One of the events in the school calendar, that we most look forward to every year, is results day, when we get the opportunity to say congratulations and well done, to our departing Year 11 students.
This year, we find ourselves in the unusual and difficult situation of planning a results day, that we hope marks this important right of passage, whilst maintaining the safe social distancing of our students and colleagues. We have strived to keep everything about results day this year as ‘normal’ as possible, and you will appreciate we have had to make some adjustments to the way we usually do things.
Arrangements for the safe collection of results
To ensure the safety of students and staff we are following the Government guidance so arrangements are as follows:
Students are asked to arrive at the following times:
| Arrival time: | Tutor Group: |
| 9:00 | 11F1 |
| 9:15 | 11F2 |
| 9.30 | 11F3 |
| 9:45 | 11G4 |
| 10:00 | 11G5 |
| 10:15 | 11G6 |
| 10:30 | 11H7 |
| 10:45 | 11H8 |
| 11:00 | 11H9 |
| 11:15 | 11L10 |
| 11:30 | 11L12 |
Students are asked to enter the school site via the pedestrian entrance at the main gate, and sanitise their hands on arrival.
Those arriving on cycles will be directed to the bike sheds available on the day.
Students will be directed to the main concourse, where markers on the floor will indicate safe social distancing whilst they wait to collect results envelopes. Students will collect results envelopes from the Drama centre windows (or the main hall in the event of poor weather.) Space will be provided for students to open their results with their Tutor and the Year Team if they wish to. Students can of course, take their results off site to open with family if they prefer.
A one way system into, out of and around the site will be in place, as well as social distancing measures, which means students will not be able to spend time on site this year. We have to ensure that later arriving students can be safely accommodated too.
Because of restrictions on the number of people we can safely have on site at any one time, we are unable to invite parents and carers to join us on the school site this year. This also means we have had to limit the number of staff onsite to a small team working with students to collect their results, and ensuring all the safety measures are adhered to. We have been asked through the Government guidance to be very clear with parents and carers to NOT gather by the school entrances and instead to arrange to meet up with your children away from the school site.
If students would prefer not to come onto the school site to collect results envelopes, results can be emailed on the afternoon of results day, if you notify the Year Team that this is your preference.
GCSE grades this summer (2020)
You will have no doubt, seen much information in the press over the past week surrounding the process of exam grading this year. You will recall that grades have been arrived at by a different process than students would normally experience because of the Covid19 response and the closing of the traditional ‘exams.’ For this year grades originally put forward by teachers have been subject to ranking and moderation at department level and moderated at school level – there were submitted for a process of standardisation at exam board level. It is this process that changed yesterday outlined in the 4.00pm announcement by the government here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gcse-and-a-level-students-to-receive-centre-assessment-grades?utm_source=18%20August%202020%20C19&utm_medium=Daily%20Email%20C19&utm_campaign=DfE%20C19
Ofqual (the exams regulator) have been clear that teachers and schools must not discuss the process of arriving at grades, or supply information about the grade they submitted, even if asked informally so we thank you in advance for not requesting information surrounding a teacher’s submitted grade.
The grades that students will receive on results day are the Centre Assessed Grades. These are the grades that the school submitted to the exam boards, following our own moderation process. Grades which the school feel, most accurately reflect what each student would have achieved, if the exams had gone ahead as normal. Next week, the exam boards will share their moderated grades and these will be posted to students.
We are expecting that there will be questions about awarded grades, so we ask students, parents and carers, to refer to the guidance that will be included in the results envelope. This guidance will set out the process to follow if you have a query about a grade, or what to do to speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
We understand the Department for Education is also setting up a helpline for parents with questions or concerns over grading.
We hope that results day this year will be as special and memorable as ever, and the small team of us on site are really looking forward to seeing students then.
The Year 11 Team and the School Leadership Team