GCSE students in England to get Covid support

Students will receive formulae and equation sheets for maths, physics and combined science GCSE exams

GCSE students in England will get formulae and equations in their maths and science exams under plans to limit the impact of Covid.

The Department for Education (DfE) has asked the exams regulator, Ofqual, to extend the extra support for another year.

Most students due to sit exams next summer were in Year 7 when the first national lockdown was introduced.

Teaching unions have welcomed the proposal, which is being consulted on.

The DfE said it would mean "enhanced formulae and equation sheets" for students in maths, physics and combined science GCSEs.

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Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: "Young people taking GCSEs next year will be the last who experienced two years of national closures during secondary school and it's right that we recognise that with some additional support."

Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for school leaders' union NAHT, said there was "no need for an additional test of memory" in the exams.

However, she said it was "disappointing that this decision has been made so late on" in the run-up to pupils taking mocks next month.

The Association of School and College Leaders also welcomed the consultation, but argued that students should be given the materials "on a permanent basis".

"This would reduce some of the stress of exam preparation and ensure students can focus on core knowledge and skills," said Geoff Barton, its general secretary.

Exams in England had been due to return to 2019 arrangements this year, until this latest announcement.

They were cancelled across the UK in 2020 and 2021 and grades were based on teachers' assessments, leading to a spike in top results.

When students returned to exam halls in 2022, they were given extra support to reflect the disruption they had experienced as a result of the pandemic.

Some of those measures remained in place for exams in England in 2023. GCSE papers in the same subject were spaced apart more than they were before the pandemic, allowing for rest and revision.

Students had formulae and equation sheets in some subjects, and were not tested on unfamiliar vocabulary in modern foreign language exams.

But, unlike in the rest of the UK, GCSE students in England were not given advance information about the topics on which they would be tested.

England was also the only nation this summer to bring grades back in line with 2019, with Wales and Northern Ireland planning a slower return to pre-pandemic grading.

As a result, the drop in pass grades was steepest in England.

Last month, colleges told the BBC they were having to expand class sizes and hire exam halls to cope with a rising number of pupils taking compulsory maths and English GCSE resits.

Following the DfE's announcement about formulae in maths and science GCSEs, a Welsh Government spokeswoman said exams in equivalent qualifications in Wales "include formulae as standard, and this will be continuing."