AWARDING OF QUALIFICATIONS – SUMMER 2021

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS (GCSE & A LEVEL)

In place of exams in summer 2021, a student’s grade in a subject will be based on their teacher’s assessment of the standard at which they are performing. Teachers are not being asked to predict what grade they think a student may have achieved had the summer exams taken place.

There are no requirements surrounding the minimum amount of content that should be taught or assessed, but the Head of Centre must confirm that enough content has been taught to allow students to progress to the next level of education.

Teachers are being asked to determine grades as late in the academic year as is practicable and are not confined to a defined window. It should be no easier or harder for students to achieve a particular grade this year compared to previous years.

VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (BTEC, NCFE, CAMBRIDGE NATIONALS)

For BTEC qualifications teachers are being asked to give a teacher assessed qualification level grade (Q-TAG), considering previously banked results in internal and external assessment as well as other evidence.

For NCFE qualifications, where students have already sat the external assessment element and are currently completing their NEA teachers are not required to submit any TAGs. Teachers will be asked to submit a TAG for any element of the qualification that has not been completed, for example where external assessment could not be taken, or if students were unable to complete the NEA component.

WHAT EVIDENCE WILL BE USED?

Teachers will use a variety of evidence to determine predicted grades for students including:

• Non-examination assessment work, even if not completed
• Internal assessments, using either exam board or school devised materials
• Classwork and homework produced during the course of study

Details of the evidence used in each subject and our Centre policies can be found below.

WHAT WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED?

Teacher assessed grades will not be based on one past assessment or predicted grade. Please remember that a certain level of achievement in one assessment (for example, a mock exam grade) does not mean that that will be the grade that will submitted to the exam board. In normal circumstances the final grade is calculated based on the marks from a number of external exams and/or NEA, the same principle will apply this year.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Internal Quality Assurance will take place before the students’ marks are submitted to the exam boards. Within the federation of schools, we will cross moderate and standardize outcomes.

External quality assurance by the exam boards will take place during June. EQA will include a combination of random sampling and targeted scrutiny. Where EQA indicates that centre grades are not justified exam boards will ask centres to investigate.

RESULTS

A Level and VTQ Level 3 results will be released to students on Tuesday 10^th August.

GCSE and VTQ Level 1 & 2 results will be released to students on Thursday 12^th August.

Further information on the Results Days will be made available closer to the time.

APPEALS

Students will be able to make the following appeals:

• Request that the centre check whether an administrative error was made and that the correct procedures were followed. If the centre finds an error, it can submit a revised grade for the board to consider.
• If the centre does not believe an error has been made, and the student still believes that their grade is wrong, the centre can submit an appeal to the exam board on the student’s behalf. The exam board will review the process the centre followed, the criteria and the evidence used to form the grade judgement and determine if there has been a significant failing on the part of the centre. They will only revise a student’s grade where they find evidence that the evidence cannot reasonably support that grade, rather than as a result of marginal difference of opinion.
• If the student disagrees with the result of the appeal to the exam board, and believes the process has not been followed correctly, they can apply to Ofqual’s Exams Procedures Review Service which will review the process used by the exam board.

Students should note that grades may go down or up as the result of an appeal.

Further details on the 2021 Appeals processes will be made available by the exam boards before results are issued.

Further Information

SUBJECTS – ASSESSMENT RATIONALE / EVIDENCE DOCUMENTS