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There is light at the end of the tunnel for GCSE and A-level students
Many young people who are in their final GCSE and A-level years have been studying diligently over the Easter break, and they are doing this in preparation for teacher assessment in the next couple of weeks or so. In most good schools where students achieve top grades year in year out, the headteacher and staff…
Read MoreTesting Blogs
This is just to test if this is working OK….
Read MoreGCSE and A-level exams – now a marathon and not a sprint!
The recent announcement by the government that GCSE and A-level examinations will not take place this summer should not be a surprise to many people, given the raging pandemic and the inconsistency in the quality of education young people from different schools have received. One thing that this has created, however, is the confusion in…
Read MoreRelax, Rejoice, Reflect and Re-energise, and let’s look forward to 2021 with optimism
Relax, Rejoice, Reflect and Re-energise, and let’s look forward to 2021 with optimism The three Rs is a concept that is well-known in children’s education as reading, writing and arithmetic (okay, two of them don’t actually start with an r when you write them, it’s just the way you pronounce them, but 3 Rs rhymes…
Read MoreOutstanding performance by the top primary schools in the state sector – how do the state secondary schools compare to independent schools?
In the secondary school Parent Power, published by the Sunday Times this week, the tremendous success achieved by state primary schools is sadly not replicated by state secondary schools. In the primary school version, the top ten in the country more or less match the top ten in the private sector. I was flabbergasted to…
Read MoreYes, GCSE and A-level will ‘definitely’ go ahead next summer; however…
This morning, England’s Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, confirmed that next summer’s examinations will be going ahead as planned, albeit some minor changes. There has been a mixed reception to this confirmation, as many think this is the right decision, whilst others are still crying foul. Those who are opposed to the exams going ahead…
Read MoreAdvice for a caring parent – how to ensure that all the hullabaloo surrounding GCSE and A-level does not leave your child short-changed!
There is a lot in the media at present about young people and their education, as society grapples with how to deal with the situation we find ourselves in at present. Since the start of the pandemic – with school closure for half of the year and variation in the quality of education provided by…
Read MoreHurrah, Justice for A-level students – aspiration and ambition respected at last!
Hurrah, Justice for A-level students – aspiration and ambition respected at last! Well done to those young people who stood up for what is just and won the right to allow their teacher’s predicted grade to count. For many it may be too late, as they’ve already accepted an offer they considered to be second…
Read MoreA-level grades misallocation – Injustice due to lack of individuality
Nothing can be more individualistic than examinations. The idea of using some algorithm without rigorous evaluation of individual students is not only insensitive and unjust, but grossly inadequate. Hence, the way in which A-level grades have awarded this year is unfit for purpose. I could not believe my ears and eyes when I heard on…
Read MoreGCSE and A-level exams chaos may linger around until the summer of 2021 – when will full time schooling resume?
As the hullabaloo surrounding the cancellation of this summer’s GCSE continues, the message that is becoming clearer is that this may go beyond this summer, and there is a distinct possibility that the present Y10 and lower sixth students may face the same predicament in the summer of 2021. Quoting from yesterday’s Sunday Times, “Parents…
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