Recently, the UK government took the decision to cancel all exams for SATs, GCSE and A Level students; something many of them were shocked by due to the hard work they have been putting in to reach their end goals. The decision has come after the rapid increase in cases and deaths across the UK of the Corona Virus, with the number of cases well above 20,000 and almost 2,000 deaths.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "Cancelling exams is something no Education Secretary would ever want to do, however these are extraordinary times and this measure is a vital but unprecedented step in the country's efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.
My priority now is to ensure no young person faces a barrier when it comes to moving onto the next stage of their lives - whether that's further or higher education, an apprenticeship or a job.
I have asked exam boards to work closely with the teachers who know their pupils best to ensure their hard work and dedication is rewarded and fairly recognised."
We can’t help but think this precautionary measure, as well as shutting schools to the majority of students, is simply what had to be done. With the amount of cases almost doubling every 3-4 days and teachers and students constantly having to go off sick, the virus has really taken its toll on the education system. The amount of support schools, colleges and other institutions can provide to these desperate students is under constant review to ensure all of them can excel during the difficult period.
But have we really underestimated the effects this is going to have, if not already on a variety of students? After the decision to provide students with predicted grades, many questions have risen on the credibility of the system. Although substantial evidence is needed to support grades given by teachers, is it a fair enough system to justify the amount of work students have put in over the last two years for all of their exams? Will every student manage to get themselves across the pass threshold this year, with no one having to retake exams? For sure, exam boards such as AQA, Edexcel and OCR will be reluctant to give maximum marks and grades to students for the moment. A lot more work will need to be done to ensure that grades are distributed fairly, seeing only a certain number of each can be given each year. All advice also goes for vocational courses, which provide students with a more practical approach to different subjects, including law, health and social care and also varying from things such as performing arts and construction. We still await for the government’s further actions on the vague pieces of advice they have given recently.
So, what does the future hold for us? At the moment, it’s hard to say anything. But what we can say is these predicted grades will have a negative impact on some for the rest of their lives. Schools and universities will certainly be under more pressure due to the higher number of applicants waiting to be accepted for places on courses; classes will be filled to the absolute max number, and due to the high amounts of economic pressure the whole country is under at this point in time, the future of some courses are hard to foresee, affecting the future careers of some students. Other underlying problems such as fees may become a barrier to higher education in the future due to the crisis we are under - some universities may need to rise the costs just to keep open.
We can only take this day by day, month by month. We wait anxiously during these prolonged days of quarantine, for what happens next……
