2021 GCSE & A-Level Exams to go ahead later than usual
The UK’s Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed that next year’s GCSE and A-Level exams will be going ahead as usual but with less content in some subjects and a later start date.
Most exams will begin on 7 June, around three weeks later than the previous May start date. English and Maths GCSEs will still run before the May half term. Small amounts of content will also be stripped from some subjects.
The Department for Education says that vocational qualifications may also be changed to fit a more “compressed” timetable. The same number of exams will be spread to fit into a shorter number of days. Williamson also said that additional backup plans will be decided later.
Exams are the fairest way of judging a student’s performance so they will go ahead, underpinned by contingency measures developed in partnership with the sector. Students have experienced considerable disruption and it’s right we give them, and their teachers, the certainty that exams will go ahead and more time to prepare.
Pupils have already lost months of teaching time, with some still facing disruption due to minor COVID outbreaks in schools across the country.
Results days for A-Levels and GCSEs in 2021 have also been changed. They’ll take place in the same week, on the 24th and 27th August respectively.
