Year 12, exams in next few weeks

[kikilo]

Curious to hear how schools and colleges are dealing with year 12 students who should be/are taking exams in the next few weeks to set their predicted grades. I am aware of students who are extremely stressed about a) going back to school, b) sitting exams, c) their future academic prospects.

Mine at 6 th form of state school are doing exams this week and next from home. Honour system. Not sure if it’s only topics they were taught prior to lockdown or not.

No teaching since lock down.

I understand remote lessons have been taking place, but having heard/seen one in action last week it really would be a struggle to call it a lesson. Teacher talking and students messaging in their comments/observations, so very slow and clunky. Exams are covering all of topics in 1st year of A levels here.

Email from out state 6th form

All Y12 students will be set an online assessment by each of their subjects in the two day window between 9am on Monday 29th and 4pm on Tuesday 30th June.
Further detail about these assessments and how they relate to predicted grades will be coming out to you tomorrow from the Curriculum Team (I haven't had this - communication is direct to students with some forwarded to parents).
The key thing to know is that these are not exams. Neither are they high stakes. They will be one further opportunity for you to add to the good evidence base that we already hold about you in each subject. They will not be weighted any more heavily than other key assessments through the year.

1:1 Progress Reviews 6th to 10th July
This will be a week of 1:1 online face to face appointments with your teaching staff and tutor.
Discussions will be booked in with you online and will include reflections on your progress to date through the year, including about your UCAS predicted grades.

And this in an earlier email.

One of the changes will be in the way that we arrive at predicted grades to support you with your UCAS applications in the Autumn. Without the formal exams, we will be relying on the really good evidence base that we already have about you and will supplement and enhance that information with some longer online assessment opportunities that we will build into the timetable next half term. Please don't worry about these. They are not high stakes, all-or-nothing assessments, they are just one more way of adding to the good information we already have about what you know and can do. We will share more information on how these will work from 1st June and predicted grades will be discussed in July.

@Chasingsquirrels Thank you for this. Interesting and reassuring. Any word if pupils isolating/shielding/plain scared about returning to school?

That's obviously just our school (which I've been very impressed with throughout).
No idea on those you mention.

My sons independent 6th form have delayed mocks til September. They’ve still had tests to do too

My daughter's independent school have said exams (which were due early this term) will be after October half term. One of her subjects is doing some tests next week though and other work is being completed under timed conditions that gets graded. They have a gradual process of setting target grades that are refined into predicted grades for UCAS. The exams presumably won't contribute to predictions for those applying to Oxbridge with the earlier deadlines …

I am disappointed with my daughter's grammar school. After Easter holiday students were told that they would have exams when they go back to school.
This week they were told that there would be no exams but they would still get predicted grades. I have not been informed how they will predict them. There have been no assessments, not all essays have been marked, she is supposed to mark her maths homework herself.
My daughter is worried she would get low grades.
She is going to school one day a week for 2 weeks only but there will be no lessons. She has to come with her laptop and earphones and sit in one room from 11 to 3pm. There will be teachers to ask questions but not necessarily her teachers.
What is the point? Just to say that Y12 has been to school?
The online lessons have been very poor, for example, teacher reading a book for 15 min or doing a quiz for 10 min. Video lessons are not allowed at her school.

Thank you for the replies, interesting that there seems to be be a wide range of 'solutions' in place. @Lunar567 the going into school for very limited sessions with little actual teaching input does seem to be a box ticking exercise to say the pupils have been back at school. The students here have been told they are having 1 x 2 hour 'lesson' in each A level subject a week until end of term, one of these sessions will be an exam. I know students are very concerned that they will never really catch up.

Our school not opening up at all till September