Return to GCSE and A Level exams in 2022
But students will have significantly fewer exams to sit.
Peter Weir said the examinations body, the CCEA, will be making decisions on which units or modules to omit from the courses at A level, AS level and GCSE by June 1 to enable schools to prepare for the start of the new school year in September.
The Minister said it had been “a priority to return to public examinations during the next academic year” and that the current arrangement where pupils will receive teacher assessed grades was “not a sustainable or long-term approach”.
“A planned return to public examinations is not, however, a return to business as usual,” Mr Weir told the Assembl.
“But young people will have significantly fewer examinations in 2022 with significant reductions in assessment across the range of CCEA qualifications.”
However, AS grades given to pupils this summer will not count towards their A level grade in 2022.
The decision to cut the amount of work expected to be undertaken by pupils has been welcome by students as a victory for common sense.
Representing one of the main groups consulted by the Minister ahead of making his decision, Secondary Students Union NI President Cormac Savage said: “This is a victory for student voice. This shows our young people that their voices can be heard at the top levels.
“On behalf of SSUNI, I want to thank Minister Weir for engaging so positively with the Union and for his kind words in today’s statement,” he said.
“This is a timely announcement that will go a long way in easing much of the anxiety our students feel.
“In particular, the commitment to generous grading by the Minister will, along with the rest if the provisions of this statement allow our students to breathe a sigh of relief.”
Pupils taking GCSE maths will still have to take the full course, although Mr Weir said CCEA would provide “additional examination aids” to assist students.
The minister also said there would be a Plan B in the event exams could not take place again in 2022, which would again see schools calculating grades for pupils, but Mr Weir said the hope was that wouldn’t be necessary.
“With the roll-out of the vaccine programme and the improving public health situation, it is my priority to return to public examinations during the next academic year,” he said.
“The past two school years have seen the worst disruption to education since the Second World War.
“Fairness to pupils is my priority, and will continue to be at the forefront of every decision I take,” he said.
“I am mindful of the need to consider our young people’s mental health and well-being; the many difficulties they have faced with great resilience; and the significant disruption to their learning.”
The minister said his department will now write to all schools, parents and students to outline the plans in more detail.
SSUNI President Cormac Savage added students would be particularly please to have heard the Minister use the phrase ‘cut the content’ which the union has been campaigning for.
“Since SSUNI’s inception we have always made the case for timely announcements and the integral inclusion of student voice in decision making. Both principles have today been delivered on,” he said.
“It is now imperative that contingency planning continues to take place in a robust and detailed manner and that our students continue to be heard and listened to by the Minister and Department of Education.
“I hope this is the beginning of new found attitude to and appreciation for the value of student voice within our government.”
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