January Exams update and booking Covid-19 tests

Dear parents/carers

I know both yourselves and your children must be feeling extremely worried about the current news and messages involved with the lockdown and the exams planned in the summer and in January.

Thank you to you all for sending me your concerns , I have read every single one and I appreciate the time you have spent to write to me. I also appreciate the levels of anxieties involved for some of you around Covid and so would like to offer the following information to help you understand and make an informed decision for yourselves.

1. The government have shared that the summer exams will not take place as we know it. I am awaiting further guidance as to what the FORMAL assessment will look like, and it is unlikely for it to rest just on a predicted grades or for there to be an exam. It will require assessed work which we will know later this week what that might look like across the subjects. This will mean that it is more important than ever that students continue to attend online lessons and engage with every piece of work that is set.

2.  January Exams – The government has given the decision to schools and colleges to decide if it is right for their school to cancel or continue with the January exams. Nearly all CLF Post 16 students have been very fortunate to access all lessons since September on site with specialist teachers. I know there will have been short periods for some for isolation or illness, but in the main students have received a good quality curriculum and strong preparation for their exams this January. Students have worked hard to revise and prepare and feel ready for the exam and so it is only right we allow those students the chance to choose to sit the exam and perform to the best of their ability. We have very strong protocols in place for the exam to mitigate the risk of transmission; face masks, distance placed seats, hand hygiene.

3. Before the exams we are also offering every student the opportunity to opt into or opt out of a lateral flow test the day before your timetabled exam which will give everyone the safe knowledge that students are Covid free and test negative and keep us all safe.

Each student will need to book their test by clicking on this link. 

When students arrive on site for their test, they must arrive on time and follow good hand hygiene, social distancing, and wear a face mask. The tests take place in the Eye and students will need a smart phone to register (we can support students who do not own smart phones). The tests take 5 minutes to do and involves taking a sample of saliva from the mouth and nose – which students do themselves using our mirrors and private cubicles. The tests are not mandatory, they are optional for those students who wish to have confidence they are not carrying the virus and are committed to their civic duty of keeping others safe.

4. If students chose not to sit the exam, I am not able to assure you as to what the alternatives are at this point. The exam boards are unable to tell us as centres what the alternatives will be, but they have suggested that no student will be penalised or disadvantaged if they do not sit their exam due to COVID 19. I appreciate that students and parents are anxious and if students are able to work through this , feel supported by the Post 16 team and sit the exam, this would be my recommendation. But ultimately this decision needs to rest with the student as an individual and not me or the Post 16 team. So if your son/daughter feels unable to sit the exam due to COVID 19 , they will need evidence of a positive case or shielding in your household that supports the need for them to isolate, making them unable to sit the exam. We can they try to support this decision for special consideration from the exam board.

For students who are choosing to sit the exam, there is an opportunity to come onto the JCA site the lesson before the exam and have a revision session and take thier Covid test if they wish, this of course is optional. Teachers have contacted students about this so please encourage your son/daughter to liaise directly with them if they intend to join a revision session.

I hope this explains matters to you currently and the rationale to continue and to provide the opportunity for students to sit the exam. The broader picture is very fast moving and it is ever changing. We are doing our best to keep ahead of these changes and support students and staff to the best way we can. I apologise if you feel this has felt late in my response but it has required very careful planning to make the right decision for all students in our Academy.

Many thanks, take care and stay safe.

Kath Cooper
Senior Principal
Post 16