Assessment Update
Important Information: Accessing your Exam Results
Published 8th August 2021
Results day has been moved forward this year to 10th August for A Level and Level 3 qualifications and 12 August for GCSE and Level 2 vocational qualifications.
Your exam results will be emailed to you and can be accessed online via Pro Portal. A Level and Level 3 results will be emailed to you on the 10th of August and GCSE and Level 2 results will be emailed to you on the 12th August. Pro Portal will be available for you to view your grades from the 12th August. You can download our how to access exam results here.
Appeals
Once you have your results, if you want to appeal your grades, you need to speak to your course tutor at college. You will need to complete Stage 1 Centre Review of the Appeals Process. Full details can be found here.
If you request a centre review or an awarding organisation appeal there are three possible outcomes:
• Your original grade is lowered, so your final grade will be lower than the original grade you received.
• Your original grade is confirmed, so there is no change to your grade.
• Your original grade is raised, so your final grade will be higher than the original grade you received.
Once a finding has been made you cannot withdraw your request for a centre review or appeal. If your grade has been lowered you will not be able to revert back to the original grade you received on results day.
If you choose to submit an appeal, the first thing we will do is make sure that all processes were followed correctly and no errors were made. If an error is found, we will submit a revised grade to the exam board. Remember you can only appeal on the following Grounds:
- Administrative: e.g. the wrong grade/mark was recorded
- Procedural: e.g. a reasonable adjustment/access arrangement was not provided for an eligible student
- Unreasonable exercise of academic judgement: The choice of evidence from which to determine the grade and/or the determination of that grade from the evidence was unreasonable.
Your tutors can share the following information:
- the sources of evidence that were used to determine your grade along with (and where deemed appropriate by the centre) any grades/marks associated with them. This transparency will allow you to identify any errors or highlight circumstances relating to pieces of evidence
- the centre policy and any supporting documentation
- details of any variations in evidence used based on disruption to what was taught
- details of any special circumstances that have been considered in determining your grade, e.g. access arrangements/reasonable adjustments or mitigating circumstances
If after discussions with your tutor you still want to appeal the grade you’ve been given, we can submit a formal appeal to the exam board for you – Stage 2 Appeal to the Awarding Organisation. The exam board will check that we have followed our processes and the exam board requirements. They’ll also review the evidence we based your grade on and assess whether the grade awarded was a reasonable judgement of your work. If they decide your grade was unreasonable, the exam board will determine the alternative grade and inform us. Be aware that an appeal could result in your grade going up or down.
The guidance on appeals issued by Ofqual also says that “appeals are not likely to lead to adjustments in grades where the original grade is a reasonable exercise of academic judgement supported by the evidence.”
Remember we are here to support, you so please in the first instance contact your Course Tutor if you have any concerns. Meanwhile, we wish you well as you progress onto the next steps of your career either returning to us, gaining employment or progressing into higher education.
Timeline
Appeals for students waiting on grades for university applications will be prioritised. Please see timeline below for you to appeal your grade:
Priority Learners
JCQ Definition: Students applying to higher education who did not attain their firm choice, i.e. the offer they accepted as their first choice, and wish to appeal an A level or other Level 3 qualification result
10 – 16 August 2021
Submission of Centre Review
This will be investigated by the College to check if procedural or administrative errors have been made.
16 – 23 August
Submission of Awarding Body appeal
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the centre review then you can make an appeal to the Awarding Body.
If you wish to make an appeal to the awarding body then you need to inform the College before the 23rd of August. We will submit the appeal on your behalf.
Non-Priority Learners
Any other students who do not meet the JCQ definition for priority learners
10 August to 3rd September 2021
Submission of Centre Review
This will be investigated by the College to check if procedural or administrative errors have been made.
3rd to 17th September 2021
Submission of Awarding Body appeal
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the centre review then you can make an appeal to the Awarding Body.
If you wish to make an appeal to the awarding body then you need to inform the College before the 17 of September. We will submit the appeal on your behalf.
