Employers will be 'realistic' about school leavers' grades after pandemic, Minister suggests

Education has faced some level of Covid disruption for the last three school years, with many of those due to sit their A-Levels this summer having their GCSEs cancelled when the first lockdown was announced in 2020.

However, Mims Davies told The Yorkshire Post that employers have “opened up their minds and hearts and are letting people come through the door that they wouldn’t normally look at”.

Speaking on a visit to Leeds on Thursday, Employment Minister Ms Davies was asked whether there will be any flexibility for students who maybe do not achieve their expected grades this year.

She said: ”We're being realistic and I think that's what Kickstart and other programmes have done in terms of employment opportunities.

“Helping people understand that maybe young people might not be as rounded or have the grades that people would normally be looking for”.

She added: “Employers have opened up their minds and their hearts, that letting people come through the door that they wouldn't normally look at.”

Earlier this week, exam boards published the details of the topics that will appear in this year’s papers to try and mitigate the impact of the last two disruptive years on grades.

The advance information is not intended to reduce the amount of content pupils need to be taught or tested on.

In all subjects – with the exception of English literature, history, ancient history, geography and art and design – pupils will be given notice about the topics to be covered in this summer’s exams.

The information is designed to aid their preparation and help focus their revision.

Materials will not give so much detail about the likely questions that the answers can be pre-prepared or learned by rote, exam boards have advised.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “Exams are the best and fairest form of assessment, and we firmly intend for them to take place this summer, giving students a fair chance to show what they know.

He added: “We know students have faced challenges during the pandemic, which is why we’ve put fairness for them at the forefront of our plans. The information to help with their revision published today, as well as the range of other adaptations, will make sure they can do themselves justice in their exams this summer.”