Do you think there will be any changes to the Year 10s GCSEs next year?

[User721]

I have a ds in year10 and was thinking about the impact this would have on his year groups gcses. Do you think there will be any adjustments made or just a mad scramble to catch up when they do return to school?
Possibly grade boundaries could be lowered and more of a choice of questions in the exams. Obviously at this point we don't know how long they will be off.

[jewel1968]

I wondered if they might shorten the summer holidays and use half term to catch up. That would only work if they only lost a few weeks though.

[FrippEnos]

Shotening the holidays won't work as many parents wouldn't send there kids in + other reasons.

As we don't know what will happen this or next year, it could be anything from the same as this year, to redistributing grade boundaries. changing the syllabus (though fuck knows how) to any number of different possibilities.

[flumposie]

School staff ( teachers, cleaners, caretakers etc ) are not paid for over the holidays, so unless the government has money to pay them all,schools will not be open over the holidays . Before people jump on, their pay is divided by 12. So they are paid over the holidays but not for the holidays.

[HappySonHappyMum]

I have a daughter in Year 10 - this is a tricky one, they can't shorten the courses as not all schools teach the syllabuses in the same order. I think they'll change the grade boundaries it's the only logical thing. But you'll end up with the year group facing the toughest exams they've ever experienced which will be terrible for them.

[jewel1968]

If shortening the holidays was an option (and I am not saying it is workable) they could pay relevant staff accordingly.

I guess they could award them grades in the same way the current year 11 have been awarded or something similar.

There have been education experts over the years criticising exams as a means to assess students and perhaps now some of their ideas will rise to the fore.

[GreenTulips]

I hope they do something. They are disadvantaged.

They’ve only just agreed that year 10’s who are taking exams in May this year will be treated the same way as the year 11 and will be graded. Before yesterday they weren’t getting graded.

Our sit x exams to enable them to do higher papers in November and then they can switch to Y coarse to do an exam in the next May.

I don’t know why!

[Foghead]

My friends with kids at private and grammar schools have been having full days lessons. So not all kids will need catching up!
I’m a bit concerned about the disparity as my dcs school has just dumped a load of work online for some subjects with no guidelines or dates of completion and some subjects have nothing.

[Wavingnotdrown1ng]

One possible solution is that you would sit the exams ( which have already been written for next year) but not answer as many questions as usual - easier to do in some subjects than others - so ‘partial’ completion of exams e.g. answer on two topics or texts, not three etc). It will be tricky, as in most subjects schools will do different things in different orders and not necessarily deal with the whole of an exam paper in one go. I know grade- boundaries etc can be changed but the main problem is the amount of content v the time available in school to be properly taught v the very different experiences of home-learning that some students are having. I have yet to receive any work from my Year 10s, even though plenty was set and all of my class verified that they had internet access.

[Womble65]

Surely they will just fiddle with grade boundaries until the same proportion fall into each grade as previous years. They can’t examine on only part of the syllabus because as mentioned above schools don’t necessarily teach in the same order. I think if they only miss this term in school it won’t be too bad for most students, although the most disadvantaged will be disproportionately affected. Depressingly our latest letter from school said that year 11 will start the A level syllabus via home learning after they would officially go in study leave because they need to allow for more disruption in the autumn term.

[Easilyanxious]

Have year 10 I think grace boundaries will piss be changed also wondered if exams could be sat just a couple weeks later ) not sure how that reflects on marking ) but if they were sat through June instead of starting May that may help a little as well

[Easilyanxious]

Also didn't think the year 10'a were being graded just was up for discussion ? Although in Wales I believe they are . Will have a look as ds falls into this catergory and one less exam would be better for him ( think he may just scrape a pass in if

[Blubell46]

I have a ds in year 10 and I was also thinking how is it going to effect him.... I think the only options are:

Change the boundaries

Move the exam dates to June /July

Assuming things get better , rather than start school in September, start in August and pay staff

I agree each school will have approached the syllabus differently, so it would be hard to cut out some of the content

I have a feeling schools May reopen in early June and it will be a phased return....maybe they will let year 10 & 12 go back first?

I feel very sorry for our children, I don't think the year 10s and year 12s will be seriously be effected...some kids can learn on their own, others can't.

My kids can learn in his own for the subjects he likes....and the others hunmmm

Thank you all for writing on this post...it is reassuring that I am not the only one concerned

[TeenPlusTwenties]

I have a y10 who has been knocked sideways by this, and panicking if you give her a question and a blank sheet to answer on.

De facto grade boundaries will change as they are marked on a curve.

However I also feel that if y10 aren't back by half term they might need to do something for some subjects where they say the best 3/4 questions/papers/whatever count. So for English Lit which has 4 components (Shakespeare, poetry, 19thC & 20thC) one of the components will likely be taught this term. Some schools/pupils will manage to teach/learn this much better than others because they have better resources/home working conditions. To stop disadvantaged pupils being put at more of a disadvantage if they fail to learn this term's topic well, then being able to discount their worst section would be fair, I think. (Or maybe for Geography the worst paper as there are 3).

