GCSE Timeline Post Covid-19

At a Glance

What our young people need now is clarity. Hopefully, you feel their school has been able to provide this with clear communication and set deadlines in place. Within this blog, we have broken down the key dates you need to be aware of. If you aren’t sure, the best thing to do is contact your young person’s school.

Teacher assessments – These will be different for each school and it is likely that your young person is feeling the pressure at the moment. These assessments are just as important as their normal GCSE exams. Their teachers cannot just give them their predicted grade, they have to take their recent assessments as evidence of the grade they have given them. You can read more about teacher assessments here. For a list of key assessment days, contact your young person’s school.

Last day of school – For the large majority of schools in the UK, they have selected Friday 28th May 2021 as their final day for Year 11 students. This may differ for your school though so make sure you have checked. It is likely that schools will be doing extra events during this week to mark the end of schooling, so check for things like non school uniform days, leaver book signing and other celebratory events.

End of year celebrations – For particularly lucky students across the UK, some schools are still arranging proms. Dates will be provided for this but there is likely to be restrictions, stipulations and, probably, testing in place. Be sure to check this as your young person may need to show a negative test to gain entry to the event.

Your young person may not feel confident with attending events yet so even if their prom is running, they might not be keen to attend. If this is the case, why not look to put on a smaller event with a handful of friends where they may feel more comfortable? Afternoon tea, a small garden party or a meal out would all be great alternatives to celebrating what has been a difficult few years for us all.

Deadline to apply to college/sixth form – Most college and sixth forms don’t have an exact deadline, but it is very wise to have offers from the establishment(s) your young person is interested in before results day. When students are opening their results and discussing their next steps, your young person may come to a sudden realisation that they haven’t completed their application to their chosen destination! If your young person is unsure what steps to take next, this podcast may be useful.

Results Day – GCSE results day usually takes place in the last two weeks of August but this year, it has been brought forward to Thursday 12 August 2021. Your school will contact you with exact timings and the process for collecting results, which may include additional information like no parents or carers to enter the hall, different time slots throughout the day to avoid large groups and of course, PPE.

To prepare for results day, we recommend that young people go with the grades they need for their chosen course(s) written down. They will then be able to see straight away whether or not they have gained a place on their chosen course. It is also a good idea to take the number for the college/sixth form they have applied to so they can call them if they don’t have the set grades to discuss what their options may be. They will also need to call them to confirm their place!

It is also a nice idea for your young person to have plans after results day, they may feel anxious so having a meal with friends or something to look forward to after collecting their result. This will help to ease their tensions and think about other things on the day, rather than the sole focus being on their results collection.

The key piece of advice you can give your young person is not to worry – it’s easier said than done but by results day, there is nothing more they can do to impact their grades. No matter what happens, there will be a suitable course they can access to support them on their journey toward the career they wish to pursue.

Key takeaways

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