Assessment Update
Published May 2021
A-Levels and GCSEs
How GCSEs, AS and A levels will be awarded in summer 2021: a summary
How your grade will be determined
- graded by teacher judgement, with grades signed off by your head of department and the principal before being submitted to the exam board
- not graded by an algorithm
- college assessments will continue - your lecturers will let you know the timings of any assessments
- we will tell you the evidence we will use to determine your grade
- you will not be told what grade has been submitted for you
- your teachers will assess the standard at which you are performing, but they will only assess you on content you have been taught
- We are using the formal assessments you have completed through the year plus any coursework as the evidence to inform your grade.
Results days
- AS and A level: 10 August
- GCSE: 12 August
Appeals
If, when you receive your results, you are concerned that your grade is wrong there is an appeals process in place. Your first step should be to speak to us for feedback and advice. See also, ‘What to do if you think your grade is wrong’.
Timelines
April to June
You will continue to learn and carry out some assessments during this time. You will continue with any non-exam assessment (coursework).
April to July
Exam boards will carry out their own quality assurance checks. These are in place to make sure that we have followed the guidance when awarding grades.
May to June
You might know some of the marks you have achieved in assessments, but you won’t be told your final teacher-assessed grade. We will carry out checks to make sure that we have followed the guidance properly when working out your grades.
18 June
This is the deadline for us to submit your teacher-assessed grades for GCSE, AS and A levels.
10 August
AS and A level results
12 August
GCSE results
August to September
If you are concerned your grade may be wrong there is an appeals process in place. Your first step should be to speak to us to seek feedback and advice.
Separate results for practical and spoken language skills
For GCSE English language, A level sciences (biology, chemistry, physics) and A level geology, you will receive a separate grade or result for the spoken language or practical skills tested, based on work you have completed.
Completion of non-exam assessment
You should aim to complete your non-exam assessment (coursework) as you have been advised by your lecturers. The non-exam assessment will provide your teachers with evidence to support your grade. If you are not able to complete it due to circumstances outside your control you will not be penalised. Your teachers will look at what you have been able to complete and can still use it as evidence for your grade.
Contact with lecturers
It is really important that you and your parents or carers don’t try to put your teachers under pressure to submit grades higher than the evidence supports. We have been asked to keep records of such cases and exam boards may treat this behaviour as malpractice.
Taking exceptional circumstances into account
If you suffered a bereavement, for example, or there were other factors outside your control that might have impacted on your performance when producing evidence, you should discuss this with us before your grades are submitted.
Quality assurance
We will carry out checks to make sure that the necessary guidance has been followed when submitting your grades.
We will carry out robust quality assurance of your grade. This involves second sampling of assessment decisions by other lecturers and a review of all assessment decisions by the senior leadership team in assessment moderation panels.
The principal will submit a declaration to the exam board confirming we have met the requirements set by the exam boards when determining your grade.
Once the exam boards receive the teacher-assessed grades they will ask us to send them samples of student work. Exam board subject experts, made up of experienced examiners, will review the evidence from a sample of centres. This random sample will cover a range of centre types and regions. The exam boards will also look at evidence from colleges where the results are significantly different to their historical results when compared to other centres. This includes centres where grades are much higher or much lower than in previous years.
In these sample checks, exam boards will check that the academic judgement has been reasonable when deciding grades. If the exam board is concerned this isn’t the case, they will ask us to look into this and may ask them to resubmit grades. Exam boards will not issue results until they are satisfied with the outcome of any investigation.
What to do if you think your grade is wrong
Appeals
Your teacher has received training, support and guidance on how to determine your teacher-assessed grades, and there are checks in place to make sure their judgements are as fair and consistent as possible.
Every year there are students who are disappointed with the grade they achieve. If you’re disappointed with your grade you might consider whether you could sit exams in the autumn series to improve your grade.
If you are concerned that the grade you have received is wrong, there is an appeals process. If you appeal, your grade could go up, down, or stay the same.
The appeals process
1. If you think your grade is wrong, you should first ask us to check whether we made a mistake in determining or submitting the grade.
2. If we identify a mistake, we can submit a revised grade to the exam board to consider.
3. If we don’t identify an error but you still believe that your grade is wrong, you can ask us to submit a formal appeal to the exam board for you. You can appeal for any of the following reasons:
- there was an error in the way we followed or applied our procedure for determining your teacher assessed grade
- we did not make a reasonable judgement when deciding which evidence to use to determine your teacher assessed grade
- we did not make a reasonable judgement about your grade based on the evidence gathered.The exam board will consider whether we followed our written process, and review the evidence your grade was based on.
