Summer 2021 arrangements

Published: Thursday 3 Dec 2020

The government has announced a package of measures to address the loss of learning and teaching this year, and the contingency plans for summer 2021 exams.

We wanted to share these new measures with you. They include:

• more generous grading than usual, in line with 2020
• students receiving advance notice of some topic areas covered in GCSE, AS and A-levels, to help them focus their revision
• exam aids – like formula sheets – provided in some exams to give students more confidence and reduce the amount of information they need to memorise
• contingency exams – held shortly after the main exam series – so students can sit a paper if they miss all their assessments in a subject because of illness or self-isolation.

The new measures complement the existing changes for next summer which include:

• reduced content in many subjects
• a delay to the start of exams and changes to the timetable.

There will also be adaptations to vocational and technical qualifications to make sure there’s parity with general qualifications.

The government has also announced that test and exam results won’t be included in performance tables this year. They’ll be replaced by attendance information, student destinations and the subjects taken at key stage 4 and 5.

We’re sure you’ll want to know the specific details relating to these new measures, so we’ll be in touch in the new year to confirm those.

Of course, it’s very difficult for assessments to take account of how Covid has affected different students in different ways. So we’re pleased that the government has announced the creation of an expert group to look at this and monitor the variation in the impact of the pandemic on students across the country.

See all updates