Exams in 2021 should be pushed back to help students catch up, says Labour

Labour has said A-Level and GCSE exams taking place in England next year should be pushed back from May to June or July in a bid to help children who’ve been affected by coronavirus catch up on their studies.

UK schools closed in March, with only certain children – such as those of key workers – going in, and exams due to take place in 2020 were cancelled as part of an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19.

The cancelled exams first saw pupils awarded grades adjusted by an algorithm, but they were later given teacher-assessed grades after much controversy over the unfairness of downgrading.

Labour is now seeking clarity from the UK government on when 2021 exams will take place and what allowances might be made to accommodate students who missed out on learning during the pandemic.

Having missed months of schooling, Labour’s education lead Kate Green said those taking exams next year have a “mountain to climb” and would need more teaching time to catch up.

She told Times Radio: “We want to try to give students as much time as possible to catch up on the disruption of their learning that’s taken place over this last year, and we may see more of in the coming year.

“But equally, we do need to make sure that the process of admitting students to university or college can run smoothly. And that does take time both to mark the result of the exams and get the results and make sure they’re correct.”

Green stressed that careful planning was needed at this stage to ensure that there is no repeat of the “exams fiasco” seen during the summer of 2020 as students were left in doubt about their results.

She added: “We’re saying right at the start of the academic year, let’s get the planning in place now so that we know that we won’t repeat next summer the exams fiasco that we saw last month.”

The government has confirmed that it intends for exams to go ahead next year, but has not yet revealed whether other adjustments will be made. Its first challenge is to get kids back to school this week.

The Prime Minister had initially promised that schools would reopen a month before the summer holidays, but the plan had to abandoned after it was found to be unworkable – as teaching unions had warned.

There has since been much debate over the use of face coverings in schools, with trade unions in favour of the move. The government announced last week that secondary schools can require face coverings in communal areas.

Additional measures – including face coverings in corridors and communal areas of the school – will also be mandatory in high transmission areas. But they will not be enforced in classrooms.

Green, the Shadow Education Secretary, has also stressed the importance of NHS Test and Trace being “brought up to scratch” as the programme is currently “significantly underperforming”.

Shadow Education Secretary, Kate Green says it’s “really crucial” that the “government’s under performing test and trace system is brought up to scratch” before students go to university.

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