Maths & English Lang are cumulative so the standards would be lower.

I'm not sure how it will work for practical subjects (my DD is doing Food and Drama). If this heaven-forbid goes into September they will be scuppered I think.

[GreenTulips]

Also didn't think the year 10'a were being graded just was up for discussion

They are now being graded. News released yesterday on the gov website

[ineedaholidaynow]

@GreenTulips I thought it was still being considered not confirmed.

Also in the same Ofqual documentation they do mention the current Y10s and 2021 GCSEs, and state that it is too soon to say what will happen but they will ensure pupils aren’t disadvantaged.

[PancakePattie]

If they cut content or lower grade boundaries it's only going to make the transition to A-level even harder. I think they'll have to try to catch them up, maybe with a longer school day, with an extra timetabled lesson between 3.30 and 4.30pm?

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Pancake
They can't 'cut content' because different schools teach in a different order. (Which is why I suggested taking best 3 out of 4 sections to count).

Lowering grade boundaries will automatically happen if the cohort underperform as they are graded on a curve. Though for current y10s who were the first with the new style KS2 SATs I guess it could be more problematic to compare strength of cohort with previous years.

Not all kids do A levels, and even then the 'transition to A level even harder' will only occur with 3 subjects per pupil, and some subjects (English, History?) will be far less impacted than others (maths & sciences).

[bettybattenburg]

Depressingly our latest letter from school said that year 11 will start the A level syllabus via home learning

That's happening here as well, that and the year 9s will only be doing home learning for subjects that they have chosen for GCSEs.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

and the year 9s will only be doing home learning for subjects that they have chosen for GCSEs.

I think that's quite pragmatic. It means everyone accepts that Milly isn't going to do any History or whatever. So no one ends up nagging or chasing about it, leaving Milly to focus on the subjects she will be continuing.

I'm doing that with DD, y10. She has some kind of ICT lessons that may/may not lead to a qualification. They've been first out the window, given that she won't have capacity to do all the work for her proper GCSEs as it is.

[bettybattenburg]

I'm doing that with DD, y10. She has some kind of ICT lessons that may/may not lead to a qualification. They've been first out the window, given that she won't have capacity to do all the work for her proper GCSEs as it is.

We've been doing the same thing here, DS has done his RE work but it's the last lot he does as he's concentrating more on ones which are more demanding - triple science for example.

[worldsworststepfordwife]

My y10’s school does early entry Eng Lit the head finally told them 2 weeks ago that they’ll be doing it next year instead I wonder if that’s going to change with what you’ve said above my dd certainly doesn’t want it carried over as they haven’t even started the Eng Lang curriculum

[Blubell46]

I read this post...

[PettsWoodParadise]

Yes Bluebell but since that was written Ministers have rebuffed that www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52332903

But I do wonder if the story might hopefully be based on some discussions. If you look at schoolsweek the articles are very interesting some teachers are for school opening but only with the right circumstances. I suspect it will take a lot of hearts and minds to be won over. At DD’s school they closed only when the government said but by then about 20% of pupils were not going in. DD was there until the last possible moment but then we don’t have any health issues and she can walk to school and not be on a crowded bus or train unlike a lot of her school friends. If some teachers and some pupils are at home and some teachers and some pupils are in school it will be those that can adapt that will get the best solution, others will crumble under the complexity and lack of buy in about compromises by parents and unions.

DD is desperate to go back for both academic and social reasons. It is already looking like her Engineering qualification will have to be dropped as she has missed, and will miss, so much of what is mostly a practical course. The first of three modules is due in imminently and we haven’t heard about what contingencies are being made.

Rumours abound which make it hard for our y10s to feel any certainty. Some rumours include testing them the same as the current Y11s, assessed by teachers so no taking the foot off the pedal. A bit like the American system of general averages but then minimal allowances for a bad day as they never know where is going to be used to assess them.

Visits to other sixth forms also already cancelled. One open day we’ve been told will be an online presentation followed by a Q&A with the headteacher. DD likes her current school but it would have been nice to look about and know the options.

That isn’t doom and gloom, it is about staying positive but gosh I feel sorry for DD being separated from her friends. I keep reminding DD that it isn’t all about the qualifications but about the other skills she is gaining in resilience, technology, communications, baking, taking mum a cup of tea. .

[Powergower]

I have a year 10 and year 12, both extremely worried about how this wok affect them going into year 11 and 13 in September. Neither seem to be motivated enough to work hard though which iuds depressing. Both me and dh are wfh full time and trying to get the kids to keep on top of school work. It's really difficult as we both also have worries about our own jobs. My focus day to day is to get everyone through this with mental health in tact. My teens have really suffered with losing routine, friends, jobs, sport etc so I haven't been going on at them about school work but it's constantly at the back of my mind as a big worry. In my group of friends there's a world of difference between what work schools are setting, some schools still operating a sign in register at 8.30pm whilst others are sending the work emails once a will on a Monday and that's it!

[Bottomplasters]

Did someone say on here that they will be given a predicated grade for mocks this year?