news story

14th January 2010

MP Calls for 'Humanity' from Exam Boards over Snow Disruption

Northavon MP Steve Webb has written to the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), the body responsible for setting exams, calling for greater flexibility over exam arrangements as poor weather conditions could put local students at a disadvantage.

Hundreds of South Gloucestershire students are this month sitting exams that will count towards their final mark - which in turn will decide their university places. Most of the exams to take place are modular units for AS and A level (including Maths and English) as well as some GCSEs. But with the cold weather looking set to continue, students living in outlying areas could be left unable to get into schools and colleges to sit the exams.

Some local schools have had to open specially for exam students because of the refusal of the exam boards to reschedule to later in the year.

The JCQ says that people who can't take their exams now must do so in June.
Proposals to postpone all the exams or set extra papers for a date when the weather should have cleared have so far been rejected.

Commenting, Steve Webb MP said:

"Exams should provide a level playing field to give a fair assessment of the relative strengths of different candidates. If some candidates can sit their exams now whilst others have to do them in June along with a whole host of other exams, those students will be at a disadvantage.

"If we get further serious bad weather, the fairest thing to all would be a short delay - perhaps a month - which would save the exam boards having to set extra exams but would avoid an exam pile-up in the summer. We need to get the exam boards to show a bit of humanity and sensitivity in what for many students is going a very stressful time."