Samantha Booth | Schools Week

A-level results 2021: Attainment gap widens for black and poorer pupils

Longstanding attainment gaps for both black and poorer students have widened, but Ofqual is unable to untangle whether this is down to Covid lost learning or the use of teacher grades this year. Ofqual has today published student-level equalities analysis of A-level results, which includes data on how likely different groups of pupils are to receive […]

A-level results 2021: The 4 things to watch out for this week

It’s a week like no other – two sets of exam results in just three days after months of hard work by school staff to reach this point. Tens of thousands of students are due to find out their teacher-assessed A-level grades tomorrow, after exams were cancelled for a second year. But is it going […]

Teachers have ‘earned country’s trust and admiration’, says Williamson

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has said teachers’ “hard work” in producing grades for their students this year has “earned the trust and admiration of the whole country”. In a letter thanking teachers ahead of A-level results day tomorrow, Williamson said teachers have given students “their passports to the future”. It follows Dr Mary Bousted, National […]

GCSE and A-level appeals 2021: Your questions answered

Students wanting to appeal their grades this summer will face a different process than usual, with warnings any reviews will have a “very high” threshold to meet for results to be overturned. There will also be an autumn exam series for students who want to sit a formal test in their subject, if they are […]

Delayed 2020 grading fiasco data finally to be released by Ofqual

Researchers will finally be able to apply to access Ofqual data from the 2020 grading fiasco – 12 months on from results days. The regulator has announced today that accredited researchers can apply from August 16 to access the GRADE (grading and admissions data for England) dataset through the Office for National Statistics. However, it […]

Ofqual confirms vocational and technical qualification exam arrangements for 2021-22

Exams regulator Ofqual has confirmed teacher-assessed grades are to end and exams will return next year for vocational and technical qualifications. But awarding bodies will be allowed to adapt assessments in 2021-22 for qualifications like functional skills and T Levels, in light of how Covid-19 has affected students’ learning, the regulator has said. What adaptations […]

Exam results 2021: What you need to know about Ofqual appeals

Exams regulator Ofqual has published full details of how students can access its Exam Procedures Review Service this year. The review forms the final stage in the process of appealing grades. The first stage is a school review to check if any administrative errors have been made. A student can then appeal to the exam […]

Independent review to check ESFA ‘remains effective’

An independent review has been launched to ensure the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) “remains effective into the future”, the government has announced. The review will look at the “operating model, governance, accountability and impact” of the organisation. It is part of wider programme of reviews into arm’s length bodies. The ESFA is accountable […]

DfE tried to avoid ‘bringing attention’ to face mask guidance error despite confusion

The Department for Education put off clarifying a mistake in its own Covid guidance because it would “bring greater attention to the error”, despite acknowledging the wrong information was being shared widely and causing “discontent”. It comes as new analysis published today reveals headteachers were “inundated” with DfE guidance during the first lockdown that they […]