Examiners asked to grade GCSE and A-Levels more generously this year
It's to help to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on learning
Last updated 27th May 2022
GCSE and A-level examiners in 2022 will be asked to be more generous than in previous years to account for the disruptions to education caused by the pandemic.
Exams regulator Ofqual has previously announced that grade boundaries will be set roughly between 2019 pre-pandemic levels and boundaries in 2021, when teacher assessment was used to set grades.
The news comes after exam boards published the details of topics that will appear in GCSE and A-level exams this year.
The information is designed to aid their preparation and help focus their revision.
The material will not detail the likely questions that will come up but will be a list of topics that will be covered in the exams, so students can prepare and prioritise those topics.
The material will only be available on the exam board websites, with students being warned not to look elsewhere in case they find inaccurate or misleading information.
Headteachers had called for these changes to be made earlier in the academic year but exam boards say they are releasing the material now, so pupils do not cover a narrow curriculum.
Ros Wood-Ives is the headteacher at LightCliffe Academy in Halifax:
Sarah Hannafin, senior policy advisor for school leaders' union NAHT, said the advance material "should now provide teachers and students some help on where to focus their teaching, revision and exam preparations". She recognises that students have “endured” during this tough period, and the announcement is designed to give them a “fair shot at success”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "We look forward to seeing the information being published to help students focus their revision, and help to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on learning”