To think that pushing exams back by 3 weeks is a fucking joke

[Giningit]

What good is 3 weeks, when kids had been off school for 5 months? How does that *&%&$ Williamson expect them to catch up in 3 weeks!

I agree. It’s crazy.
They should push them back to Sept/October

That would work. Alternatively use teacher assessment instead.

Work was set in the summer term, yes I know not everyone could access it, my DD amongst them. They have reduced content for English Lit and various option subjects.

They can't realistically delay any further, so it was either that or drop them which has loads of other problems.

(It may actually help my DD quite a lot, as it gives her MH a further 3 weeks to recover and then get up to speed in a few subjects.)

I agree, 3 weeks is neither here nor there. Tbh, it just prolongs the stress for our dc as the exam period will be longer. I really can't see what this will achieve.

It also doesn't address in any way the inequalities that will have arisen for the current year 11s in terms of the time that they're getting in school due to bubbles closing etc. On balance, dd wanted to do her exams anyway, so I think she will be pleased, but they may as well have just stuck to the original schedule.

I'm also not convinced that they won't change their minds about the exams further down the line - this may just be a way of kicking the can down the road while they delay the decision. At least the Scottish government was decisive....

In Sept the kids want to be starting their next courses.
Who will teach them and get them up to speed over the summer?
Who will mark the exams?
No way can you delay until then!

Yeah, delaying till September would have been much worse imo.

Just heard English & maths still before half term.

Yeah but if you take out all the holidays the kids would have had, all of the break times, lunch times, the times they would have been off for illness, teacher training days and p.e then they only really missed ten minutes according to some mnetters - so three weeks should be fine.

Or, in the real world, teacher assessment seems more suitable.

Time to scrap externally marked GCSEs and have robust teacher assessment instead. Kids don't leave education at 16 anymore - they go into apprenticeships to get NVQs or colleges to get A levels. If a school/teacher has got a grade badly wrong, then it won't matter once that pupil has got their A levels or NVQs etc. If someone has got onto a course too hard for them because of a wrong assessment, then they need to be moved to a different course after the first year.

Who has come up with 3 weeks? What good is an extra 3 weeks? Hardly makes up for the months they’ve lost.

Coursework and or teacher assessment. Trying to make them do exams (Whenever the hell thats supposed to be??) when they’ve missed so much is insane. And let them know now so the schools can prepare and the kids can stop worrying.

Has there been a proper explanation as to why 3 weeks would be better than (for example) adjusting the curriculum requirements?

Yes, I saw that maths and English will be earlier.

This won't be the end of it. If the second wave gets as bad as is looking likely, there's no way a 3 week delay will give us fair and feasible exams. I've already told DD2 to work her backside off in every essay, every piece of homework and above all her mocks, just in case. And she had decent online provision from her 6th form so ended up being only mildly behind in one of her A-levels.

Teen I think it's only one Eng exam and one maths exam before half term.

The actual exam time will be less in a sense - 7 June - 2 July as opposed to (say) 13 May - 20 June (which is what it was for DS2's GCSEs).

I wonder if this is just today's decision tho

I mean if there will be another decision in a month's time...

Yes, I think it's very much today's decision. I feel for our kids, the uncertainty is very difficult.

I think it’s ridiculous- this cohort are facing more disruption than this years and yet they’re expected to sit the exams. A lot of these kids had no or little education from march onwards and many will still be facing disruption now with teachers being off, potentially themselves being off because of positive cases in their year group.
Pushing the exams back 3 weeks does not help the teachers or, more importantly, the kids.
We do not know what the coming months hold, whether schools will have to shut again or how consistent education will be day to day. Better to have done as Scotland did and leave this years results down to teacher assessment and make that decision now than risk having to make yet another disruptive u-turn

@clary - are they getting of the half term gap then? As in delaying those before half term by 3 weeks, but those after half term by only 2 weeks?

@crumpet Adjusted curriculum requirements have previously been announced for various subjects, mainly the option ones, but also English Lit.

Just told DS and a couple of his mates who were here (nearest house to school) and they were mostly really pleased - their ongoing marks are not the best! (this is A level - also boys)

Teen, who knows!? But the way I read it is that most exams will be June 7 onwards, just a couple before half term (and also some unpopular A levels). So actually yes, much longer exam period.

They might have been off 5 months but they didn’t miss 5 months of school. You take off the easter break, spring break and 6 wks in the summer thats a couple of months where they wouldn’t be learning anyway.

Then factor in all the messing about done in school (PE, assembly, registration, handing out books and collecting them in, telling kids off, repeating stuff, answering questions your child already knows the answer too) and they have missed even less. Then factor back in that they should have done some home learning..

3 weeks is better than nothing. What would you have them do?

Has this just been announced today by Bojo? DD has dyslexia and should receive 25% extra time which she didn’t receive in her most recent mocks in maths and English. She is mega stressed, close to the edge and school are really piling on the pressure (with extra after school revision classes). Personally, I don’t think an extra 3 weeks will make a fart of difference.

Its a nonsense...not all the exam boards had said what changes they are implementing...maybe they will now...