5. The exam board will consider if your grade needs correcting. They may do this if they believe your grade is not a reasonable judgement or they find a mistake in the procedure which affected your grade. A corrected grade could be higher or lower than the grade you were given on results day.
6. The final route of appeal is Ofqual’s Exam Procedure Review Service (EPRS). You can apply to EPRS if the exam board decides that the grade you were awarded is reasonable, and your school or college correctly followed its procedure, but you are still concerned that there may have been an error in the procedure used by the exam board to conduct the appeal. The EPRS can consider whether the exam board has followed its rules and procedures. It will not consider whether you got the right grade based on the evidence of your work. The exam board’s final decision on your grade will stand unless the EPRS finds that the exam board made an error in its review procedure. Even if an error is found, your grade may stay the same.
Important things to remember
- teachers will share with you which pieces of work they will base their judgements on before they submit your grades to the exam board
- we will carry out multiple checks on your grades. Exam boards will check our approach and will be checking a sample of grades across the system
- the appeal questions whether the original decision was a reasonable one, and not whether other reasonable decisions could have been made
- a grade will only be changed if there was an error when determining or submitting the grade, or if the grade given could not have reasonably been reached based on the evidence presented
- the appeals arrangements will provide an important safety net if there is clear evidence something went wrong when a grade was determined
- we will submit an appeal on your behalf if you ask for one.
- when your appeal is submitted, you will need to explain why you think your result was incorrect and should be changed
- if you appeal, your grade can go up, down or stay the same
- if you are concerned there may have been wrongdoing when developing your teacher-assessed grade you should first discuss this us
- if you have evidence of malpractice or maladministration, you can contact your exam board directly
Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs)
How vocational and technical qualifications will be awarded in summer 2021: a summary
Qualifications most similar to GCSEs and A levels used for progression to further or higher education
For example, BTECs, OCR Cambridge Technicals and Core Maths, which do not ordinarily focus on occupational skills.
Your results will be:
- determined by lecturer judgement
- based on evidence of your performance, such as course work and any tasks or exams completed
- issued no later than for GCSEs and A levels
Other qualifications used for progression, but which are different from GCSEs or A levels
For example, Functional Skills and ESOL Skills for Life, which do not assess occupational skills, and which are taken when you are ready.
Assessments will continue to go ahead for these qualification. If you cannot safely access an assessment your result can be based on teacher judgement – in this case your results will be:
- determined by lecturer judgement
- based on evidence of your performance, such as course work and any tasks or exams completed
- issued in the usual timescales
Qualifications which assess occupational skills or proficiency
For example, construction, plumbing and electrical qualifications.
Assessments:
- can continue as normal where possible
- can be adapted if needed
- may be delayed
Your results will be issued in the usual timescales once you have taken your assessment. See Ofqual’s qualification explainer tool to find out how your qualification will be awarded in 2021. Further information on individual qualifications, including assessment methods used and evidence requirements, can be found on your awarding organisation’s website.
If you were offered or sat exams in January
If you are taking a vocational and technical qualification most like GCSEs, AS and A levels and you were either absent from January exams, or you feel that your performance was adversely affected by the pandemic and the most recent lockdown, you may still be able to receive a result using a teacher-assessed grade.
What to do if you think your grade is wrong
If you are concerned that your teacher-assessed grade is wrong then Stamford College and the awarding organisation will have an appeals process in place to help you. Broadly speaking, the basis of appeals will be quite similar to that for GCSEs and A levels this year. During an appeal, the awarding organisation will check that we have reasonably used academic judgement when deciding grades and that there have been no process errors or administrative errors. If you need more information check your awarding organisation’s website.
Appeals relating to results for all other vocational, technical and other general qualifications should follow the usual appeals process.
Quality assurance for teacher-assessed grades
Quality assurance processes are the checks that will be carried out to make sure that we have followed the guidance from awarding organisations when producing your grades.
If you are expecting a result based on a teacher-assessed grade, we have put in place internal quality assurance arrangements. The principal will submit a declaration to the awarding organisation confirming we have met the awarding organisation’s requirements for quality assurance.
The awarding organisation may review the arrangements that we have put in place before grades are submitted. The awarding organisation may also request a sample of learner work that has been used to support the teacher-assessed grade as part of their checks. If the awarding organisation is concerned that the quality of the work does not reflect the grade submitted, they will speak to us to resolve any concerns identified by the checks.
