Coronavirus: 2021 GCSE, A-Level exams may be delayed

Students sitting for the 2021 GCSE and A-Level exam may do so later in 2021 to give them more time to prepare after being housebound by coronavirus, Britain’s Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said on Monday.

The Education Secretary said the department was already in consultation as to whether the tests could be moved from May to July – traditionally during the school holidays.

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Students preparing for exams next summer have missed three months of lessons, mocks and exam preparation due to coronavirus and such a move would allow them extra time to catch up. But it is believed that the children will need extra time in order to be able to learn and do well in the exams.

This is coming as a £1 billion fund to help children ‘catch up’ with lost learning after months out of school amid the pandemic was unveiled.

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Speaking in the Commons this afternoon in response to a question from Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke, Mr Williamson said,  “One of the key elements of the billion-pound package is making sure those children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have extra support in terms of one-on-one tutoring and tutoring in small groups.

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‘My honourable friend raises an important point about how do we add more teaching time in?  And that is why we will be consulting with OfQual about how we can move those exams back, giving children extra time in order to be able to learn and really flourish and do incredibly well.”

He said the country has succeeded in bringing back pupils in  nursery,  reception , Year 1,  Year 6   Year 10 and  12 back to school “We’ve given schools extra flexibility to get more children in and we’ve made it clear that next week we’ll be outlining plans for a full return of every single child in every year group back into school.”