GCSEs and A-levels are likely to be easier in 2022 to help children after lessons were disrupted

Now next year’s exams will be watered down: GCSEs and A-levels are likely to be easier in 2022 to help children after lessons were disrupted by Covid pandemic

  • Ofqual boss Simon Lebus told MPs there need to be ‘adaptations’ to 2022 exams
  • Mr Lebus said the process of recovering lost learning would take several years  
  • This summer, grades will be based on teachers’ judgments 

Next year’s GCSE and A-level exams are likely to be significantly watered down to ‘reflect the learning disruption’ during the pandemic, the exams watchdog said yesterday.

After two years of cancelled exams, acting Ofqual boss Simon Lebus told MPs there would still need to be ‘adaptations’ for those sitting papers in 2022.

Appearing before the education committee, Mr Lebus said that the process of recovering lost learning was ‘going to take several years’.

‘As far as 2022 is concerned, the thinking at the moment is about adaptations along the lines that had been originally contemplated for this year when exams were still to go ahead,’ he said.

After two years of cancelled exams, acting Ofqual boss Simon Lebus told MPs there would still need to be ‘adaptations’ for those sitting papers in 2022

Before this year’s exams were cancelled, pupils were going to be warned of topics in advance, given a broader range of questions to choose from and allowed to take notes into the exam hall.

But a third year of significant changes will make it more difficult to return to a system where grades are distributed along historic patterns, with fears that the year group taking exams after the return to ‘normality’ will be severely disadvantaged compared to those in the years above.

This summer, grades will be based on teachers’ judgments, helped by the optional use of mini-exams, leading to fears of a second year of unprecedented grade inflation.

Mr Lebus also urged parents against ‘intrusive’ attempts to put pressure on teachers.

Appearing before the education committee, Mr Lebus said that the process of recovering lost learning was 'going to take several years'

Appearing before the education committee, Mr Lebus said that the process of recovering lost learning was ‘going to take several years’

‘It’s always a worry that parents get terribly involved and teachers feel uncomfortable and there’s an intrusive interest,’ he said.

Schools minister Nick Gibb added that ‘parents can be reassured’ that this year’s approach to grading is the ‘best alternative to exams that can be devised’.

‘This is a system where we trust the professionalism of teachers,’ he said.

But Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis raised concerns that low expectations could see some students become ‘victims of grade suppression’ as schools seek to avoid investigation over their marks.

Critics have likened this summer’s system to the ‘Wild West’ which could lead to an ‘onslaught of appeals’. Others predicted that top universities could become badly over-subscribed by large numbers of students awarded top grades by generous teachers.