If you are taking an assessment or an adapted assessment, we also have quality assurance processes in place that are appropriate for your qualification – speak to them for further information.
Check arrangements for your specific qualification
See Ofqual’s qualification explainer tool to find out how your qualification will be awarded in 2021.
What you can expect next
Your lecturer can let you know what is happening with your qualification – whether you will be expected to take your assessments, or if your results will be awarded using teacher-assessed grades. You should continue to study in the meantime.
Autumn exam series
Some awarding organisations already offer assessments in the autumn term or in January, and those that don’t may choose to do so this year. You should talk to us if you want to use this as an opportunity to get or improve your grade.
Accessing more information and support
Additional information for all qualifications
What you can expect next if you sat exams in January but feel your performance was affected
If you are taking GCSE, AS, A level or vocational and technical qualifications similar to these, and you were either absent from January exams, or you feel that your performance was adversely affected by the pandemic and the most recent lockdown, you will be able to receive a result using a teacher assessed grade.
Having confidence in your grades
We know that you will want to be confident your grades are meaningful and serve their usual purpose.
Your lecturers are professionals who know you well. We understand that it is in your best interest that grades reflect what you know and can do, so that you can progress to the pathway that is most appropriate for you. We want you to make the best choices about your next steps and it wouldn’t be helpful if you started studying a subject at a higher level that you aren’t prepared for.
It is no easier or harder for a student to achieve a particular grade this year compared to previous years. Awarding organisations will also check a sample of evidence from a range of subjects from different schools, colleges and training providers.
Finding out your teacher-assessed grade
You are not able to find out your teacher-assessed grade for AS, A levels and GCSEs. You may know some of the marks awarded for some of the evidence your school or college is using but your teachers are not able to tell you your teacher assessed grade.
It will be the same situation for many vocational and technical qualifications. But there may be some where teachers or lecturers ordinarily submit marks or grades to awarding organisations and share this information with learners. These marks or grades will not yet have been through the awarding organisation’s quality assurance and so should only be viewed as provisional.
If you are worried about teacher impartiality
Your teachers are professionals who have been asked to use a range of evidence to produce your teacher assessed grade. They have worked with other teachers to produce your teacher-assessed grade and your principal must confirm that all grades have been determined appropriately.
Minimum amount of content that must be covered
There are no requirements about the minimum amount of content that should be taught or assessed for teacher-assessed grades to be submitted, but you will need to have covered enough content for the grade to be meaningful. Awarding organisations and exam boards may ask us to confirm that you have been taught (or studied, if you are a private candidate) an appropriate amount of content to provide the basis for a grade.
Prioritising appeals for access to university and college admissions
Awarding organisations and exam boards us to prioritise appeals where results are needed to progress to higher education. Where possible these priority appeals will be completed by early September. It is important that students submit their appeal before the deadline, which is 17 September for AS and A level. Most appeals where a higher education place is not affected should be completed by the end of October.
If you choose to appeal, you should contact your preferred university or college straight away to make them aware of your situation.
UCAS have extended their deadline for you to meet any conditions of your offer to 7 September to allow more time for appeals.
More information on 2021 qualifications and grading
There is more information from Ofqual on GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2021 and vocational, technical and other general qualifications in 2021. JCQ have also published information on GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2021.
If you need more information on what’s happening with a specific qualification that was scheduled to be taken in summer 2021, you can use our Summer 2021 qualification explainer tool.
Results and next steps
If you want more information on your next steps once you’ve received your results, contact the National Exam Results Helpline.
Telephone: 0800 100 900
Lines are open from 08:00 to 22:00, 7 days a week.
Higher education applications and admissions
For any questions about higher education application and admissions you should contact the relevant institution directly.You can also contact UCAS for more information.
Telephone: 0371 468 0 468
Lines are open Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 18:00.
UCAS will be running a series of live events on the UCAS Facebook page where you can ask questions about your application.
Exam boards
Ofqual’s Register contains information and website links for all awarding organisations regulated by Ofqual.
Ofqual
Email: public.enquiries@ofqual.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 303 3344
The phone line is normally open from 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays. Check out our website for opening times around results days.
