Do you think GCSES will go ahead as normal in 2021? (England)

[Randomlola]

I'm assuming the vaccine will have been rolled out by then so disruption at school should be over. Really hoping that DS can sit his GCSEs like normal.

Well, I hope so too.

But, it isn't about disruption in June, it is the level of disruption since March this year, and the impact that will have had on learning.
It is going to be 'unfair' whatever, and the most impacted will be on average the more disadvantaged pupils, as always, sadly.

There's some bollox proposal that they will get an asterisk next to their grade to indicate employers /unis should take the year into account. I would prefer their grades are indistinguishable from other years but that grade boundaries are adjusted.

I don't really have a preference either way, whatever I want to happen won't be the deciding factor of course and we'll probably be told at 9pm on the Sunday night before the exams were due to start.

I've said to my DC that they need to treat any mocks as the real thing in case it's CAGs again this year.

Scrap Boundaries will be adjusted as they are graded on a curve anyway. The issue is that those whose learning was most disrupted will have slipped down the curve. So those who have had to share laptops, didn't have a parent at home or anywhere quiet, whose schools have had repeated bubble bursts etc - ie generally more disadvantaged pupils.

I hope that they do not go ahead, my DD has missed six months of face to face lessons and currently out of school for two weeks due to school shutdown.

We are in Kent, numbers really high, so expect more shutting down

How can any assessment be fair? Every kids experience has been so different

Wales /Scotland have cancelled- why not England?

Everyone hopes so but our y11 have been out isolating twice since September. It's unfair.

I've a DC in Y11. They were (obviously) out of school from March - Sept. Missed 2 whole terms teaching.

Since Sept their Year group has had to SI three times now - that's another 6 weeks out of school. In addition they have had teachers test positive for Covid and so have needed supply cover in. My DC has had an English supply teacher since Oct when his (wonderful) teacher caught Covid - they are still too ill to return.

I don't have much confidence about what will happen in Jan after Christmas break. They may well have more disruption. I don't want CAG like last year - but there is no way my child will get the GCSE grades they might have done in a normal year.

Gavin Williamson trying to pretend exams are going to be fine and equal for pupils is just bullshit.

Centre Assessed Grades won't be fair either though. With work having been so disrupted this time. They were bad enough for the 2020 cohort but this time will be hard to do at all fairly.

Teacher here - the expectation is no, not like they usually would, but like the Wales plan.

I hope they dont go ahead. They haven’t had nearly enough face to face teaching time. Much less than last years cohort Should be teacher assesses again.

I don't see how they can, certainly not in their normal form. The disparity in the amount of schooling some children have had compared to others and the regional variation in that is huge.

We haven't even managed to get mocks done to have data for teacher assessments, without huge disruption due to students isolating.

It will be so unfair if exams go ahead in 2021. I say that as the parent of a Y11 who has missed no school this academic year, and didn't do too badly in lockdown (she got ill in May and couldn't engage in school work for the rest of the year, but until then was doing OK as she had internet and a laptop.

Seeing what DHs colleges DC at independent schools were receiving compared to DD at a state school was shocking. We really felt we were failing DD by having sent her to a state school and had to remind ourselves that there are kids out there who have no internet access, or printers, or who were working from their phones.

I will actually be quite cross if the exams go ahead, as this Y11 will have missed much more education than last years Y11.

It's a mess, and I hope employers and universities recognise what a mess it is.

But all of that year missed months of face to face learning and the majority have had disruption since September (DS has only just gone back after his 2nd episode of SI and various teachers off). I know some had better provision from schools during lockdown 1, but that's true of schools all the time - some are better than others but that's never normally taken into account.

@TeenPlusTwenties

Scrap Boundaries will be adjusted as they are graded on a curve anyway. The issue is that those whose learning was most disrupted will have slipped down the curve. So those who have had to share laptops, didn't have a parent at home or anywhere quiet, whose schools have had repeated bubble bursts etc - ie generally more disadvantaged pupils.

My dd is not disadvantaged, but has had to isolate and hasn’t slipped down. She made sure she kept up her work while at home and the teachers sent work home. She also didn’t have a parent at home in lockdown, and just got on with it herself. By year 11 they should be able to self study. I do feel sorry for those with no tech at home, but realistically, according to my kids, practically all of them have smartphones.

