Next month, there will be a collective holding of breath as we wait to see what the exam results reveal for this unique cohort of students who did not take their GCSEs in 2020 and so had to navigate their Further Education (FE) learning and assessment with less preparation than any of their previous peers. This is going to be a tense time for policymakers, Ofqual, the exam boards, college and school leaders, teachers and, of course, students and their families. All eyes will be on the A-level results, but there are of course a range of other post-16 educational qualifications which are equally important. A brief glance over news media articles about national exams since 2020 reveals uncertainty about how exam boards, schools and teachers resume so-called “normal” service, particularly given that we are adapting to “new normal” in every aspect of our lives.
