Teachers' grades to replace cancelled A-levels, GCSEs in England

Teachers' estimated grades will be used to replace cancelled GCSEs and A-levels in England this summer.

The BBC is reporting that Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told parliamentarians that he would "trust in teachers rather than algorithms", a reference to problems in last year's exam results.

For primaries, he confirmed there would be no Year 6 Sats tests this year.

Williamson reportedly also said it would be "mandatory" for schools to provide "high-quality remote education" of three to five hours per day.

He said exams watchdog Ofqual inspectors would check that this was delivered.

Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, Kate Green, accused Williamson of "chaos and confusion" - and said he had failed to listen to the "expertise of professionals on the front line."

She said he had given a "cast-iron commitment" that exams would go ahead - and Green said: "At that moment, we should have known they were doomed to be cancelled."

Williamson, in a statement to the House of Commons, said there would be "training and support" for teachers in estimating grades, "to ensure these are awarded fairly and consistently".

He also told parliamentarians there would be no Sats tests for those at the end of primary school.

"I can absolutely confirm that we won't be proceeding with Sats this year. We do recognise that this will be an additional burden on schools.”

Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said rather than a "vague statement" of how A-levels and GCSEs would be graded, ministers should already have a system ready in place - and it was a "dereliction of duty" that it was not already prepared.

And he warned against repeating the "shambles" of last summer's cancelled exams.

The education secretary confirmed to parliamentarians that GCSEs and A-levels are not going ahead - after this week's decision that it was no longer feasible with so much time lost in the COVID-19 pandemic and the latest lockdown.

Ofqual will draw up proposals for an alternative way of deciding results, for qualifications that could be used for jobs, staying on in school or university places.

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