Dear Students, Parents and Carers,
Firstly, thank you for your patience in these difficult circumstances. I am writing this to students as well as parents and carers as this is a situation that is difficult for us all but something which effects each of our amazing Year 11 students personally. Following the level of maturity and resilience shown by all of our Year 11 students throughout the pandemic, you deserve to be included in this challenging conversation.
For those students who have imminent Vocational exams, we have taken the decision to cancel these assessments. This was a difficult decision, particularly because you have worked so hard to ensure you are ready to do your very best. However, considering the circumstances and disruption, we believe that the cancellation of these exams is the only fair and safe course of action given the current state of the national emergency.
We are yet to receive any further information from Government regarding what will replace GCSE examinations in the summer, other than teacher assessments will contribute to the final grades you are awarded. I can assure you, we will not allow any student to be penalised and we will ensure we have a transparent and robust process to determine your grades which provides every student with a fair outcome.
In the meantime, it is crucial that you continue to engage with your learning. Yesterday’s comment from the Chief Regulator for Exams is an important message for us all: “Our message to students is this: please continue to engage as fully as you can in your education. That will be online for the majority of students, or face-to-face for those students still going in to their school …This will put you in the best position, whatever arrangements are made for your qualifications.”
In addition to providing fair outcomes for you all, we will continue to work with all of our students to provide the care, guidance and support that each student deserves. We are committed to do our very best for every student; we are here to answer any questions and we will support you through these challenging circumstances.
I will of course keep you updated once we are provided with further details. Yours sincerely,
Mr A Deen
Principal