The government should be made to fulfil their promise re Autumn GCSE sittings since there is now no appeals procedure. [Edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

There was forward thinking. This then had to be changed as more information became available and the number of students expected to resit became more apparent.

It's all a huge unknown at the moment. The consultation is out, let's wait and see what happens after that.

By the way, the chance of resits for A-level candidates is similarly a cause of much confusion. First they were supposed to be in Sept. Now they’re apparently set for November. Will these exams be retracted too? Some universities are saying they will offer guaranteed deferred places if students make up the grades in the Autumn exams, but if a large proportion of current year 13s hi this route, it is likely to have a significant impact on the number of uni places available for the 2021 cohort. It just all seems very vague and inconsistent. Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

I don’t think it’s too much to expect some consistency and forward-thinking from the DofE, even in light of the circumstances.

I’m not sure you can just go off and do an EPQ without guidelines tbh, as there is a very specific format for writing these, including guidance on gathering / interpreting sources Snd the literature review that preceded the writing of the actual study. But yes, you could start to think about a topic for sure.

Another idea OP, could be for your DD to enter an essay completion in an area of interest. Have a search online. This kind of thing will look great on a UCAS form.

What is the difference between the grades she’s expecting and the grades she feels she could have achieved in exams? What are the grades, if I can ask that, and it a big difference?

She could complete an EPQ in year 12 alongside a levels and get a head start on her subject and smash her interviews and personal statement.

All unis will know there was a pandemic in 2020.
Look for opportunities.

qips.ucas.com/qip/extended-project-qualification-epq

Also studying for resist alongside starting s level course would not be the easiest. How many autumn gcses would she be wanting to take were they offered? Surely best to move on .
Focus on a levels. No reading or studying now will be wasted. She could turn it into an EPQ EPQ especially if she has a topic she loves. Why not look into EPQ and what it involves and start research now? If she knows already what she wants to study in uni choose an obscure unusual but related topic.
Read and start gathering research. EPQ can give student loads to talk about on a topic in an interview . Dd in state comprehensive did EPQ EPQ related to medicine field and got 3 med school offers including from 2 in top 10.

Unless of course it s gcse English or maths below a 4 no point planning to resit

Not teased just that I think you aren't listening very well.

The pandemic situation is literally changing daily. Sorry that the DfE didn't have a crystal ball.

I'll bite one more time.

I understand you are worried. I understand your dd feels an exam might have been better for her to show exactly what she can do in her particular circumstance. I feel for her and all the other students who will have the "what if" feeling forever. Even a resit won't totally answer the what if, because the students sitting it will be a skewed population. So she will never know what she would have got in June 2020. She needs to park that thinking.

I also think you need to appreciate that ofqual and DfE have also had to make some pretty big decisions incredibly quickly. It's a global pandemic for everyone not just you and your dd. So a little bit of empathy and understanding towards their situation wouldn't go amiss.

If it’s any consolation OP, I would have thought that schools will give the benefit if the doubt to students wherever possible. Obviously there will be moderation and schools can’t exceed reasonable expectations, but there is nothing to stop schools having a “near record-breaking year”. Who can prove this would not have been the case? Also, the exam boards don’t want a whole cohort kicking up a stink so hopefully they’ll be inclined to let all schools push it a little.

Also, if your DD is looking at RG unis, I think it does state in the course requirements the kind of GCSEs they will be looking for. Often it’s a minimum 6, I think? If your DD is broadly above average in ability, you would hope she’ll be awarded this as minimum, despite whatever it is that’s gone wrong for her in the last year or so.

But I do see why you’re annoyed and I don’t know why you’re getting a hard time on here tbh.

Resits in Autumn were not promised. They were suggested as part of the consultation of grading which is still ongoing until the 29th April. Resits were suggested as part of the initial proposal and education suppliers are currently being consulted as to whether the proposals are appropriate. We won't know the exact situation until after this date. You are doing your DD no favours by encouraging her to continue to revise for the next five months - she will burn out - and if she is as upset as you continue to suggest maybe she needs to get some outside help to deal with the situation she finds herself in for her own sake.

Schools have simply been told to “exercise caution” in regard to any work handed in after March 23rd.

I have DC in 3 different schools. I don’t know about the Year 11s, but the schools have made no secret if the fact that all the U6 sat online exams last week (and this week) - despite the statement about the cut off date of March 23rd. Yes, they will obviously “exercise caution” because if the on- line circumstances, but it is simply not the case that all schools’ assessments ceased on a given date.

Many independent schools are doing IGCSE anyway and those grades get moderated against schools across the world, some of whom are still sitting Summer exams. If they want to do their own internal assessments now and “treat with caution” they will.

Then maybe the best thing is not to tell her they might not go ahead. If studying is helping her, let her carry on. Come August she may be pleasantly surprised and decide not to resit. Come August it will also be clearer whether schools will be open in the Autumn.

Do you need to tell her resits may not go ahead? Or is she reading the news herself?

I'm giving up here OP. You basically ignore anything that is said to you by actual teachers on the ground dealing with this and instead start using random snippets of DfE /ofqual publications taken out of context.

I hope your dd is awarded the grades she feels she could have got and then she can progress to further study as she wants.

:The DofE and exam boards are hardly going to be busy at the moment
Hope this was sarcastic.
Lecturer here - STEM and we require high A level grades. We will be looking at the summer 2020 GCSE grades with an appropriate lens. We only require Maths and English as entry requirements and we would be looking at those more generously this year obviously.

Whatever 🤷🏼‍♀️

child is being set work used for assessment for the next 3 weeks on top of the last 4 . That is nearly 2 months extra work that is going to be used as assessment

No It Isn't!

It has been made absolutely clear that any work completed after schools closed will not be able to be used towards assessment purposes. Schools that attempt to do so will be in serious trouble as this will be construed as malpractice.
There is absolutely no way of knowing who has done the work at home, which is why it won't be allowed for consideration. How dodgy will it look when little Johnny got a 2 for his mocks then shoots up to a 7? Ofqual isn't daft. Data from previous years will be looked at, so of a school suddenly gets a massive rise in results compared to previous years then that will be questioned during moderation. Schools who suddenly have double the amount of coursework as evidence will be challenged to prove that the work was completed post mock exam but before lockdown.