With the harsh reality of the cancellation of this summer’s GCSE and A-level exams crashing down on schools, it was, of course, less-than-welcome news that Ofqual will now require exam boards to offer exams in all GCSE and A-level subjects (as well as five at AS) this autumn. 

Timing has not been a strength of the body responsible for assessment in the UK during this pandemic - and nor has communication. Once more, Ofqual has shot wide of the mark and shown little or no understanding of the process by which learners learn and by which teachers teach. 

A lot of us are now left scratching our heads and asking how the finalised plans for the autumn series of exams are going to work at all.

At the forefront of all of this are (or should be) the students. They will be expected to sit exams, in their usual format...with no adaptations. So, after cancelling the summer series this year, on the premise that too much learning had been lost, Ofqual now expects that learners will be able to catch up on the lost pandemic learning, fill the gaps in their knowledge that will have been created through the use of non-exam format assessment content - and do all that with just a month or two of input, following the extended summer break from learning. It is simply farcical. 

Autumn GCSE and A-level exams: Setting students up to fail

Of course, at some point, we all require an element of normality. But trying to shoehorn a full exam series in, with no concessions for lost learning or the huge disruption to learning caused by the teacher-assessed grading process, seems nonsensical. It feels like the students are being set up to fail. 

Those who do not get the grades they require this summer will be in the impossible position of catching up while still trying to catch up. 

Those of us who work with students who rely on the autumn series know that it is a tough time to sit exams, and that is in much simpler circumstances. How schools and educational centres are going to prepare learners for full examinations this autumn is hard to see. 

Covering the sheer amount content that will need to be taught will be impossible within the limitations of time (which is already tight in normal life). And teaching exam skills and the additional study skills needed for learners to revise effectively is going to stretch well beyond the realms of reality. 

If you were in the classroom, you’d know that. If you’d listened to any teachers, you’d know that. If you’d talked to a learner, you’d know that. 

But these decisions are based (again) on fruitless consultations, which have become, frankly, rather tiresome.

Ofqual hasn’t learned from the pandemic

In theory, getting a sense of the opinions of the people who are most affected by any decision is the best way to view a problem through a fully informed lens - unless, of course, you choose not to listen to a word they say. 

The autumn exam series will go ahead despite the fact that 58 per cent of non-exam-board respondents to the consultation said they disagreed with it. Only 25 per cent said that they agreed.

This response is no surprise, really - it is plain to see that those most disadvantaged by the pandemic will not benefit from this additional series of exams. In fact, the likelihood is that they will become more disadvantaged.  

The reality is that moving back to a rigid pre-Covid examination series shows that nothing has been learned at all from the pandemic when it comes to assessment. 

It also shows that there is no trust in the ability of teachers to give grades. It has been announced that autumn grades, in all subjects apart from art and design, will be based solely on exam performance. This signals the switch back to traditional examination processes. 

So, after all of the work that has been put in by teachers over the past two years around internal verification and assessment design, there is clearly not even an inkling that teacher-assessed grades or centre-assessed grades are going to be a factor in assessing terminal exams in the future. 

It may come as a relief for some - but for those who were hoping that finally there may be some reform around exams, you may be waiting a while longer. 

We all want to close the door on Covid and get back some level of normality. But in schools, we have learned so much throughout this pandemic. What has remained consistent throughout is that we put the children first. The question is: has Ofqual?

Adam Riches is an assistant principal and senior leader for teaching and learning, specialist leader in education and head of English. He tweets @TeachMrRiches