The following are the questions that have been raised and our responses:

Will this powerpoint be published somewhere for us to see?

Yes – It will be published on the school website. Students will also be given the same presentation during registration on Wednesday 1st December 2021.

Will the students be told the results of their contingency assessments?

Yes, but this must not be taken as confirmation of their Teacher Assessed Grade. Ofqual will only issue guidance on how the assessment data should be used to determine TAGs in the event that exams are cancelled.

Will students/parents have access to marked papers at each stage?

Yes – Ofqual have stipulated that original papers must be retained by the school but we will consider the most effective way of sharing/copying papers so that students have access to them.

What if children miss mocks due to isolation?

If they miss part of the assessment for a subject (eg miss paper 1 but sit paper 2) we will use the results from the assessment completed to award a grade, however evidence to support the absence would need to be provided.

Can I just check I understand, So because we can’t see the future and we don't know if there will be an issue with exams for our children, our children will technically have 3 mock sets?

How has the children's mental health at sitting multiple assessments been addressed? And is there a worry of exam fatigue by the time we get to the fourth set of exams which might be the ones that count?

Unlike the previous two years, we are reassured that a clear contingency plan has been made with specific guidance for schools. We have tried to balance the requirements from Ofqual with a number of factors, including mental health and exam fatigue. Contingency Assessment points 2 and 3 will not be a full set of exam paper and only last one week. Whilst this is a more formal structure, past papers and timed exam questions would regularly being used by class teachers to prepare students for external exams. The outcomes of these assessments will be used to support students. 

Do the students stop going to classes (going to school) before the final exam sets in? If so when please?

Students generally continue to attend classes until they have completed the final assessment for that subject. We will confirm dates as soon as the final timetable has been confirmed.

Do we have any idea of when the actual GCSEs will start and finish in terms of dates?

The final timetable has not been published, as soon as we have this we will share with both parents and students.