I think it’s important that they take them, even with reduced content. If they don’t, a levels will be a shock. Teacher assessment is prone to bias. Nothing will be fair this year, including giving them all elevated grades which helps no one long term.

Might be worth emailing this guy

@Happychristmashohoho I completely agree with you. As I said my DS has been off school twice since September but has kept up with school work as it has been sent home, teachers have ensured all DC can access it. I've been out at work all day it's been up to him. However, some of his friends didn't bother. They're 15/16 years old and should be able to take responsibility for getting on with their work by themselves whether at school or not.

I am genuinely interested in hearing what those who have children in year 11 think should happen if they don’t take them?

I honestly don’t know myself, but my gut feeling is they should happen with reduced content.

My dd took one gcse a year early last year (well didn’t end up taking it and got a teacher prediction). The grade she got in the mock was also her teacher predicted grade. She ended up with a grade lower due to last years cohort grades and the school only being able to give so many grades at each level. That’s hardly fair either.

Basically nothing will be fair...

[quote Randomlola]@Happychristmashohoho I completely agree with you. As I said my DS has been off school twice since September but has kept up with school work as it has been sent home, teachers have ensured all DC can access it. I've been out at work all day it's been up to him. However, some of his friends didn't bother. They're 15/16 years old and should be able to take responsibility for getting on with their work by themselves whether at school or not.[/quote]
Completely agree.

By year 11 they should be able to self study. I do feel sorry for those with no tech at home, but realistically, according to my kids, practically all of them have smartphones

You have NO idea, clearly, about the lives some families lead. Why do you think foodbanks are a thing? Or prisons? Youth offending centres? Drug and alcohol services for adults? Or for children?

I would like them to go ahead and grade boundaries looked at as appropriate. I doubt they will though.

Actually they have already said that the grade boundaries will be adjusted to be in line with the CAGS grades so more generous than a standard year. They do not plan to cancel citing the revised exam dates (ie extra weeks of studying), the reduced content in some exams and the plan to inform schools of which topics will arise on papers too. There is discussion on the education boards further around this.

Very short sighted to think that they should just be getting on with it at 15/16. Not all children had nice quiet, warm homes with peace and space to study. For many children school is a place of refuge and the home is a place of chaos with DV, substance abuse, overcrowded conditions and hunger. Just because they have a smart phone does not mean they have internet access either. The posters who say their dc have not been disadvantaged due to isolation are very fortunate.

@LynetteScavo

It will be so unfair if exams go ahead in 2021. I say that as the parent of a Y11 who has missed no school this academic year, and didn't do too badly in lockdown (she got ill in May and couldn't engage in school work for the rest of the year, but until then was doing OK as she had internet and a laptop.

Seeing what DHs colleges DC at independent schools were receiving compared to DD at a state school was shocking. We really felt we were failing DD by having sent her to a state school and had to remind ourselves that there are kids out there who have no internet access, or printers, or who were working from their phones.

I will actually be quite cross if the exams go ahead, as this Y11 will have missed much more education than last years Y11.

It's a mess, and I hope employers and universities recognise what a mess it is.

I agree. I think one of the hugely unfair aspects is the different levels of teaching provided in the first lockdown. Ranging from “read these 4 pages”, to full blown interactive live lessons. Private schools are more advantaged than ever before.
I pity the English kids who live near the welsh border, and may be competing with welsh kids for 6th form places.

@FredtheFerret

I've a DC in Y11. They were (obviously) out of school from March - Sept. Missed 2 whole terms teaching.

Since Sept their Year group has had to SI three times now - that's another 6 weeks out of school. In addition they have had teachers test positive for Covid and so have needed supply cover in. My DC has had an English supply teacher since Oct when his (wonderful) teacher caught Covid - they are still too ill to return.

I don't have much confidence about what will happen in Jan after Christmas break. They may well have more disruption. I don't want CAG like last year - but there is no way my child will get the GCSE grades they might have done in a normal year.

Gavin Williamson trying to pretend exams are going to be fine and equal for pupils is just bullshit.

1 term not 2.

I think they will go ahead, albeit with a lessened syllabus and exams a few weeks later than usual. I hope so, as much normality as possible for them would be good i think