Statement from the Minister for Education, Senator Tracey Vallois

“I will continue to meet with officers in the Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills to discuss the latest announcement by the UK Education Secretary. It has been announced, this lunchtime, that GCSEs, A-levels and AS-level exams will not go ahead in England this summer and that teacher assessments will replace these examinations. These decisions taken by Ofqual and the UK Government regarding exams and qualifications also apply to students in Jersey.

When further information becomes available, schools will be informed and students in Jersey will be offered the same opportunities and support as pupils in the UK. 

We will do all we can to ensure that students’ education is disrupted as little as possible and to ensure that results are fair and robust.
 
Exams are going ahead as planned in secondary schools and colleges in Jersey this January.
 
Schools and colleges in Jersey are in regular communication with colleagues on-Island and in the UK to ensure that students can complete their education with the least amount of disruption, while still following the latest public health advice. Students have already been offered and taken up CV-19 tests to reduce risk.
 
Plans are already in place to make sure that students are not at a disadvantage by sitting January examinations. They have been supported this week by teachers and lecturers with teaching sustained by a mixture of face-to-face and online tuition last term. There will be re-sit opportunities should vocational tests go ahead in the Summer and, if not, we have robust assessment data to ensure that all students achieve the results which reflect their true potential.
 
Some confusion may have arisen as the UK Department for Education decided late yesterday to leave the choice of whether vocational examination are run, or not with the individual schools and colleges. Unlike schools and colleges in Jersey, many schools and colleges in England were in lockdown in varying parts of the country last term and may not, in all cases, have established online learning to the degree we have here.”