It is now official that GCSE exams of 2021 have been cancelled and students will not have to do the actual GCSEs in June. Instead, the government has found an alternative way of grading students which is much more organised and realistic than how it was done last year.
In schools now, year 11s are having continuous mini tests and assessments which started as they joined school from the 8th of March 2021. Prior to this, some schools already started setting essay assignments for students which teachers could use as evidence for predicted grades. Teachers and students are currently under a lot of pressure as they are trying to gather as much evidence as possible to show to the board for the student’s grades. It has been made easier for students as the GCSE exams that consisted of the whole curriculum has been cut down to mini tests which consist of singular units only. This way the students can focus easily on each topic and give exams on different sections one by one.
In addition to this, the exam board has recently added that questions will be sent from them to teachers to give to students. These questions will not be done under strict exam conditions and have no time limit. This means, schools can conduct tests and give these questions according to their convenience. Furthermore, results day has been bought forward so students will get their grades sooner than normal, which means there will be more time to appeal if anyone is not happy with their grades. Due to the very less time left for year11 to end, teachers and students are trying their level best to gather as much work and end the year with good grades smoothly.
Good luck to all schools, teachers and students that are consistently working hard during this pandemic and completing their education and work on time. We are hoping grades will be given out fairly and quickly.
Anika Panwar (Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College)
