Charlton School

Tuesday 24^th March 2020

Dear Parents/Carers                                                                                                 

RE: Year 11 GCSE Grades Summer 2020

I wanted to keep you updated as much as possible with any guidance we receive in school.  You may be aware the government released an update late last week:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-details-on-exams-and-grades-announced

Whilst the specific detail or expectations have still not been shared with schools, the premise of the proposal is set out below:

• The regulator (Ofqual) will develop and set out a process that will provide a calculated grade to each student, which reflects their performance as fairly as possible and will work with exam boards to ensure this is consistently applied for all students.
• Exam boards will be asking schools to submit their judgement about the grade that they believe the student would have received, if exams had gone ahead.
• To produce this, teachers will be asked to consider a range of evidence and data, including performance on mock exams and non-exam assessment. Clear guidance on how to do this fairly and robustly will be provided to schools, as soon as possible.
• Exam boards will then combine this information with other relevant data, including prior attainment, and use this information to produce a calculated grade for each student, which will be a best assessment of the work they have put in.
• The aim is for the exam boards to provide these calculated grades to students, before the end of July. It is believed students will be able to appeal their grades if they do not believe the right process has been followed.
• The exam boards will aim to ensure that the distribution of grades follows a similar pattern to that in other years, so that this year’s students are not disadvantaged.
• There is a suggestion that there will be an option to sit exams early in the next academic year for any students who wish to do so.

I hope this new information will answer some of your questions.  I will provide further updates as and when we receive official notification of the processes in school.

Please may I ask that contact is not made with individual teachers or curriculum leaders to discuss predicted grades.  I can assure you, we will do all we can to ensure that every Charlton student gets the best possible grade based on all their prior assessments, controlled assessment work (where applicable) and their ongoing attitudes to learning.

I have advised all colleagues in school to not engage in communication with parents on this matter.  Rest assured, we will apply the processes expected of us in the most positive and fair way possible, to ensure this year’s cohort are rewarded for their efforts, enabling them to continue their education on their chosen pathway.

Yours faithfully

Mr A McNaughton

Principal