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Exam Guidance

Summer Term Year 10 Extensions

You can access the timetable for Summer Term Year 10 Extensions by clicking here. Details have also been placed on ShowMyHomework.

What’s happening?

Exams are cancelled this summer for GCSEs, AS-levels and A-levels, as well as some VTQs.
Instead of exams, pupils will receive grades based on assessments by their teachers
Teacher-assessed grades will be sent to the exam board to be processed

How will teachers make judgements on grades?

They’ll use a range of evidence of pupils’ work, like coursework, practice papers and classwork, to inform their decisions
Teachers will let pupils know what evidence they’ll use before submitting grades to the exam board. This is so pupils can confirm it’s their own work, and let teachers know of any mitigating circumstances that might have affected it
Teachers will only assess pupils based on what they’ve been taught

How will we know grades are awarded fairly?

Our school will have an internal quality assurance process in place that’ll take into consideration our results in previous years. This is to make sure teachers’ judgements aren’t too harsh or lenient
Exam boards will also have their own quality assurance process. They’ll check that our internal procedure is fair before they process any grades, and they might also virtually visit our school to review evidence from some subjects
We’ll submit a declaration to the exam board confirming that we’ve followed the requirements for our internal quality assurance process

When will we get our results?

Can we still appeal?

Yes, all pupils will have the right to appeal their grade. Add details of your appeals process here, e.g. if you wish to appeal you should talk to your head of year
If you appeal, we’ll carry out a review to make sure we’ve followed all processes correctly and that we haven’t made an error in your grade
If we do find an error, we’ll submit your revised grade to the exam board. If the board is satisfied, it’ll issue a revised grade
If we don’t believe an error has been made, you can ask us to appeal to the board on your behalf. We’ll share the evidence your teacher used to set your grade, and the board will review it to see if we made the right judgement. If they find the grade we set isn’t reasonable, they’ll provide an alternative grade
If you disagree with the school’s or the exam board’s decision, you can refer the issue to Ofqual’s Exam Procedures Review Service (EPRS). The exam board will have the final say unless the EPRS finds that it has made an error

What about vocational and technical qualifications?

If you’re taking VTQs to progress to further or higher education, you won’t have exams. Your grades will also be awarded based on teachers’ judgements
If you’re taking VTQs to go directly into employment, your exams will go ahead if they:
Are needed to show occupational and professional competence
Can be carried out in line with public health measures (if they can’t take place safely, they’ll be delayed)
If you want to appeal your results, we can do that on your behalf following the process set out by the individual awarding organisation concerned

Sources
This factsheet was produced by The Key for School Leaders, based on the following sources. All information is correct as of 1 April 2021.

If you need any further information about public examinations please contact:

Examinations Office: Ms Burgess k.burgess@baconscollege.co.uk

Assistant Principal: Ms Tamufor a.tamufor@baconscollege.co.uk