I have a Year 11 pupil in and out of school due to covid, self isolation and teachers self isolating. She is stressed and anxious about the current pandemic and is already concerned even after all her hard work how the lack of in class teaching and missing learning from year 10 will affect her grades.

I feel the government needs to rethink a change in their planned go ahead of GCSE exams and allow the government, exam boards, teachers and those around them to create a fair system of teacher awarded grades. Allowing the government to change this and prepare now leads to a better system then then previous year 11 children had to endure. Changing the grade boundaries and allowing teachers to award these grades would also cover the lack of curriculum taught and what the children are missing from their learning.

These children have been through enough- having lost a significant amount of learning in yr 10 and now trying to catch up with staff shortages and remote learning. They are also struggling with the mental health worries a pandemic brings and family life changes and potential poverty with families out of work. I employ the government to consider how all of these immense pressures are fair on our young adults and to take a look at how last years exams fiasco effected all those children. 

Wales has already cancelled GCSE exams and I would like a similar reassurance that our children will be treated the same. Our children deserve more and I hope the government will make the right decisions to support these young adults not hinder them.