Wales, GCSEs and A levels cancelled

[Orangeblossom7777]

Just seen this. Wonder what will happen in England. Scotland cancelled theirs too I think, Nat 5s anyway

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54888376

@Coffeeandcocopops

My child didn’t get to sit his A levels in 2020. It really was a fiasco. He didn’t get the grades he needed for his career. His CAGs were internally moderated sand no way reflected his UCAS grades or his March end of term report. Using teacher assessments isn’t as great as it sounds especially in state schools where the number of grades is moderated.

Completely agree, we had the same with our dc.

Ended up with a grade lower than achieved in mock. Would much rather they take the exam.

@DeRigueurMortis

DS is in year 13.

He and his friends absolutely do not want the exams cancelled.

They've worked bloody hard and they want the chance to prove themselves.

Honestly I think it's a shitty decision and not in children's interests at all.

I'm hoping that Westminster does not follow suit on this.

Well said, same here.

Ultimately those kids who want to do well and work hard will do ok. My daughter had to isolate for 2 weeks but made sure she kept on top of her work and asked for it to be sent home. She is self motivated and conscientious.

It isn't that simple, though, is it? My dd is also self motivated and conscientious, and I'm confident that she'll do well whether she does exams or whether it's teacher assessment. However, she is fortunate enough to have supportive parents, good internet access, quiet space where she can study without interruption etc. It isn't a level playing field for all children, and missing school will have a far bigger impact on some than on others.

I don't really know what the answer is, but I'm worried about the gap widening for those kids who are already disadvantaged by their family circumstances, and whatever we choose to do, we need to prioritise doing what we can to minimise that gap. My own dd would prefer to take the exams if at all possible, because she wants to feel that she has properly earned her grades, but if the exams aren't going to go ahead, then she really wants them to decide quickly.

@AlexaShutUp

Ultimately those kids who want to do well and work hard will do ok. My daughter had to isolate for 2 weeks but made sure she kept on top of her work and asked for it to be sent home. She is self motivated and conscientious.

It isn't that simple, though, is it? My dd is also self motivated and conscientious, and I'm confident that she'll do well whether she does exams or whether it's teacher assessment. However, she is fortunate enough to have supportive parents, good internet access, quiet space where she can study without interruption etc. It isn't a level playing field for all children, and missing school will have a far bigger impact on some than on others.

I don't really know what the answer is, but I'm worried about the gap widening for those kids who are already disadvantaged by their family circumstances, and whatever we choose to do, we need to prioritise doing what we can to minimise that gap. My own dd would prefer to take the exams if at all possible, because she wants to feel that she has properly earned her grades, but if the exams aren't going to go ahead, then she really wants them to decide quickly.

Again - I think the government need to speaking to young people in all settings to find out what the majority want - particularly for A levels. If a large majority want to still sit the exams, there is always the plan B for other students to repeat a year - which is not unusual at 6th form.

Money, time and resources need to be thrown at those who have been disadvantaged by gaps in learning either during lockdown or because of self-isolating (not just those from disadvantaged backgrounds)

It is frustrating because my DD's state 6th form college has been amazing during lockdown and since students have been back, and they have a high percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Dealing with their students 'out of school' issues and getting on top of poor engagement is something they have years of experience of. Since September they have employed extra pastoral staff, put on additional classes, increased the amount of lunchtime subject clinics, been responsive to students emails and given out laptops and managed to do online live lessons for most of lockdown and now during students' isolation.

Solutions are needed across the country that cost money but it shouldn't be impossible with some innovative ideas implemented.

I really, really want the exams to go ahead.

I have year 11 and year 13.
Ds is doing A level mocks right now. He will not get the best marks. But by Feb, when they do their second set of mocks () he will do much better.
Why? well, he struggled to keep up with work in lockdown. He has now discovered good online tutorials for the things they covered that he didn't understand. He is now going over his year 12 stuff and understanding it, and so by Feb he will have covered everything.

I will be really cross if all that is wasted. And, I point out, he is doing this off his own back.

I take the point above, he has support and internet access etc.

I really like the idea of asking the kids what they want, especially at A level. Many sixth form colleges require them to do a lot of independant learning, so they can continue with that during lockdown or not

As a parent to a spring born year 11 I think they need all the time they can get.

Ultimately those kids who want to do well and work hard will do ok. My daughter had to isolate for 2 weeks but made sure she kept on top of her work and asked for it to be sent home. She is self motivated and conscientious

This is always the argument on here. The perfect conscientious kids will do well.
Stuff the rest, they're just lazy and deserve to fail. Who cares if they missed 1/5th of their course teaching time.

@AlexaShutUp

Ultimately those kids who want to do well and work hard will do ok. My daughter had to isolate for 2 weeks but made sure she kept on top of her work and asked for it to be sent home. She is self motivated and conscientious.

It isn't that simple, though, is it? My dd is also self motivated and conscientious, and I'm confident that she'll do well whether she does exams or whether it's teacher assessment. However, she is fortunate enough to have supportive parents, good internet access, quiet space where she can study without interruption etc. It isn't a level playing field for all children, and missing school will have a far bigger impact on some than on others.

I don't really know what the answer is, but I'm worried about the gap widening for those kids who are already disadvantaged by their family circumstances, and whatever we choose to do, we need to prioritise doing what we can to minimise that gap. My own dd would prefer to take the exams if at all possible, because she wants to feel that she has properly earned her grades, but if the exams aren't going to go ahead, then she really wants them to decide quickly.

It’s never a level playing field any other year either for a multitude of reasons.

We may be supportive in many ways, but I haven’t done one thing to help my child work wise, it’s all above me! And I don’t make any of them work, I leave it completely to them. I have one who’s very conscientious and the other that does the bare minimum. They have to be self motivated to get on in life, and this is a good place to start.

