Exam Results 2021

GCSE and A level Assessment 2021

Students are still in a strong position to make a difference to their final grades this year, as GCSE and A level grades will be awarded through portfolios of work compiled after the April school holidays.

Following last week’s announcement that school assessment will determine GCSE and A Level grades this year, Ofqual has issued further guidance. Schools will compile portfolios for students using a series of assessments, and prior work need not be taken into account.

According to Ofqual, schools are to “determine the grades as late in the academic year as is practicable… to enable teaching to continue for as long as possible.” This longer timeline presents students with the valuable time they need to progress — to develop their knowledge and sharpen their skills — to optimise their grades in 2021.

A leading exam board, CAIE, is calling for their portfolios to comprise three substantial pieces of work reflecting concentrated effort, and these may take the form of past papers, completed coursework, mock exams or other tasks set by schools. These assessments are at the centre’s discretion and are expected to provide a cross-section of results across the content covered in each school. Other exams boards have yet to show their hand in revealing their assessment portfolios, but they are likely to be along similar lines.

Exam boards have been asked by Ofqual to provide “a package of support materials to include questions, mark schemes, data about how students typically performed in individual questions and exemplar materials, as well as advice for teachers about content coverage, topic selection, marking and making grading judgements.”  These support materials will be part of the range of evidence teachers could use to determine the grade.

Now is the time to get motivated, get focused and get working — to re-energise and reach for the stars. Per aspera ad astra, as the Oxford Tutors motto goes!