Hounslow Council's Education Chief Wants Exams Scrapped
Tom Bruce calls for next year's A-Levels and GCSEs to be teacher assessed
Councillor Tom Bruce
The councillor with responsibility at Hounslow Council has called for next year’s GCSEs and A-levels to again be based on teacher assessments.
Tom Bruce, Hounslow’s cabinet member for education and a senior primary school teacher, said pupils should be assessed by their schools rather than sit externally-set exams due to the disruption being caused by Covid-19.
Many students going into their GCSE and A-Level years have missed months of schooling and now face fresh disruption from coronavirus testing problems.
There is growing pressure for the Department for Education (DfE) to make a decision soon about how pupils will be assessed across all subjects.
Mr Bruce said: “It’s very likely that if students were to sit traditional exams, many would not get grades which reflect their hard work or what they can do. Changes need to be made this year to make it fair. Universities assess their own students. At primary level, assessments are taken and then moderated by teachers from other schools. It would be sensible to see a similar system in place this year.”
Headteachers are calling for guidance to be issued now, so schools can prepare properly following the debacle around grades this summer.
London Assembly Member Caroline Russell added: “The government needs to start listening to teachers about how best to help young people catch up on their education. Whether exams are cancelled or scaled back, teachers and pupils need to know what is happening.”
Last month chairman of the education select committee Robert Halfon said he was pushing for an October deadline for Ofqual to make a final decision about whether any exams will be axed in 2021.
An Ofqual spokesman said: “It is government policy that exams go ahead and we are working with the DfE to deliver this.”
The DfE added it was “preparing for all eventualities”.
“We expect exams to take place next year and are working with Ofqual and the exam boards on our approach, recognising that students will have experienced considerable disruption to their education in the last academic year,” spokesman said.
“There are a range of measures proposed by Ofqual following a public consultation, including a possible short delay to the exam timetable and subject-specific changes to reduce pressure on teaching time. We will continue to work with school and college stakeholders, Ofqual and the exam boards, to ensure that exams in 2021 are fair.”
Rachael Burford - Local Democracy Reporter
September 23, 2020