As you will have seen the government has, this week, published guidance for how GCSE and Level 1/2 courses will be assessed in 2022. The last two years have seen huge disruption in the exam series for Year 11 students, as well as interruptions to learning for both individuals and the whole cohort.

Please be assured that OfQual (the regulator for exams) and us as a school, are well aware of this and have worked really hard to ensure that each and every learner has the best opportunity to achieve their maximum potential.

Firstly, it is pretty certain that exams will take place this year. We have been working with this assumption already so there is no change here. We will be running a further set of Trials over the next half term. This will not be in the format of a ‘Trials week’ and individual subjects will communicate dates. The aim of these ‘Trials’ is to ensure that students are prepared for their final exams and that they have another opportunity to practise their technique in preparation for May and June.

Secondly, individual subjects have adjusted their syllabuses to take account of the disruption in learning over the last two years. This is normally in the form of giving a clear steer on topics in certain papers or giving more choice of topics

Each subject has been reflecting on the information from their Exam Board and they will be tailoring their final revision and exam prep in light of what they know. This means that each student have all the resources and guidance that they need for revision and this will be in the context of the guidance we have received.

The final thing that you may have heard on the news is around ‘grade boundaries’. We need to emphasise that the awarding of grades is a ‘competitive process’. How grade boundaries work is a complicated process, which changes every year. The key message is that there are real opportunities for Dene Magna students to achieve really high grades and ensure that they are prepared for the next stage in their learning. At no point can this be seen as an opportunity to ‘take our foot off the pedal’. Indeed, the opposite is true, let’s power on through and take advantage of the opportunity to get the next grade.

We are confident that the current Year 11 students have a great opportunity. We have kept teaching throughout the lockdowns and students have remained focussed. This is a great credit to them.

So, the challenge is simple:

Each student needs to:

·        Work hard on their revision at home

·        Continue to attend interventions to ensure that there are no gaps in their learning

·        Listen to their teachers

·        Take this opportunity to demonstrate what they are capable of

With over 150 applications for Dene Magna Sixth Form, and many students applying for apprenticeships and college, this is an exciting time and we are confident that the year group will rise to the challenge in true Dene Magna spirit.

Here are a couple of advance dates for you:

Thursday March 3^rd: Year 11 Parent/Carer Information Evening (the last in our ‘Cheese and (no) Wine’ series looking at final preparation and support for exams)

Thursday March 31^st: Year 11 Parents/Carers Evening (A Virtual Event).