenofLouisiana thanks. So that'd make it about June to mid July.

I agree TheOrchidKiller and can't understand any reason for the delay

[AlexaShutUp]

Likely to be pushed back by 3 weeks. DH does some consultancy work for one of the exam boards and was told that is the most likely (but not confirmed) course of action.

Oh dear, my yr 11 dd will be very cross if that's the case. She had so many plans for the long summer after GCSEs. It will be a shame to miss out on those plans, along with all the other stuff that they have missed out on this year, especially as 3 weeks extra teaching time will barely make a difference to what they have missed. It's really crap for yr 11s and yr 13s this year.

[GreyishDays]

I think Scotland is making an announcement today (as well as about short term restrictions) which often prompts similar from Boris Johnson. So, hopefully soon.

[steppemum]

I've got one doing GCSE and one doing A levels.

At the moment they are still on. A level exams are 3 weeks later. Not sure about GCSE
They are definitely wanting to go ahead with the exams, if at all possible.

But ds's school has told them that every homework and all mocks may be needed towards teacher assessment so they need ot keep their marks up etc.

[Familyband]

@steppemum - I hadn't heard about A levels being delayed. Do you have a link please?

[steppemum]

Told by school

[AlexaShutUp]

But ds's school has told them that every homework and all mocks may be needed towards teacher assessment so they need ot keep their marks up etc.

Yes, dd has been told the same. Way to pile on the pressure!

DD has one subject with coursework which is due in November. They should have started work on it in April but started in September instead, so they're massively behind. They also have mocks at the same time as the coursework is due, and have been told to treat the exams as if they were the real thing. And they have been given revision checklists with tons of stuff that they haven't covered which they somehow need to learn before the mocks! DD will be fine, as she is very bright, has a supportive family and worked consistently through lockdown, but even she is feeling stressed about it all, so I imagine that there are many kids who are not coping well at all.

From what dd has said, it sounds like many of the teachers are starting to panic too - don't blame them, as it's a shit situation all round, but some of them aren't managing to hide their anxiety very well and it's starting to transfer to the kids.

We at least need a speedy announcement from the government about what's going to happen so that everyone knows what they're dealing with.

[Familyband]

@steppemum I think the school might be jumping the gun a bit (or they have inside info) as gov.uk says decision hasn't been confirmed yet.

[steppemum]

[quote Familyband]@steppemum I think the school might be jumping the gun a bit (or they have inside info) as gov.uk says decision hasn't been confirmed yet.[/quote]
fair enough

[MrsStrike]

We at least need a speedy announcement from the government about what's going to happen so that everyone knows what they're dealing with.

Definitely, but they should have done it before schools went back in Sept imo