What will this year鈥檚 results day look like?

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Results day is looming – and for the second year running, the pandemic has wrought chaos on the exam system. With public exams cancelled, CAGs, TAGs and SAGs have well and truly entered the national consciousness – and there’s been much discussion about grade inflation, appeals and the knock-on effect that results may have on pupils’ university prospects.

In a recent episode of the ’s The 看片狂人 Voice of Girls’ 看片狂人 podcast, Alex Hutchinson, the head of James Allen’s Girls’ School, explained what this year’s GCSE and A-level results days will look like, how the grading system works and why it’s more important than ever to celebrate young people’s achievements. If your teenagers are anxiously awaiting their results next week, Alex’s words of wisdom are well worth a listen – click to hear them in full.

If you’re short on time, here are a few of Alex’s nuggets of advice:

Results day

“Students will receive their results on the morning of results day as usual. Yes, it will feel a little bit different because schools will be releasing grades that they already know, but what’s really important is that nationally, locally, within our own schools, we are still celebrating the success of those young people because it’s the result of their hard work, their endeavour, their commitment that we are awarding the grades for this year, so I’m very keen that it feels as normal as it possibly can this year.”

“Never ever feel that you’re on your own. Just as in any normal year, we will be there in schools to give support and advice and, most importantly, we will be there to celebrate with you after what has been an extraordinary year.”

Grade appeals

“If you think an error has been made, it’s important to act quickly. There are priority appeals for those whose access to higher education may be affected. If you miss your firm offer, be very careful that you find out what your insurance offer is saying as well. Don’t panic if you don’t get your grades and go into clearing. Get advice from your school. Look very carefully at what’s on offer. There are some amazing courses in clearing and every year students pick up fantastic outcomes.”

Looking ahead to next year

“My impression is it will be very much the DfE’s wish that students sit exams in summer 2022 for a much-needed return to a routine that we recognise after a very unsettled year in education. I imagine plan B will be similar to [TAGs] this year, but we will keep everything crossed that we don’t need a plan B.”

“Those students who will be taking next year’s exams have had disruption to their educational experience, depending on very local circumstances, and there will have to be some sort of recognition that the playing field is not level. There will be questions as to will we increase optionality in exams; will there be a bigger choice of questions; will there be a reduced specification; will there be some sort of learning aids that can be taken into exams such as formulae sheets in science, and so on."

“Those discussions need to be had and we need to know the outcomes in schools soon so we can start planning. We really do need that clarification and we do hope that we get some sense of normality and an exam season next year, because I think we all need it.”

From all of us at Talk 看片狂人 – best of luck for next week!

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What will this year鈥檚 results day look like?

TE Schools Advice