GCSE and A-Level students to be given exam ‘clues’ with examiners encouraged to be ‘generous’ after pandemic

GCSE and A-level pupils to get advance sight of topics appearing on papers to help focus their revision

Pupils have had a tough two years learning during the pandemic (PA)

Clues will be given to students sitting A-level and GCSE exams this year as part of government plans to mitigate the impact of disrupted learning during the Covid pandemic.

From Monday, pupils can get advance sight of what topics are likely to appear on their test papers. Examiners are also being asked to be more generous in some cases to "maximise fairness".

Tests are scheduled to go ahead in the summer for the first time in two years after being cancelled because of the virus.

The scrapped exams meant that students' A-level and GCSE grades were determined by non-traditional means.

Last year, teenagers across the country were teacher-assessed on a combination of mock tests, course work and essays, resulting in grade inflation.

These assessments were brought in following the chaotic algorithm system implemented in the previous year, which was widely condemned as being unfair.

Nadhim Zahawi said the changes would let pupils ‘do themselves justice’ (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

This year, grade boundaries could be more generous in some cases, with a lower score across papers needed to secure a particular grade, but examiners' generosity could be more wide-ranging, exam boards have said.

Regulator Ofqual previously announced that grade boundaries will be set roughly between 2019 pre-pandemic levels and boundaries in 2021, when teacher assessment was used to set grades.

The advance sight of what topics might appear is not intended to reduce the amount of content pupils need to be taught or tested on, the Department for Education said.

In all subjects - with the exception of English literature, history, ancient history, geography and art and design - pupils will be given notice about the topics to be covered in their exams.

The information is designed to aid their preparation and help focus revision and will not contain specifics about the questions that will appear on papers, DfE added.

The revision help is announced just a day after The Sunday Times reported that private schools had "gamed" the Covid system to give their pupils more top A-level grades.

Teachers at dozens of private schools at least doubled the proportion of A*s handed out to their A-level pupils last year compared with 2019, when children last sat public exams, according to the paper’s analysis.

Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, said the changes would ensure students can "do themselves justice" this summer.

An Ofqual spokesperson said: "As well as the other adaptations discussed in the Joint Council for Qualifications technical briefing today, there will be generous grading.

"This will be delivered after marking is complete and when senior examiners set grade boundaries.

"It is likely to mean grade boundaries will be a little lower than they might have been in a normal year, but grade boundaries are never set in advance, and so we cannot be precise at this point in the year."

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said the release of the advance information had come "too late".

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "We look forward to seeing the information being published to help students focus their revision for this summer's exams.

"It is extremely important that this really does help to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on learning, and we will be studying it in detail to ensure that it provides fairness to students of all ability levels."