As another year draws to a close, we take the time to reflect on what has happened and look forward to the year ahead.
We are always dedicated to helping our students complete their exams, even in challenging times. This year we have worked hard for our students following the cancellation of exams and are already planning ahead for whatever next year will bring.
The pandemic continued to affect exams
This year the pandemic continued to have a huge effect on exams. After much uncertainty at the start of the year, exams were eventually cancelled again. It was a stressful time for everyone involved in education. Our experience as a well-established exam centre helped us adapt and change our procedures quickly. We had to develop an assessment approach as per the government guidelines, printing and distributing past papers, invigilating and then marking the assessments, leading to the decision on grades.
The gathering of evidence during May involved over 1400 past papers being completed and marked in under two weeks. By Friday 18th June we had submitted over 670 grades for over 370 students.
Despite the pressure we stayed committed to helping all our students receive the grades they deserve. We are proud of the fact we have been able to help our students during such a stressful time.
Results days for the Autumn 2021 examination series
Happily, we were able to successfully hold exams for the Autumn exam series with COVID safety measures in place. We are looking forward to providing the results to our students in the coming months.
The results days for the Autumn 2021 examination series have been confirmed as follows: –
Thursday 16th December 2021 – Edexcel, AQA & OCR A-Level Results
Monday 10th January 2022 – Cambridge AS and A-Level Results
Thursday 13th January 2022 – Edexcel, AQA & OCR GCSE Maths and GCSE English Language Results
Tuesday 18th January 2022 – Cambridge IGCSE & O-Level Results
Thursday 24th February 2022 – Edexcel, AQA & OCR GCSE Results (all other GCSE subjects that are not Maths or English Language)
Thursday 24th February 2022 – Edexcel IGCSE Results
Summer 2022 examination series adaptations
We have been closely monitoring the Department of Education and Ofqual consultation that was completed during the Summer. Now a series of adaptations for the Summer 2022 exams have been agreed.
There are four different types of adaptations for assessments in 2022:
Advance Information – This will help students revise. Exams boards will provide information about the focus of exams. This information will be made available by the exam boards by 7th February 2022.
Optionality – This gives students a choice of topics for some subjects, including GCSE History and GCSE English Literature.
Exam Support – Students will be provided with formulae and equations sheets in the exam, primarily GCSE Maths.
NEA/fieldwork adaptations – There will be changes to the practical work for a select number of subjects.
The specific adaptations for each subject can be found on the respective exam board’s website. We will ensure all our students understand these adaptations for their exams next Summer.
Contingency arrangements for 2022 exam series
There are still many unknowns about next year but we are planning as best we can to be ready for the Summer 2022 exams. The Department for Education and Ofqual have confirmed that if exams need to be cancelled in summer 2022, students’ grades will again be determined using a TAGs approach similar to the process we used in summer 2021. You can find out details of how we awarded grades last year here. Our approach in 2022 is likely to be similar if exams are cancelled again.
Specific detailed information on how TAGs will be determined in summer 2022 will only be published if exams are cancelled. We will be ready to deal with any new guidelines should this situation occur next year.
Don’t miss the deadline for Summer 2022 exam series
Although this is a busy time of year don’t forget that our deadline for entry to the Summer 2022 exam series is February 14th 2022. We would advise booking asap for some subjects, particularly GCSE Maths and IGCSE English Language. Students are more than welcome to visit us in advance of booking to see the centre and meet staff. Just Contact us to find out more.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Despite the challenges this year we are happy and proud to help our students achieve their grades and move on in their educational journeys. Whatever 2022 holds we are sure we can always provide the best service to all our students.
We hope you all have a restful Christmas and New Year and next year proves to be less disruptive. All our students can rest assured we will do all we can to provide the best exam experience possible.