In a year plagued with uncertainty on so many fronts, the education sector has been one in the fore in the last few months.
Being a prospective GCSE student myself, the cancellation of all public exams in March of this year was a shock to all students around the country now unsure what lies ahead for them and their respective futures. With COVID-19 cases rising again all around the country, pupils are understandably bewildered about the significance of certain mock exams and how they may affect their grades in the event of public exams being cancelled again. I had the opportunity to talk to a Year 13 student who studies at The Tiffin Girls’ School. In a conversation with me, she said:
“The lack of support and clarification given by the government has led to a wave of confusion and unease amongst students,” as she also stated that this is “inevitably going to impact the grades achieved at the end of the 2021 summer and the aspirations that follow.” These emotions will be echoed by many students around the country who may find their futures in jeopardy following these changes made to exams.
The government was heavily criticised for the standardisation model that was used in downgrading many students’ teacher assessed grades in the A-Level and GCSE exam fiasco this summer. Following that, it does seem unlikely that exams will be cancelled this year as the government will be desperate to avoid the same fate for this year’s candidates. However, what will appear even more concerning is the back up model announced by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson that mock grades will be used in the event of another national lockdown.
This may put undue pressure on students who may be perplexed whether to focus on learning the new challenging content or to revise for exams that may end up being used as the deciding factor in their grades.
