Education Minister warns return of exams will ‘not be business as usual’

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Northern Ireland’s Education Minister has announced the return of GCSE and A-Level examinations next year, but warned it would not be “business as usual”.

Mr Weir said that there would be significant reductions in assessment across a range of qualifications.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to severe disruption to examinations.

Schools in Northern Ireland will calculate GCSE, AS and A-Level grades to be awarded to their pupils this year.

The NI exams board CCEA will then review the grades.

Last year the Minister was forced to do a U-turn and award pupils grades predicted by the teachers following an outcry over a statistical process used by CCEA which lowered the grades of thousands of children.

Mr Weir set out a road map for the return of A-Levels and GCSE exams for next year during an appearance at the Assembly on Monday.

(Education Minister Peter Weir)

He said: “A planned return to public examinations is not, however, a return to business as usual.

“I am mindful of the need to consider our young people’s mental health and well-being; the many difficulties they have faced with great resilience; and the significant disruption to their learning.

“In light of this, I have decided that young people will have significantly fewer examinations next year and I am announcing a package of significant reductions in assessment across the range of CCEA qualifications.”

Mr Weir said a unit of study will be omitted from the vast majority of GCSE, AS and A Level qualifications in 2022.

Unit omissions will also be applied across CCEA entry level, occupational studies and vocationally related qualifications.

Mr Weir continued: “I am very conscious that our young people have faced incredible challenges as a result of this pandemic.

“In making these adaptations to examinations, we will ensure that their lives are not defined or held back by the disruption they have experienced.”

The unit of study which will be omitted from the vast majority of GCSE, AS and A Level qualifications in 2022 will be specified by CCEA.

At A and AS Level in a number of practical subjects, where omission of a unit would take away assessment of practical skills, the content of internal assessment tasks will be reduced rather than a unit being omitted.

Arrangements for CCEA qualifications in 2022 have been announced by the Education Minister Peter Weir - https://t.co/mi9tG5DTqu pic.twitter.com/0cM0e1HLOf

— Education NI (@Education_NI) May 17, 2021