@cologne4711

Ultimately those kids who want to do well and work hard will do ok. My daughter had to isolate for 2 weeks but made sure she kept on top of her work and asked for it to be sent home. She is self motivated and conscientious

This is always the argument on here. The perfect conscientious kids will do well.
Stuff the rest, they're just lazy and deserve to fail. Who cares if they missed 1/5th of their course teaching time.

So is it better to do a race to the bottom? Cancel them and give everyone a high grade because it’s not fair? Too right those who are self motivated deserve to do well if they put the work in.

@steppemum

I really, really want the exams to go ahead.

I have year 11 and year 13.
Ds is doing A level mocks right now. He will not get the best marks. But by Feb, when they do their second set of mocks () he will do much better.
Why? well, he struggled to keep up with work in lockdown. He has now discovered good online tutorials for the things they covered that he didn't understand. He is now going over his year 12 stuff and understanding it, and so by Feb he will have covered everything.

I will be really cross if all that is wasted. And, I point out, he is doing this off his own back.

I take the point above, he has support and internet access etc.

I really like the idea of asking the kids what they want, especially at A level. Many sixth form colleges require them to do a lot of independant learning, so they can continue with that during lockdown or not

Completely agree with you

Of course it's never a level playing field, but the gap will have widened significantly this year.

As for being self motivated, I get what you're saying, and of course it's important. I don't actively "help" my dd with her work because she doesn't need it and I probably wouldn't be much use anyway and I don't tell her to work because she gets on with it by herself, but she still has the massive advantage of living in a stable home with caring, interested parents and relatively few other worries/distractions. Some kids have so much more to contend with, it really isn't as simple as them just needing to be self motivated. We need to be thinking about how best to help those kids achieve their potential in what will have been incredibly difficult circumstances.

I'm not trying to take away from the kids who have knuckled down and got on with it this year - my own dd is one of them, and I know that it hasn't been at all easy for them at all. However, the kids like that are the ones who will probably be fine whatever happens. We need to focus on the needs of those kids who have not been fine through all of this.

@AlexaShutUp

Of course it's never a level playing field, but the gap will have widened significantly this year.

As for being self motivated, I get what you're saying, and of course it's important. I don't actively "help" my dd with her work because she doesn't need it and I probably wouldn't be much use anyway and I don't tell her to work because she gets on with it by herself, but she still has the massive advantage of living in a stable home with caring, interested parents and relatively few other worries/distractions. Some kids have so much more to contend with, it really isn't as simple as them just needing to be self motivated. We need to be thinking about how best to help those kids achieve their potential in what will have been incredibly difficult circumstances.

I'm not trying to take away from the kids who have knuckled down and got on with it this year - my own dd is one of them, and I know that it hasn't been at all easy for them at all. However, the kids like that are the ones who will probably be fine whatever happens. We need to focus on the needs of those kids who have not been fine through all of this.

I do agree with you, and don’t really know what the answer is, but I do hope they get to take them in some capacity.

I was probably one of the children you mention below, as I lost a parent before my a levels and it was certainly not a stable environment. I didn’t get the grades or the uni place I wanted. It wasn’t fair but then, life isn’t fair and it meant I had to find other ways of doing what I wanted to do, which I did in the end.

I feel in some ways we are so desperate to spoon feed kids these days that they don’t get to experience things going not so well, and that it’s ok and that nothing is insurmountable.

"Instead if we think about the potential for there being, actually, too much assessment... that may actually mean that there is a greater well-being issue for learners," he said.

More on this in the news today..

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54917232

For the second time since September my year 11 child has been sent home to self isolate for 14 days. Whole year school bubble and one positive case. It’s a joke.

@Coffeeandcocopops this is why it is not a level playing field. Some schools seem to have indestructible bubbles and other ones that burst if you look in their general direction

Or even an A-level field

In our school it seems to be mainly A level age / year 12 getting cases not sure why

Do you think there’ll be any special measures/exemptions put in place for the worst affected areas rather than blanket bans?

Obviously having to isolate and having supply teachers is going to be detrimental but all schools are doing things so differently.

I hope they can sort something out which is fair but they actually get to feel that they’ve earned something.

It makes you think- things were a nightmare last year, but in reality before March those pupils had much more of a level playing field in terms of teaching and mocks etc

It is so much more tricky with this year's cohort.

They need to be cancelled.

We are a well off family, top income household and all of that. Hardworking kids who will do well and have everything they need to succeed. Apart from being in class.

Stupid parents sending their kids into school no matter what, constant isolations. They have been lucky, some children from the most deprived areas, who have poor home lives, no resources, no access to devices who may have spent a majority of their exam years out of school. They have to compete with my children. That’s not fair, even the brightest children from deprived areas are on the back foot. The others don’t have a chance.

History will look back at this time, we will be judged. Do we extend the inequality gap or help to close it. Some people are hideously selfish, so much so they can’t see it. Happy to commit a whole generation to a cycle of poverty and underachievement as long as Tarquin can sit his exams and do well.

It makes me sick how some people behave.

I actually think undermining an objective exam system will hurt the underprivileged most.

Perhaps universities will start using US SAT style aptitude tests to try to find a fair comparator between students.

@EmpressoftheMundane

I actually think undermining an objective exam system will hurt the underprivileged most.

I think so too. I think going down the centre assessed grades route is more advantageous to privately educated pupils and those who can afford to go to good state and grammar schools. And giving the majority an elevated grade like last year only means that more miss out on their first choice of college or uni as they only have so much capacity and that becomes a lottery in itself.

I don’t know what the answer is.