Over the Easter Holidays, OfQual published guidance on how GCSE and A-level grades will be awarded, following the cancellation of exams.
Schools are required to provide a predicted grade for each student and rank pupils within each grade – to demonstrate how secure we feel the grade is.
The College has written to all parents of Fifth Form and Upper Sixth pupils to provide reassurance and full details of the process we will take in arriving at these grades.
Mr Richard Alton, Deputy Head (Academic), said: “The process of determining these grades will be rigorous and evidence-based. We will use all of the evidence we have available from work and tests completed and, indeed, any we can further glean over the next few weeks to arrive at the grades and rank order.”
Assessments continue
One of the concerns about the use of predicted grades is that some students demonstrate a marked improvement in the final weeks leading up to exams, and that these children may be disadvantaged. We recognise this concern, and we know how hard many students have worked to build on the results of assessment earlier in the year.
We want to give pupils every opportunity to demonstrate their learning and thereby consolidate or improve their current academic profile. Therefore, Epsom College will continue with planned assessments in the Summer Term.
Mr Alton explained: “Not every school is in the fortunate position of being able to conduct assessments online. But we are, and therefore we feel it is right that students are given every opportunity to perform at their best – we have found that often the work over the Easter holidays and the last few weeks’ revision progresses a pupil further forward than we would have predicted.”
