Dear Parents and Carers,
As you are aware, formal examinations for Year 11 and 13 students have been cancelled this summer due to the coronavirus outbreak. We are writing to explain how grades will be allocated and how we will support your child going forward.
How Will Students Get Grades?
The government has stated their intention to award grades to all students who would have sat their formal exams this summer.
The process is yet to be finalised but will include asking teachers to predict grades using a nationally standardised process. These grades will then be moderated by considering other information including students’ prior attainment.
The government wants to award these grades by the end of July. If students are unhappy with their grade, there will be an appeal process, an opportunity to re-sit as soon as it is safe to do so, and a further re-sit opportunity in Summer 2021.
The full press release is at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-details-on-exams-and-grades-announced.
As parents and carers know, we regularly track our students’ attainment, including predicted grades, and we have a substantial body of evidence to support our robust judgments. Until details of the nationally standardised process are released, we will not be sharing any further information with students or parents / carers.
What Should I Or My Child Do?
We will continue to work with families to support you and your child through their next steps. We strongly advise that students keep their books, past papers and PPE papers, both so that we have these as evidence should it be necessary, and also so that they have these resources should they decide to take examinations later. Work will continue to be placed on Show My Homework.
In addition, examination awarding bodies have suggested that, where students are able to continue unfinished non examination assessment (NEA) or ‘coursework’ at home, they should do so, as this would put them in a strong position if evidence of grades is needed. If students can create written work, portfolio work, or electronic evidence for their NEA at home, they should continue to do so. Guidance for these subjects will be put on Show My Homework. The subjects this relates to, and the staff who will be able to answer questions on it, are as follows:
| Level 2 Qualifications | ||
| GCSE Art and Design | Ms. Nicolaou | M.Nicolaou@stjohnfisher.school |
| GCSE Drama | Mr. Brown | a.brown@stjohnfisher.school |
| GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition | Ms. Owen | m.owen@stjohnfisher.school |
| BTEC Level 2 Travel and Tourism | Ms. Simpson | l.simpson@stjohnfisher.school |
| BTEC Level 2 Hospitality (KS5 students) | Ms. Simpson | l.simpson@stjohnfisher.school |
| BTEC Level 2 Health and Social Care | Ms. Field | a.field@stjohnfisher.school |
| Cambridge National iMedia | Ms. Salmon | r.salmon@stjohnfisher.school |
| Level 3 Qualifications | ||
| A Level Art and Design | Ms. Nicolaou | M.Nicolaou@stjohnfisher.school |
| A Level English Language and Literature | Ms. Michaelis | k.michaelis@stjohnfisher.school |
| A Level History | Ms. Deans | s.deans@stjohnfisher.school |
| A Level Media | Ms. Girvan | d.girvan@stjohnfisher.school |
| Cambridge Technical ICT Level 3 | Ms. Baxter | g.baxter@stjohnfisher.school |
| BTEC Level 3 Travel and Tourism | Ms. Simpson | l.simpson@stjohnfisher.school |
| BTEC Level 3 Health and Social Care | Ms. Field | a.field@stjohnfisher.school |
| BTEC Level 3 Applied Science | Mr. Bowers | s.bowers@stjohnfisher.school |
| BTEC Level 3 Business | Ms. Douglas | j.douglas@stjohnfisher.school |
I would like to reiterate that we are committed to helping you and your child through this difficult time. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school.
Yours faithfully,
Ms. V. Walker Ms. E. Bailey
Deputy Headteacher Assistant Headteacher