Labour and Tories clash over 2021 Leeds GCSE and A-Level exams

Westminster announced earlier this year that the exams would be held in summer 2021, despite the government’s controversial U-turn, to allow pupils to be graded by teacher assessments last summer.

But Wales announced today that it would cancel exams for GCSEs and A-Levels in 2021, and would instead replace them with teacher assessments.

This has led to disagreement between the main political parties on Leeds City Council, with Labour calling for exams to be scrapped, as Covid-19 may lead to pupils missing large amounts of school, and an unfair playing field when taking exams.

However, the Conservatives’ education lead believes exams should take place, with results weighted for pupils who have missed school due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Leeds City Council’s executive member for education Coun Jonathan Pryor (Lab) said: “Under the current system the Government are proposing, it is impossible to guarantee a level playing field.

“What the Government should be doing is working with headteachers to make sure that the national approach can ensure consistency in the spread between north and south.”

It was a sentiment echoed by Welsh education minister Kirsty Williams, who said such a move would help combat the inequalities rising from Covid-19, as well as giving schools extra time to teach in the summer.

Coun Pryor added: “(We should) have a uniform approach across the whole of the UK, but I understand the government needs to take a bit longer to make the right decision than the Welsh Government.

“I think the exams need to be scrapped and children need to get their qualifications through another and fairer method.”

He stopped short of suggesting these should be teacher assessments, as concerns had been raised previously about the increase in workload this could cause for school teaching staff.

Coun Ryan Stephenson is the education lead for the opposition Conservative group on Leeds City Council – he said he believed the exams should take place as the effects of Covid on pupil attendance are not as significant as first feared.

He said: “I think exams should go ahead – as of today in Leeds, there is only about five percent of the school population that has been isolating for brief periods.

“We can do exams, but there needs to be a weighting in the moderating process to account for time some pupils have had outside of school.

“But if we are moving to a situation where exams might not happen, we need to know as soon as possible so schools and councils can start working towards when that should be.

“I don’t see how else you can do it other than exams or teacher-led assessments – there is no magic cure to assess a pupil – it is either one or the other.

“My preferred option would be exams – but if it is teacher-assessed grades, we learned from the summer last year that there has to be a rigorous moderation process so that we can’t have another year of grade inflation.”

It is understood the Department for Education has no intention to alter plans announced earlier this year for next summer’s exams to start on 7 June and end on 2 July for almost all AS/A levels and GCSEs.

A letter was sent last month to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson by Coun Pryor, which was co-signed by Leeds Conservatives group deputy leader Alan Lamb, asked the Government to look again at its strategy around exams.

It read: “We note the Government’s announcement on 12 October 2020 which makes clear to go ahead with GCSE, AS and A level exams in England next summer, and we welcome the Government’s intention to undertake further work to consider the range of scenarios which might impact students’ ability to sit exams and to develop contingency plans in consultation with the education sector over the coming weeks. We would like to add the following considerations to the debate.

“Current transmission rates of Covid 19 in Leeds are above the national average and many pupils are missing in-school learning as they are made to isolate at home either waiting for Covid-19 test results or as a result of their year or class ‘bubble’ collapsing following a positive coronavirus case.

“Staff absence for the same reason leads to further loss of specialist input. Therefore any contingency plans must not only take into account potential exam disruption but also the amount of lost learning which will disproportionately affect many young people in Leeds.”