Coronavirus – COVID-19

Any students who wished to receive IGCSE, AS level or A level grades in summer 2021.

• LearnOnline & LiveSchool students due to complete in Summer 2021
• Private candidates already entered with Pembrokeshire College

Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) will be given to the exam board in lieu of you sitting exams. This is similar to what happened in 2020, however the Government have removed the algorithm to calculate the final grade for students.

What has been put in place instead of exams in summer 2021?

Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) will be given to the exam board in lieu of you sitting exams. This is similar to what happened in 2020, however the Government have removed the algorithm to calculate the final grade for students.

How can I get a grade?

• We will require you to have already been intending to complete your course in 2021 and already entered with Pembrokeshire College or another exam centre*

*if you have not entered with a centre, but it is clear you were planning to complete your course in 2021 contact us and we will discuss your options.

• We will require at least 75%* of your tutor marked assignments/study exercises completed by 30^th April
• We will ask you to complete a of set timed assessments (in exam paper format) within a timeframe, week commencing 10^th May ending 21^st May (2 weeks). These will be unseen mock exam papers. If you are studying IGCSE or AS level it will be 2 papers, A level will be 2-3 papers, depending on the subject.
• The study exercises and timed assessments will make up the evidence the tutors require to provide an overall grade.
• You must complete a student declaration form confirming all the work is your own by 24^th May. These will be issued at a later date.

*75% is approximately 2 thirds of the entire course, we may be in contact with specific courses to direct you to study certain topics in the course, which may be more beneficial to complete. If you have been studying the course as directed this completion should be achievable. 

Why won’t I get a grade?

• You have not submitted enough work by the set deadlines to assess a grade.
• The tutor is not 100% convinced that the work you have submitted is your own; online and text sources are used for revision and are a useful tool, however, text that is copied by being memorised or reproduced is considered to be plagiarism.

What if I have not completed the work due to unforeseen/personal circumstances?

We will be willing to discuss this on a case by case basis, but it important to understand that as an online provider we are limited to how much flexibility we can offer.

What evidence is used to create my grade?

• The tutor marked assignments you have submitted throughout your course.
• Set of timed assessments, completed in the timeframes given.
• Non-exam assessment, if applicable.
• If your grade is borderline or the tutor requests it, you may have to carry out additional assessments to help determine the correct grade for you.

Do I have to submit my Non-Exam Assessment?

Yes. The Non-Exam Assessment (NEA) will not be moderated by the board, but it is strongly advised you still submit it, even if only partially complete.

You need to email ‘Cesca directly if you are unable to submit your NEA at all.

Will my science practical endorsement result be entered?

If you have attended a science practical endorsement for A level we can enter the result alongside your TAG.

What do I do if I am entered by another exam centre?

We will liaise with your exam centre and agree to provide tutor work evidence based on the above, however we do understand that timeframes may differ slightly.

Each entering centre will have their own set of rules, which you must adhere to in order to receive the grade. We are unable to intervene on their procedures or fees.

Contact ‘Cesca directly to give the following details:

• Name of entering Centre
• Contact name & email
• Course/s entered with them
• Any additional detail you may have from them

Can I transfer my entry to Pembrokeshire College from another exam centre?

No, unless the centre you have been entered with is not able to accept the TAG from us, you cannot transfer to us.

Can we provide you with a TAG?

1. If you are studying with an online provider who is willing to work with us to provide a TAG and evidence to back it up within a set timeframe.
2. If you have a private tutor who is willing provide a TAG and mark a set of unseen timed past papers in the subject/s you are entered for (this may be coordinated by via our LearnOnline platform.

For those who are 100% home-educated by parents or carers we are exploring the possibility of setting a series of past papers, which would be completed within a set timeframe and marked by one of our online tutors along with written statement and evidence of work from the parent/carer. This option is not guaranteed, as we would need to understand numbers this applies to and if we have the resource and ability to carry this out.

Another option for those who are 100% home-educated may be to explore exam centres who are in a better position to support private candidates in this situation.

What do we do now?

You may have been in contact already to explain your situation, but now we know the process, can you please make contact with your education providers/tutors and get their agreement, then email me directly with the following details:

• Student Name
• Subject entered for with us
• Online Provider/Tutor name
• Contact details of provider/tutor

If you are 100% home-educated contact me to discuss further and we will see what is possible for you.

You can defer to sit written exams in Autumn 2021. If an online student we will keep your account active until you have completed your exams in the Autumn series.

Exam entry fees will be retained for this entry.

For online learners: if you wish to defer to Summer 2022, but your access is due to end before then, we can discuss an extension fee.

If you wish to defer to Summer 2022 or cancel your exam entry completely, we will issue a refund for the exam entry*.

*For access arrangement fees we cannot refund, but your assessment will be kept on record for future exams.

• A levels                10^th August
• IGCSEs                  12^th August

Results will be emailed to you as early as we can and then result slips posted at the end of the above days.

Students will be able to appeal their grade.

• A student who is unhappy with their grade will first ask their centre to check whether an administrative or procedural error had been made.
• Where a centre does identify an error in the grade submitted to the exam board, it can submit a revised grade and a rationale for the board to consider. If the exam board is satisfied with the rationale, it will issue a revised grade.
• Where a centre does not believe an error had been made, a student can ask the centre to appeal to the exam board on their behalf. The centre will submit the student’s appeal to the exam board and provide the evidence on which its judgement had been made; the exam board will consider whether, in its view, the grade reflected an appropriate exercise of academic judgement. If the exam board judges that it did not, the exam board will determine the grade that the evidence would support. The exam board will also check that the centre had followed its own process.

No, if you are not already a student with us we will not allow entry for Summer 2021.

No, we cannot take any more entries for private candidates at this time.

You are welcome to contact us, via email in the first instance. We wish to support as many as we can, but the decision we make must be accepted.