Dear Students/Parents/Carers
I am writing to update you on the latest guidance from Ofqual with regards to summer assessments and grading.
This is it! The time to pull out all the stops, push as hard as our individual circumstances will allow and do everything we can to secure the best possible grades in the summer.
Throughout these challenging times we have shown how determined we are to ensure that the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic will not disadvantage any student.
As we already knew, normal exams will not take place this summer and grades will instead be awarded by teachers based on all the evidence they have available to them. With the school beginning to reopen from the 8th of March for face to face teaching, now is the perfect time to refocus our efforts and ensure you are able to achieve the grades you deserve.
We at UCC really want you to appreciate that any work you do from this point forward, upon the return to school, will only better your situation and ultimately improve your final grades. So, even if you have found work during lockdown hard, our physical return to school is the opportunity for you to build on any work you have done so far.
The twelve-week window between now and the 18th June, when the grades need to be submitted to the exam boards, is a real chance for us to work together as staff, students and parents/carers to make the very best of this situation to secure those grades. Whilst we will have to award grades based on evidence (so it is essential you continue to try your best and engage with learning in school and online), we will do everything in our power to make the coming weeks as productive as possible.
How your grades will be determined
Your grades will be based on the past content you have been taught in each subject and your future learning. As part of the grading process, you will be informed of the evidence your teachers have used to arrive at any grade, but teachers will not be allowed to tell you your grades prior to results day.
In terms of determining grades, teachers will use a wide range of evidence to arrive at your grade. Mock exam grades, classroom assessments and complete/incomplete coursework will all be used where appropriate. Teachers will also have access to banks of exam questions, provided by awarding bodies, to help them continue to build evidence for your grade. As grades will be based on both past and future work, it is very important to continue to keep working hard until the very last moment.
Appeals and Results
Students will be able to appeal their grade. A student who is unhappy with their grade will first need to ask the school to check whether an administrative or procedural error had been made.
If the school does identify an error in the grade submitted to the exam board, we can submit a revised grade and a rationale for the board to consider. If the exam board is satisfied with the rationale, it will issue a revised grade.
Where the school does not believe an error has been made, a student will be able to ask the school to appeal to the exam board on their behalf. We will submit the student’s appeal to the exam board and provide the evidence on which the judgement had been made; the exam board will consider whether, in its view, the grade reflected an appropriate exercise of academic judgement. If the exam board judges that it did not, the exam board will determine the grade that the evidence would support. The exam board will also check that the school has followed its own process.
Results days will be on Tuesday 10 August for AS and A level, and Thursday 12 August for GCSE results.
As we have throughout this challenging time, we will support you in every way possible so please get in touch if you have any questions about anything relating to school re-opening or the awarding of grades.
Yours faithfully
Mr S Gilby
Headteacher