From:                              ST BARTHOLOMEW'S SCHOOL <SC8695402a@schoolcomms.com>

Sent:                               21 March 2020 13:06

To:                                   ARobbins

Subject:                          Examination Grades

 

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,

 

As you will probably be aware, the government issued more information yesterday afternoon about the approach to be taken in awarding examination grades for GCSEs, A Levels and BTECs following the cancellation of this summer’s exams. There is a link here to the latest information, provided in a useful FAQ format.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-cancellation-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2020/coronavirus-covid-19-cancellation-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2020

These are obviously anxious times for everybody and we are conscious that many students are concerned that their hard work and commitment over the last two years of GCSE, A Level and BTEC courses are going to be fairly rewarded. One of the issues which will be causing concern is the reference in what is being said to practice exam or ‘mock’ results.

We are very clear at St Bart’s that our practice exams are a part of the preparation for public examinations and that their primary purpose is for students to use the experience of the exams and the feedback they receive from teachers as part of the learning process. Some students do very well in practice exams, some students under-perform and the variation in outcomes is the result of many different factors, some very individual to the student concerned. We also have access to historic data analysing how students perform in public exams compared to their performance in practice exams.

 

We want to reassure all students and parents, therefore, that whilst we will look at practice exam results in passing on predicted grades to the awarding bodies, they will form only a small part of the professional judgment being used by teachers based on two years of teaching, learning and assessment that has taken place.

 

Once we have full information from the government and the examination boards about what we are being asked to provide we will communicate with you again about this. In the meantime, please be assured that we will do all that we can to ensure that our students receive the grades that they deserve for all their qualifications.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Jeremy Sharpe

Deputy Headteacher

St Bartholomew's School

      

This message has been sent by St Bartholomew's School. Please do not reply to this email as it is automatically generated. Any contact with the school should be made through the St Bart's email address office@stbarts.co.uk

 

St Bartholomew's School, Andover Road,  Newbury, Berkshire RG14 6JP 

Telephone: 01635 521255                            

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