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]

Surely you can see that there's no point in running an exam for only a few students? It would be unfair for students to take the exam because grading it would be statistically impossible. She would possibly even be at a disadvantage from her teacher assessment grades compared to sitting the exam.

Everyone is having to adapt and change quickly. If there aren't many entries for some exams, expect that exam not to be run.

She should focus on the subjects she wants to carry on with. Wait and see what the summer brings for the rest. It is highly likely you're worrying over nothing.

The thing is OP most replies here are telling you that you are blowing this way out of proportion. You have NO IDEA what grades your DD is going to get, they may be fine and you may be worrying for nothing. I'm wondering if it's you or your DD that is actually the most worried here. If she needs to do resits she only needs to focus on Maths and English to get 4's. Concentrate on the next stage of her education, get her to prepare herself for that. There is nothing you can do to change this situation so focus on the future and what you can influence.

I have two children sitting GCSE and A Level

I am just going with the flow - as long as GCSE has good enough grades to do A level subject then that's fine with me as it's just a stepping stone

The A levels - we will see - if it doesn't do to complete plan will just do another distance learning

Sometimes we all just need to adapt to circumstances beyond our control and that is good for our children in later life that curve balls will be thrown

@H0usePlant I got a job on the lowest rung in the field I wanted to go into. I self funded not a penny from my parents.
It made no difference going to Uni a year later than my friends.
It made me a better person, I valued hard work and self determination. Life was never meant to be easy and the best path is often the indirect one.
I say all of this as a parent of a 16 year old who should have taken GCSEs this summer. I understand she is angry, disappointed and grieving her GCSEs. There will always be obstacles you just have to find your way round them.

You need to help her develop the resilience to take the indirect route.

OP where have you found the information saying results might not be on the table anymore? I’ve clicked on your link but it’s just taken me to a Guardian news page that has nothing to do with education.

I think, from what Ds told me, that he might have been being observed after numerous parental complaints. A member of SMT seemed to be sitting in on his classes more often than dh thought usual.

There will be teens who miss out in some way. (Dd has missed a tonne of school due to illness)
But it will be ok long term . It really will.
Your dd is clearly highly motivated and this will shine thru.
But you and she need to let go a little of what you cannot control. You ..she... is going to need that resiliency.

The info that has just come out is up for consultation at the moment so things might still change slightly. This isn't the only change from the initial guidance so with enough comments it might change?

In terms of uni, I've been supporting my classes with this for a few years and really notice that the unis look for the ks5 predictions (most!!) and personal statement (second) when giving the offers. The other thing to bear in mind is that the entire cohort is in the same boat, and admissions tutors are human and will know this. There is also space on the UCAS form to mention special circumstances, and you can ask the teacher to mention it in the reference - showing how you've overcome challenges could help as it shows resilience. You could try calling up some admissions tutors over the summer and asking them what they think.

Yes, some schools may try it on with predictions but my understanding of the document is that they're planning some thorough statistical analysis based on previous results (e.g. historical progress) as well as sats data - and therefore it is actually the ranking that well make most difference. We can state where we believe the cut off between 4/5 or 7/8 etc. is but their analysis is what will actually determine this iyswim.

How would your dd feel about doing the exams in the summer if they don't run autumn exams in the relevant subjects? Not ideal I know.

Surely you can see you're absolutely catasrophising here OP.

You really are in a minority situation. For reference none of our students in the entire school have enquired about resisting at all.

Granted none of them have their results yet. I think you are overestimating students and parents investment. Most students will accept their grades, which will be enough to get to A levels/college and that will be it. You will never know if schools used work after 23rd March to grade or not. Discussing the process has been clearly defined as malpractice by the exam boards and most schools will issue a disciplinery.

I feel for students in your Dds situation but she doesn't need to be working like she is. You as a parent need to stop her and talk to her.

@LeglessGiraffe the boards get paid per exam entry and have to not only develop the paper but also mark it and moderate the marking. They've obviously got papers ready to roll, but if up take is very low then I imagine that impacts the income generated and so makes the printing, postage, training of examiners, recruitment of examiners and moderation difficult to cover. When cancelling of exams was initially announced they emailed schools and promised to part refund fees if they found themselves in credit because they're not profit making. So I'm guessing that now they're concerned that they won't be able to cover the grading and certification process and a new set of exams with potentially very low uptake.
I do think very few students will want to retake papers other than English and Maths. Theres already October entries for this so that shouldn't be a problem.

That's terrible 'come from away' x

Yes it was.

The same teacher told a dyslexic child it was tough that he didn’t have the correct coloured test paper. (My dh is a teacher, at parents evening it was clear this particular teacher used one very old fashioned way of teaching and would not make adjustments).

I'm not sure I understand the exam boards - how can it be costly to create new exams when they surely must have all the unused papers that would have been sat in May/June. Why can't they use those in October? Am I missing something?
I agree with the OP that they need to make a clear statement as soon as possible so that y11s know whether they should be continuing GCSE revision or moving onto A level work.

I am concerned about children who have missed school and/or recently moved school or who were due to be entered as private candidates- there are quite a few. Not to mention those relatively new to the country. Their grades will likely be low, as schools (if they are on roll) do not have enough knowledge of their prior attainment. Taking the autumn exam is vital for some children.

come from away (sorry don't know how to tag)
Was this in your sons notes/SEN plan/ learning guide for him to have a laptop? X

Teachers get pressures anyway - even if it's through exams- they are always to blame! Easy targets. It's not their fault though as you can not give a child a grade in hindsight of them passing if they worked harder- mocks are to show them how it can be and people need to take them more seriously- and I bet it will happen now x

Sorry I don't know how to tag but the poster who's niece is devastated - bless her- great about the childcare course and I hope she gets through these next few months ok with that as her focus x

And my son had a science teacher who for most of two years refused in class to give him his reasonable adjustments such as a laptop for all written work. His mocks were done on paper.

He was predicted 2/3; that increased to 3/4. Another teacher took a class and Ds instantly understood a topic he’d not been able to r stand. The class teacher then told Ds he was allowed to teach himself on Seneca when the rest of the class copied from the board (Ds can’t copy long passages)

I’m confident (and his tutor was) he would have ended up with a Grade 4/5 but the teacher had written him off as going to fail. For context Ds is top set maths predicted a 7 but science is not taught in sets.

Decide not desire x

It's the DfE - not the DofE- bless I'm sure he has enough to think about with the Royal a Family than the state of the education system at the moment!

There can't be an appeals process- every child who didn't get what they wanted (not expected- but wanted) would appeal. This also highlights the massive importance mocks are - I understand that there has been some bad situations however some attitudes of- oh mocks don't really count- will hopefully change now.

The Autumn resits I thought we're actually going to be when they're back at school in the autumn term to desire if they can actually reach the target grade- and if not they may be taken off the course.

GCSEs are important , however for Unis it's really A levels - it's the next step of learning and they mature so much through college /6th form. ( well some do). I honestly don't think there will be that many bothered about resitting. If they got a 9 at GCSE but then failed a levels they're not going to take that 9 and say that a failed Alevel is ok :) x