Letter to Government concerning the plight of GCSE and A Level private candidates

Letter to Government concerning the plight of GCSE and A Level private candidates

The Exam House this morning has written to Government concerning the plight of GCSE and A Level private candidates.

The Exam House, 8a Lower Grosvenor Place. London. SW1W OEN.

Rt. Hon Gavin Williamson MP Parliamentary Office House of Commons London SW1A 0AA

18th January 2021 

Dear Secretary of State,

I trust this find you safe and well. I write to you in the capacity of running an out of school exam centre The Exam House. Providing pupils who would not otherwise have the opportunity to sit GCSEs or A levels the chance.

We feel that well run GCSE and A level exams are, by their very nature, socially distant and safe. 

By cancelling GCSE and A Levels you cancel the target for most pupils both in school and out of school. 

So called 'continual assessment' is toxic for a lot of pupils. Especially the most vulnerable to lack of attainment. Be it the poor working-class boys. 

 Cancelling exams has put any individual who was outside of the school system at a huge disadvantage. These often-determined private candidates, many under their own volition go to enormous lengths to sit exams. Reasons are wide, including resits, disabilities and vulnerable pupils who are prevented from going to school or college and older adult learners. 

Cancelling GCSE and A level exams is a mass exercise of dumbing down and exclusion.   

It is not too late to provide the much-needed U turn.  

Yours sincerely

Edward Webster 

The letter can be found in a PDF form here.