(Title Image: Plaid Cymru via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Qualifications Wales – the qualifications regulator – has recommended a series of changes to 2021’s external exams in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and ahead of a final decision by the Education Minister.
In a letter to the Minister (pdf), the recommended way forward includes:
- 2021’s GCSEs an AS Levels would be replaced by coursework and unscheduled common assessments taken throughout the school year.
- 2021’s A-Levels should be based on coursework and, where applicable, a single external exam paper which would be scheduled in such as way as to allow pupils an extra chance to take the exam if they’re ill or self-isolating.
The recommendations from a separate independent panel were similar but called for external exams to be cancelled outright and instead replaced with in-school or in-college assessments.
According to BBC Wales, a final decision on 2021’s external exams will be announced by the Education Minister on 10th November 2020.
