Pupils to be given advance notice of exam focus after 18 months of Covid disruption

Students will also be offered exam aids and a choice of topics in some exams during the 2022 summer series, the Government has confirmed.

One Yorkshire headteacher has described the plans - which will see more pupils higher grades next year than before the pandemic to provide a “safety net” - as “very sensible”.

The decisions laid out today by the Department for Education (DFE) are expected to see results are expected to return to normal standards by 2023.

Pepe Di’Iasio, headteacher at Wales High School, Rotherham, said he was thankful for the “clarity” the announcement provides.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “It will certainly provide some certainty and confidence to our staff and we and we can then relay that to our students.

“Many students have been asking what the grade boundaries will be, how it will impact their applications to universities and whether they should even apply this year.”

He added: “What this announcement does is support students through the next couple of years so that there’s a fairness to it.”

The move comes after the proportion of GCSE and A-level entries awarded the top grades surged to a record high this year after results were determined by teachers amid cancelled exams due to Covid-19.

The DfE and exams regulator Ofqual have confirmed that a choice of topics in some GCSE exams, such as English literature and history, will be offered, and support materials in exams, such as formulae sheets in maths and physics, will be provided.

Advance information on summer exams will be given in early February to help students focus their revision over the final months.

The final decisions come after a joint consultation launched in July.

Grade boundaries will be set by exam boards reflecting a midway point between 2021 and 2019 – so more students get higher grades in 2022 than before the pandemic – to reflect the recovery period.

But the grading standards for students who are due to sit their exams in summer 2023 are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Students will receive their AS and A-level results on August 18 and their GCSE results on August 25 – a week apart.

It comes after A-level and GCSE results day were both held in the same week last summer.

It is the Government’s intention that exams will take place next year, but the Government and Ofqual have also published plans for using teacher-assessed grades as a contingency measure if exams cannot run.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “We’ve put fairness at the heart of our approach and listened to pupils, teachers and parents.

“The measures we’re putting in place will help reduce the impact of the significant disruption this group of young people have had to face – allowing them to move on to the next stage of their lives.

“We are committed to rigorous standards being fairly applied, and exams are the fairest way to assess students, which is why they will take place next year.”

Dr Jo Saxton, Ofqual’s chief regulator, said: “The interests of learners are central to Ofqual’s mandate. For us, that means fairness.

“It means qualifications that stand the test of time, that employers, colleges and universities can trust.

“Our grading approach will recognise the disruption experienced by students taking exams in 2022. It will provide a safety net for those who might otherwise just miss out on a higher grade, while taking a step back to normal.

“Exams and other formal assessments are the best and fairest means of assessing students’ achievements.

“Choice in some subjects and advance information to support revision are intended to provide support for all as we emerge from the pandemic.”