Gavin Williamson has over played his hand by cancelling GCSE and A levels

 Gavin Williamson has over played his hand by cancelling GCSE and A levels

 Gavin Williamson has over played his hand by cancelling the GCSE and A levels.

We at the Exam House believe he has. Instead of this cancelling of exams a simple exercise of small changing the dates of exams. Perhaps cancelling one or two of the early ones in April and early May. While keeping the majority. This would have kept the whole cohort the pupils who had exams focused on revising for these impending examinations rather than being lost.

Instead, the madness of cancelling all wholesale GCSE and A level exams rather than taking a view over time has mean these children have essentially been lost. There is a real danger of these pupils becoming increasingly feral. Lost to the education system and being utterly failed by the state.Children will not know the difference between term and holiday. The parents of the GCSE and A level pupils would have become totally hamstrung in their attempt to help motivate their children. These children increasingly cannot see the point of engaging in learning or revising.The idea that suddenly schools will be able to fire up online learning while refusing to provide the opportunity for GCSE or A levels to sit the majority of exams is at best hopeful. I can see how the early exams in April and early may can be delayed, however most exams will be in late May and June.

From a managerial point of view it could not have been easier to put on exams as well as provide sensible distancing rules. Its exams after all with desks apart!

Our prediction is we will loose a whole generation of exam candidates. It is a total mess for them all because Williamson failed to use discretion and take a scale to the events unfolding. A levels and GCSEs have been cancelled replaced with the teachers or tutors best guess based on pass performance. -E.g. home work.  While also ranking the pupil in a class. Unbelievably Ofqual have said that schools are not obliged to take into account the work down while at home on this lock down.  You couldn't make this up. Even they messed up any chance of motivation.

Mr Williamson did say exams would be put back on as the earliest possibility. For those who actually want an exam experience. So if he wants this why does it have to be in Autumn? Surely it is June. Just a small delay from when they should have been taking their GCSEs and A levels. Allowing universities and colleges to receive the results before their term starts. Basically pushing exam results back a couple of weeks while maintaining momentum. If Mr Williamson can fix this. He needs to act fast.