Private Candidates Ofqual Guidance 2021
Ofqual have produced guidance for Private Candidates. on how exam centres can deal with private candidates.
Get in touch if you would like to find out how we can help GCSE and A level private candidates.
Telephone: 02071128105 Email: Exams@theexamhouse.co.uk Which have been para phrased below.
Private candidates
Private candidates should be assessed in a similar way to other students, using a range of evidence.
This could include taking the exam board provided assessment materials in a suitable form or be focused on other sources of evidence.
Ofqual have produced guidance. (found here)
Private candidates should have the same opportunity as other students to be assessed on what they have learnt, but centres will need to bear in mind the particular circumstances of their students in the approach they take to determining grades, including the fact that the centre often will not already have previous evidence on which to base a judgement.
Where a centre accepts private candidates, exam boards will expect centres to provide to private candidates a description of the main elements of their approach to assessment before they register with them.
This is likely to mean that centres decide to use the full range of available flexibility in how grades are determined for these students to, for example:
• draw on evidence from other educational institutions in line with the point above
• conduct assessments remotely if necessary
• set new centre-devised assessments that reflect what the student has been taught and the specification
• rely more heavily on the board-provided assessment materials
• exceptionally, conduct recorded oral assessments with the students where insufficient other evidence is available Boards will also provide guidance on potential combinations of evidence that could be used for a specific subject.
In all cases, the head of centre will make sure they have collected sufficient evidence to ensure that they are able to confirm that that the grades are a true representation of student performance. Exam boards will produce further guidance that assists those centres that may wish to determine grades for private candidates in doing so.
Here is the OCR infographic.
