The first sat summer exams for three years begin in a matter of weeks. Head teachers across Wales say they are worried they will not be fair again because of continued havoc caused by Covid in schools and persistently high staff and pupil absence.
They have warned that the situation in schools is the worse it has been at any time in the pandemic and results appeals loom. Lack of staff has left some exam year pupils without a specialist subject teacher for weeks while those in other schools, or other classes, have had specialist teachers all the way through.
Although exam board WJEC and regulator Qualifications Wales agreed to reduce the content of papers to take account of Covid disruption that does not cover the widely varying situation for many teenagers, schools warned. The regulator confirmed last autumn that results in 2022 will be midway between the record high 2021 grades and those for the last sat exams in 2019 – there is debate over whether this means it will be easier or harder to get top grades.
Matthew Salmon, deputy head of one of Wales’ highest-achieving schools, Olchfa School in Swansea, said he expected there would be high levels of appeals come results day. Candidates have also expressed their fears.
School leaders said they are trying to “protect exam years” by sending other year groups home for remote learning when staff absence is too high to keep the whole school open but they have not been able to give all exam pupils equal teaching and preparation. Mr Salmon said “a majority of schools” could give examples of exam-year subject teachers being absent for weeks this academic year or term.
“What we are experiencing at school level in terms of staff absence is the worst it has ever been in the pandemic. We were very close to needing to close year groups on a couple of occasions. We are just plugging holes,” he admitted. “On exams I don’t know whether the word fair has been used but Qualifications Wales and the WJEC felt it made sense for exams to go ahead. The problem is that in even one school you will have pupils with vastly different experiences.
“One pupil may have missed a significant number of lessons while friends who take different subjects have not. It is difficult to see and I know they won’t admit it openly but it is difficult to see how the process will be equitable. People’s experiences leading up to exams will vary greatly. I think there are real concerns looking ahead not just for exams but in terms of re-sits and appeals. It’s hard to predict but I suspect in some cases there will be high volumes of appeals.” He warned that “some pupils have been ultimately disadvantaged by circumstances which mean they will want to challenge results” and said there was a lack of perception about the pressure on schools caused by the easing of Covid restrictions in the community.
Schools still have to follow separate Welsh Government opening guidance which includes requiring self-isolation and asymptomatic twice-weekly testing. Mr Salmon warned: “This will be the third year that the spectre of exam results not being fair will raise its head again. We need to be honest about the position we are in. We are in a precarious position because of staff absence and it’s yet another perfect storm.”
Colleagues around Wales echoed his concern. Kirsty Retallick, head teacher at Ysgol Nantgwyn 3-16 Through School in Rhondda Cynon Taf , said: “Year 11 and 13 learners, who need most support as they move towards external examinations, are working in a 'business as usual' model despite the circumstances often being the worst they have been at any time in the last two years. Key stakeholders such as Welsh Government and Qualification Wales have agreed contingency in place (as in the last two years) but have made little movement to support learners experiencing extreme challenges at this time and we urge them to make this move immediately.”
Another head said they knew of one year group where physics exam students had not had a specialist teacher for six weeks. Julian Kennedy, head teacher at Ysgol Dyffryn Taff in Whitland, Carmarthenshire , said he welcomed society moving towards seeing Covid-19 as being endemic but it had to be recognised the real problems this has caused in schools and for teenagers sitting exams.
“Staff are still advised to self-isolate if they test positive and our recent experience is that a lot of the staff who do test positive have been too unwell to have attended school anyway. This has an impact on all pupils but is of particular concern for pupils preparing for external examinations. Adding to that concern is that we have not yet received clear information on what would happen to a student who is unable to take all or a large part of their exams this summer due to Covid-19. Schools and families need that clarification as a matter of urgency.”
The response from exam board, regulator, and the Welsh Government
Those in charge of making final decisions on how exams run and are graded insisted they had recognised the continued disruption of the pandemic for pupils and staff. Qualifications Wales said in a statement: “At present all exams planned to take place this summer are set to go ahead. Any decision to cancel exams would be made by Welsh Government.
“We recognise the ongoing pressures in schools and colleges and know that many learners may be feeling anxious as they prepare for their exams and assessments. We want to reassure them and others that adaptations are in place to make this year’s exams season as fair as possible including a more generous grading policy.
“The changes have been put in place to help learners to focus their time when it comes to preparing for exams. Details of the adaptations were shared with schools and colleges before the start of the 2021-22 academic year.“
A spokesman for the WJEC echoed this and outlined some of the help made available. “We recognise that learners will have missed out on teaching and learning time due to the pandemic and have made a series of changes to the way GCSEs and AS/A-levels will be assessed in summer 2022. Following the announcement by Qualifications Wales that external assessments will go ahead, in July last year, we published a range of adaptations to our qualifications, which vary from subject to subject, but have included reduced assessment content, reduced NEA (non-examination assessment) requirements, and optional questions for some qualifications. For other subjects, where we couldn’t make significant changes, we’ve shared advance information as another way to help learners to focus their revision.”
The WJEC spokesman added that it had expanded its provision of teaching and learning resources, which includes more than 3,000 new blended learning modules, knowledge organisers, bridging resources, and exam walk-throughs. “We are confident that the range of measures that we have put in place will help to mitigate the ongoing impact of the pandemic, ensuring that all assessments are balanced and fair and will enable learners to progress to the next level of education, training, or employment.
“Furthermore Qualifications Wales has confirmed that results in 2022 will broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019 results and this will be applied when we determine the grade boundaries during our awarding meetings, which are conducted post-assessment. As in any exam season should a learner wish to appeal their grade we have a regulatory-approved appeals process which is followed by all awarding bodies.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We recognise that additional support is needed for learners in exam years due to the disruption of the past two years. WJEC have made a number of adaptations to exams and assessments in response to the disruption caused by Covid. We have announced £24m of additional support focused on learners in exam years, including dedicated staff in each local authority to support Year 11 learners in progressing through their GCSEs”
