The Sutton Trust responds to the latest Government announcement regarding exams

The Sutton Trust responds to the Education Secretary’s announcement of measures to compensate for disruption to schooling in next year’s exams.

James Turner, CEO of the Sutton Trust, said:

“This year’s assessment process caused major anxiety and uncertainty for students. It is welcome that the government has taken steps to mitigate against it happening again, whilst still giving students the opportunity to sit their exams, which is on balance likely to be the fairest approach.

“But it is lower-income pupils who will have lost out the most this year as a result of interrupted schooling. And while these new measures will benefit the cohort as a whole, we would like to see more consideration given to how to address the inequalities in teaching and learning currently being felt, and to preventing gaps from opening up further.

“The measures to give pupils advance notice on some topics needs careful management to ensure it does not widen existing attainment gaps, as students at more affluent schools may have better access to the resources to prepare these topics in detail and at short notice. It is crucial this is implemented in the fairest way possible.

“Given the circumstances, no exam system could do justice to the disruption being felt and how uneven the impact will be. So alongside all of this, we would like to see universities take the uncertainty of this academic year into account in their admissions, with offers that reflect the very many challenges that some pupils face.”