Welsh Government facing calls to outline its GCSE and A-level plans

The Welsh Conservatives have called on Wales’ Education Minister to set out his plans for next summer’s GCSE and A-levels.

It comes after the UK Government confirmed pupils in England would be sitting exams once again, having been scrapped in favour of teacher-assessed grades due to the coronavirus pandemic.

South Wales East Senedd Member Laura Anne Jones, who is the Welsh Conservatives’ Shadow Education Minister, said students, parents and teachers “need to know as soon as possible what is going to be expected of them next summer when it comes to A-Levels and GCSEs”.

Ms Jones added: “We wanted to see the Education Minister [Jeremy Miles MS] outline his plans before the new academic year started to give teachers and students plenty of time to plan ahead, but our calls appear to have fallen on deaf ears as there has been nothing but radio silence from the Labour administration.

“We believe exams are the fairest and best form of assessment and hope to see them return this year.

“The education minister must now publicly confirm what is going to happen in our schools to give learners, teachers and parents the clarity they so desperately need.”

Responding to Ms Jones’ comments, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Months ahead of proposals in England, Qualifications Wales confirmed its intention to hold GCSE, AS and A-level exams in 2022, with adaptations to the content assessed to reflect disruption to teaching and learning.

“These adaptations have been put in place to support learners and make the exams fairer for them, and they were confirmed to schools and colleges before the end of the summer term to support planning for the autumn term. 

“Drawing on the experience and learning over the last 18 months, Qualifications Wales are also developing contingency plans in case of any further disruption. These will be announced tomorrow [October 6] along with confirmation of the approach to standards in 2022.”

The spokesperson added: “The Welsh Government is continuing to support teaching and learning for those in qualifications years to support their progression, and we have worked alongside WJEC investing more than £1.9 million to develop and provide resources for different qualifications to help learners with their studies.”