A-level Students

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 30 March 2022.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 2:27, 30 March 2022

Well, on the point in relation to exams, I do understand, obviously, that there'll be students this year sitting external exams for the first time, and some of the support that I've outlined in my answer to Russell George is intended specifically to support those students. The challenge that we have been wrestling with throughout, really, is the loss of teaching time. That's the fundamental question that learners are themselves struggling with, and the judgment to pursue exams this year was partly reflecting the position across the UK, and I didn't want learners in Wales to be disadvantaged by that, but, equally, the experience of centre-determined grades for last year meant even less teaching time was available, because teachers' time was taken up in actually making the assessment. So, that's part of the thinking behind the decision to pursue exams for this summer.

The longer term question is an important question. I do think that, in the last two years, we've understood that different means of assessment have a different contribution to make. As he will know, Qualifications Wales are undertaking a review at the moment of examinations generally at GCSE. Some of that is around course content, but actually there's a very important discussion to be had about the balance between examination and non-examination, and also the points in the year at which assessments take place, and I hope that that process, that review process, which is open for everyone to contribute to, will lead to ambitious reform in that space.