JCQ | Schools Week

Exams: Try rest breaks before asking for extra time, schools told

New JCQ guidance says supervised rest breaks ‘often more effective and appropriate’ than extra exam time

Critically ill teens unable to sit exams can now get grades

Disabled pupils, such as those with cancer, who can’t sit exams can now get their grades after campaign by families

ChatGPT: Exam boards publish AI guidance for schools

JCQ tells schools to make pupils do some coursework ‘under direct supervision’ amid cheating fears

Exams 2022: Invigilator rules relaxed over shortage fears

But experts warns schools still face ‘huge challenge’ in securing enough invigilators

Schools promised cash for staff to oversee ‘priority’ appeals in summer holidays

Funding will be made available for schools and colleges to bring in staff during the summer holiday period to deal with “priority” appeals. The Department for Education has confirmed that funding of £75 per “priority appeal” – those which are needed for a student to take up a university offer – will be made available. […]

Exam board marking league tables delayed by monitoring concerns

Ofqual, the exams regulator, is still trying to find a way to publish data on how the quality of marking varies between exam boards, more than three years after the idea was floated. Dame Glenys Stacey (pictured below), the former chief regulator at Ofqual, announced in June 2015 that the organisation would publish metrics for […]

Access arrangements — are they a right or a privilege?

Recent changes to the official guidelines on access arrangements and assistive technology have wide-reaching implications for all pupils if implemented equitably, argues Andrew Harland Access arrangements (AA) help pupils with special educational needs, learning difficulties, disabilities or temporary injuries, to access the exam system. They are often seen as the preserve of pupils with special […]

Further Maths A level sees 2.5 percentage point boost to A* grades

The number of pupils achieving an A* in Further Maths has jumped by 2.5 percentage points – the largest increase of any A level subject, figures show. Provisional figures published this morning by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) show 29 per cent of the almost 15,000 entrants received the top grade this morning. That […]

A Level Results Day: “No major changes” says qualification body JCQ

“No major system changes, no major outcome changes, no major entry changes” said qualifications joint council JCQ – as this year’s A level result revealed just a 0.1 percentage point increase in the overall pass rate to 98.1 per cent. The percentage of top A* grades also remained unchanged at 8.2 per cent, and A […]