Dear Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13 Students
I hope that this letter finds you and your family well. I hope that you have started your week of learning at home well, applying yourself to your lessons and assignments, continuing your good efforts.
You may have seen that further information was announced today by Kirsty Williams, the Minister for Education, about your summer 2021 qualification arrangements. She has written a letter to all learners outlining these arrangements, and I have included the link to this for your information below.
This follows on from the announcement in November that GCSE, AS and A level exams in 2021 were cancelled. As you will see in the letter from the Minister, she explains that the approach in 2021 will be
- non-examination assessments such as coursework or oral assessment (where these are already part of the subject you are taking);
- internal assessments which will run from 22 February to 23 April, will be set by the WJEC but marked by your teachers;
- external assessments which will be run from 17 May to 29 June, will be set by the WJEC and marked by the WJEC.
These will be the only assessments which will contribute to your 2021 grades. You will note that you are not expected to complete the internal or external assessments until after the February half term holiday.
The WJEC will provide information to schools about the internal and external assessments in advance so that your teachers can help to prepare you. We will also decide which dates in the assessment ‘window’ you will sit your assessments at St Cenydd. This will mean that you will not be continually assessed, that you will have time to complete the assessments, and that we can take into consideration periods of self-isolation etc. in our planning of these dates.
This is the link for the letter from the Minister to learners across Wales
https://hwb-team-storage.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Documents/Web+team/File+store/2020-12-16+-+Assessments+-+learners+letter+-+ENG.pdf
If you have any questions about this announcement, please do not hesitate to be in contact with me.
There will be further information in January about each of your subjects from the WJEC and, of course, we will share this with you as soon as we have it. In the meantime, I am going to repeat what I said in my letter to you all in November. What can you do now to ensure that you get the grades you are aspiring to this summer?
- You will be able to achieve the grades you desire by working at that level; work hard, focus on the assignments you are given, follow the advice of your teachers, and reach out to us for support whenever you need it.
- You know that, if you try your best in your lessons, and complete all of the work that is set by your teachers to the best of your ability, you have nothing to worry about whatever the assessment system. You will have lots of opportunities this year to demonstrate your talent and show off your ability.
- You know that your teachers and support staff will make sure that you are treated fairly and equitably, and that we will do all that we can to help you achieve the best that you can. You know that we have your best interests at heart.
Quite simply, you should aspire (know what grades you want and are capable of) and achieve (do all that you can to make these grades your reality).
I hope that you are continuing to work hard this week, and that you have then planned a well-deserved break over Christmas to relax and recharge.
I wish you and your families a safe and enjoyable Christmas. Please look after yourself, making safe decisions for you, your friends, your community and your loved ones.
With warmest wishes
Miss Collins
