Labour is calling for students to receive advance notice of exam topics by 1 January as part of its own plan to ensure that A levels and GCSEs are fairly awarded next summer.

The party is also suggesting that next year’s grade distribution is pegged to 2020, in recognition that students will likely be competing with the 2020 and 2021 cohorts for education, employment and training opportunities.

The news comes as new analysis from Labour shows that students entering their final GCSE year have been out of school for a quarter of Year 10 - missing 47 days each on average.

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The Department for Education and Ofqual unveiled proposals for the 2022 GCSE and A-level exam series in July - but final decisions on the consultation, which closed on 1 August, have yet to be published.

GCSEs and A levels 2022: What plans will be in place for exams?

In the absence of a firm plan from the government, Labour has devised its own proposals for fair assessment in the 2021-22 academic year. These include:

• Adaptations to exams: students should receive notice of exam topics by 1 January and should be offered greater question choice. Back-up papers should also be prepared for the November and January series in the event that students are unwell or isolating.
• A clear plan B: two standardised assessment points in the spring term with nationally consistent materials could be used to award grades if severe further disruption means that exams cannot go ahead.
• Extra support: Labour’s Covid recovery plan would expand small group tutoring to all who need it, introduce free breakfast clubs and extracurricular activities and put qualified mental health support in every school.
• A fair grading system: grade distribution in 2022 should be pegged to 2020 in recognition that students will likely be competing with 2020 and 2021 cohorts.

A report from the Institute for Government, written by former DfE adviser Sam Freedman, previously suggested that the fairest option for GCSE and A-level grades next year is to peg them to 2020 levels, rather than 2019 standards.

Launching its proposals today, Labour said students are returning to school without knowing how they will be examined this academic year due to the government’s “inaction”.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green accused ministers of showing “no care” for young people’s futures amid a “vague” consultation on exams.

“Pupils, parents and schools need certainty, but the Conservatives still have not got a plan in place, despite having more than a year to prepare,” she said.

“Young people are returning to classrooms this week with no idea how they will be assessed. They are being let down again by a Conservative government which has shown no care for their futures, providing only a vague consultation for this year’s exams series.”

Ms Green added: “Labour has today set out a clear plan for exams, just as we have set out a recovery plan which would enable every child to bounce back from the pandemic and reach their potential. The Conservatives must start matching this ambition for children’s learning and their futures.”

Shortly before the end of summer term, the DfE launched a consultation for the 2022 exam series - which included plans to give schools in England some choice over the topics being assessed.

The consultation also set out proposals to provide exam aids to students, as well as advance information on the focus of GCSE and A-level exam content.

Tom Middlehurst, curriculum and inspection specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We share Labour’s concern that students are about to begin extremely important exam years but still do not know exactly what those exams will look like come next summer.

“Schools, colleges and students all need and deserve clarity from the government as quickly as possible.”

He added: “We are also waiting on the arrangements for a contingency plan in case exams don’t go ahead, and clarity regarding what standard will be applied to the distribution of grades next summer after two years of turbulence.

“Frankly, it is not good enough that all these questions remain unresolved, and we need to see a far greater sense of urgency from the government and Ofqual.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, said: “We have pressed for months for the government to provide information by the start of the autumn term, not only on adaptations to examinations for 2022 but also on its contingency plans. Students deserve clarity and staff need this information so they can take it into account when planning for the new academic year.

“There are no guarantees that the government will meet this timescale, which will be problematic for next year’s exam cohorts.”

He added: “Even though 2023 might seem a long way off for ministers, schools, colleges and their students cannot afford for time to be wasted in the new academic year.

“It is not unreasonable to expect the government to be looking forward to 2023‘s exam series to avoid the late decisions which have caused so many issues over the past two years.”

Ofqual said it was considering how best to grade qualifications in 2022 to be as fair as possible to students, but a decision was not expected until the autumn.

A DfE spokesperson said: “Exams are the fairest form of assessment and we intend for them to take place next summer. Alongside Ofqual, we have already set out proposals for next year’s exams - including information about topics and exam aids - that recognise the disruption the pandemic has caused to education, and we will confirm those plans early this term.

“We have also committed to an ambitious education recovery plan, including an investment to date of over £3 billion and a significant expansion of our tutoring programme, to support children and young people to make up for learning lost during the pandemic.”