Exams Information
e-mail to Year 11 parents/carers re GCSE Examinations / Assessment - 13 Jan 2021
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GCSE Examinations During the Covid-19 Pandemic 2021
As you are aware, having stated that the BTEC examinations in January should continue the DfE have late this evening announced that "In light of the evolving public health measures, schools and colleges can continue with the vocational and technical exams that are due to take place in January, where they judge it right to do so”. Following this announcement, we have decided not to go ahead with the BTEC examinations. It is frustrating that an announcement has been made at such a late stage and we therefore wanted to inform you of our decision as soon as possible. We appreciate that this will inevitably lead to further worry and confusion for you which is not helpful in the current circumstances.
We realise that our decision may cause disappointment for your daughter who may be well-prepared and will miss the opportunity to demonstrate their learning and skills. However, we feel that, whilst we are confident that we could run the smaller exam on Friday safely, we feel less confident about running the
i-Media exam which has much higher numbers. To run one exam and not the other would be inequitable.
As you will be aware, GCSE examinations are also cancelled and, in cancelling the BTEC examinations, this creates a more ‘level playing field’ for all students. Many students have been asked to self-isolate through the term and have missed essential course coverage and teacher input which already puts them at a disadvantage. Travel and Tourism students have missed their mock exam this week which will have affected them significantly compared with previous cohorts. There was also significant disruption to learning last year which impacted significantly on learners on these courses.
As with all decisions, we make them in the best interests of the students and feel that our students will not be disadvantaged in any way. Unlike other vocational courses, that require certification (such as plumbing/ electricians), where students would need the option to complete the examination, the courses that our students are taking do not have this required element. Students will be awarded a final qualification based on their coursework assessments and will be able to progress to higher level courses at college.
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BTEC Travel and Tourism and Creative i-Media Cambridge Nationals examinations January 2021
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Dear Parent or Carer,
Year 11 Mocks and Community Languages 2021
Following the Government’s decision to close all secondary schools from the 5th January 2021 until at least the February half term, our year 11 mock exams will now not be taking place. This means that our Spanish community language students will not be able to sit their Spanish MFL mocks. However, should the circumstances change we will let you know.
We realise that our decision may cause disappointment for your daughter who may be well-prepared and will miss the opportunity to demonstrate their learning and skills, but as with all decisions, we make them in the best interests of the students.
As the final GCSE exams have been cancelled this year, we will be carefully reviewing guidance before confirming if your daughter is able to be entered for a GCSE assessment in a community language. We will confirm the decision once guidance to schools has been provided.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns.
Kind regards.
Mrs Brickett
Examinations and Assessment Manager
Walthamstow School for Girls
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Examination Board Information on awarding of 2020 GCSE Grades
Current list of Qualifications offered by the school – GCSE and non-GCSE
Please click to view the KS4 Courses for examinations in 2021
Awarding Bodies
Below are links to the exam boards for our school:
AQA www.aqa.org.uk
Edexcel www.Edexcel.com
OCR www.ocr.org.uk
WJEC www.wjec.co.uk
JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications)
The following notices are for guidance regarding exams and exam conditions and students need to familiarise themselves with these. They can be accessed via the JCQ website or by clicking on the individual links below:
Exam Documents
Procedure for Enquiries about Results - The school will determine any reviews of marking following receipt of the results, only if students have given their consent to do so. All students will receive information with their results explaining the procedure should they wish to make an independent enquiry about their results. No request will be accepted if this procedure has not been followed.
DfE – School Performance Tables
Please click here to compare the performance of Walthamstow School for Girls against schools both locally and nationally.
The SSAT have produced a guide to the new GCSEs for Parents/Carers - a copy can be accessed here
