The Exam House —

Autumn exams 2021 consultation answers

Questions Ofqual are asking for the consultation of Autumn exams 2021 and the answers given from the consultation:

Question 1: To what extent do you agree or disagree that students who receive a teacher assessed grade in summer 2021 should be eligible to enter for the corresponding:

GCSE exams in autumn 2021 AS exams in autumn 2021 A level exams in autumn 2021?

Question 2:

To what extent do you agree or disagree that exam boards should be able to accept entries for the autumn exams from students who did not enter to receive a grade in summer 2021 but who, in the opinion of the exam board, would have entered for the summer 2021 exams had they taken place?

Question 3:

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the autumn 2021 exams should be open to all students, regardless of any actual or planned intended entry in summer 2021? GCSEs AS A level

Question 4: Do you have any comments on which students should be able to take exams in autumn 2021?

Question 5: To what extent do you agree or disagree that students entering GCSE, AS or A levels in autumn 2021 should be assessed on their performance in exams only?

Question 6: To what extent do you agree or disagree that students entering GCSE, AS or A level art and design should be assessed on their performance in an exam board set task only?

Question 7: To what extent do you agree or disagree that students’ work in response to the art and design tasks should be marked by the exam boards?

Question 8: Do you have any comments in our proposal that, with the exception of art and design qualifications, grades should be determined by students’ performance in exams only?

Question 9: Do you have any comments on our proposed approach to art and design qualifications?

The Answers:

Detail of outcome

Ofqual have decided that:

  1. Any student who receives a centre-assessed grade this summer, or who an exam board reasonably believes would have entered for the exams in summer 2021 had they taken place, can take the corresponding GCSE, AS and A level exams in autumn 2021. In addition, any exam candidate who was aged at least 16 on 31 August 2021 can take the GCSE English language and maths exams, as is usually the case.

  2. Ofqual will require the exam boards to offer exams in all GCSE and A level subjects and to offer AS exams in biology, chemistry, further maths, maths and physics. Each exam board can decide whether to offer exams in the other AS subjects if it wishes to do so.

  3. An exam board will not have to offer exams in any subject for which it has received no entries by the entry deadline.

  4. The exams will be in their normal format, with no adaptations being made. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled students.

  5. Except for art and design qualifications, grades will be determined by students’ performance in the exams only – there will be no non-exam assessments.

  6. For art and design qualifications, grades will be determined by students’ performance in a task set and marked by the exam board.

  7. AS and A level exams will be held in October and GCSE exams in November and December. We will also allow, but not require, the exam boards to offer GCSE English language and GCSE maths exams in January 2022 for students who were eligible to enter the autumn exams in those subjects but did not do so.

  8. The usual arrangements for appeals and reviews of marking will apply to the exam series.

  9. An exam board must issue a replacement certificate to a student showing the higher of an autumn 2021 or summer 2021 grade in response to a request from that student. We will not require the exam boards to provide replacement certificates for students showing the higher of the summer 2020 and the autumn 2021 grade.