Shrewsbury Colleges Group has confirmed the matters relating to assessment and exams for Year 2 academic students.
The following article goes into quite a lot of depth; however, we think it is important that students, parents and carers feel well informed.
Adjustments to Assessment for Summer 2022
The government’s key principle is that summer exams will go ahead.
However, there are some adjustments to normal processes and the main decisions are summarised as follows:
- Exam boards will provide advance notice of some topics to be tested to enable students to focus their revision effectively. We expect this information to be published no later than 7 February and we will share it with students when available.
- Some adjustments have already been made regarding NEA (coursework) or practical/fieldwork requirements in certain subjects. Where relevant, this has already been factored into schemes of work.
- Exam boards will award grades so that a greater proportion of students will achieve high grades when compared to the last set of exams in 2019. Their intention is to provide a safety net in this transitionary year from CAGs/TAGs back to normal exams.
- A Level and Level 3 CTEC results will be published on Thursday 18 August so please avoid booking holidays at that time. Your son/daughter may need to be here to take advantage of the advice and support available in college.
- GCSE and Level 2 results will be published on Thursday 25 August.
Contingency Arrangements
In the unlikely event that exams are cancelled, the government are asking us to retain evidence during the year so that a Teacher Assessed Grade (TAG) process could be put in place at short notice if necessary.
To this end, some assessments in each subject this year will be used as the evidence base for TAGs (if these were to become necessary). Your son/daughter will be told prior to the assessment if it is one that could be used for this purpose so that they will have sufficient notice to prepare properly. One such assessment will be the January Mock so they should spend some time over the Christmas break preparing for these assessments.
Mock Exams
As usual, we are planning a mock exam period in January. We want students to have a realistic experience of sitting exams in the exam suite, particularly since they did not have this opportunity at the end of Year 1 and did not have a normal GCSE experience either. Students need to take these exams seriously and prepare for them as thoroughly as possible.
- The mock exam window runs from Wednesday 5 January until Tuesday 11 January inclusive.
- We have designated this as study leave for Year 2 students on A Level or mixed programmes of A Level/CTEC courses only.
- Year 2 students only need to attend college for their mock exams in this period and should then return home (or work in the LRC) to continue their revision and complete any other work set by their teachers. The exceptions are as follows:
- Extended Diploma students of Vocational Art & Design, Fashion and Photography will attend all lessons as usual since they have no exam assessments in their course.
- CTEC students of Applied Science, Business, Health & Social Care and IT also have external exams in January which will count towards their final grade. It would be in their interest to attend lessons as usual for exam preparation, so we will expect them to attend unless it clashes with a mock in another subject.
- Year 2 students who are also studying Year 1 subjects should attend their Year 1 lessons as usual unless a lesson clashes with a mock exam (in which case they should attend the mock).
- Year 2 students in Art & Design subjects should make use of the studios during their normal lesson time where possible since they will not have a mock to prepare for in that subject.
- Normal lessons for this group will resume on Wednesday 12 January.
Exam Procedures
Students will receive details about the arrangements in tutorial, but the key messages are:
- Individual timetables will be available on ProPortal: students should check these for dates, times, and room and seat numbers. All exams will take place at English Bridge Campus. They are advised to print out this timetable and bring it with them to the exam.
- Students have been sent an email with details of how to access their timetables. Please ensure that these emails are read in good time before the end of term.
- Students who do not know their way around English Bridge Campus are advised to take the opportunity before the end of term to go to English Bridge Campus and find their way to the exam suite. If they would like assistance, they can email Laurina Rushworth on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she can arrange to show them around.
- Students should wear their face coverings in the building while travelling to and from the exam rooms. They can remove their mask once they are sat at their exam desk (unless they wish to keep it on).
- Students should bring the minimum baggage with them as there is limited space to leave bags during the exams.
- Windows will need to be open for ventilation due to COVID protocols, so the rooms are likely to be cold. Please advise students to dress warmly in several layers; coats won’t be able to be worn due to exam regulations.
We want students to take the mock assessments seriously, but we also need to ensure that they prioritise their public health responsibilities. If a student develops any of the key COVID symptoms and/or is instructed to self-isolate, then they must not attend their mock exam. Please let us know on the day by emailing the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. address with the reason for their non-attendance at the mock.
Thank you
We’d like to thank all students, parents and carers for their ongoing support this term. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and look forward to continuing to work together to ensure the best outcomes for our students in 2022.