Now that we know the shape that the GCSE exams for 2021 are going to take, it’s time to start planning our response to the latest announcement. This time around, schools have been given a little bit longer to try and maximise their approach. The latest plan leaves the door wide open for interpretation, and offers a degree of freedom for schools and teachers to plot their own courses. Here we make some suggestions of how you can use Beyond resources to aid the situation.
What are the main GCSE exams 2021 headlines?
Formal GCSE exams will not take place in 2021. Instead, every centre has been asked to determine their own means of grade assessment. The suggested format for this is either via mock exams or coursework, this could have been completed prior to schools reopening or from now. On the basis of the outcome of these assessments, schools are to determine their own grades and there will be no formal regional or national moderation process. Schools will have to provide evidence of assessment quality assurance checks by the 18th June to the exam boards, and they may subsequently be asked for sample pupil grading evidence. Pupils are also allowed to contest any grades that they are awarded. Best of all… there’s no algorithm!
How can Beyond help?
For any of the suggested formats above, Beyond has English, Maths and Science material that could be used in the run-up to assessment in light of the GCSE exams 2021 scenario. Equally, Beyond resources could be used for assessment itself. We have always stressed our perspective that, for the sake of enabling teacher headspace, there is no need for professionals to keep ploughing hours into producing new material when there is plenty of resourcing out there already. So what have we got?
Specimen papers for GCSE exam practice
We have been told that exam boards will provide a range of material for 2021 assessment at the end of March. In the mean-time, we have produced a wide selection of specimen exam papers that echo the format of the exam boards. We place particular emphasis on AQA exams in English and Science, and Edexcel in Maths, since these are the boards that the majority of our customers access. If you’re looking for practice papers to supplement the genuine exam board specimen papers, or if you fancy an authentic alternative then our papers are good to go. Each practice paper is modelled on the exam board’s format, in terms of layout, questioning and timings.
- AQA Science papers
- AQA English Language papers
- Edexcel English Language papers
- Eduqas English Language papers
- OCR English Language papers
- GCSE Maths Foundation papers
- GCSE Maths Higher papers
Coursework aids
If you’re looking to incorporate coursework into your 2021 GCSE assessments then we have hundreds of resources in our Key Stage 4 sections that cover the main topics in English, Maths and Science. It would be futile attempting to direct schools on what can and can’t be taught, so we suggest that you head to the top of our KS4 categories and dive down into the wonders of our webpages!
Revision material for GCSE exams 2021
Is revision still necessary? Absolutely. Mock exams are going to be a popular choice for many schools, driving up the necessity for traditional exam revision, and if pupils are working on coursework, they’re going to need a solid background understanding of key topic areas.
We’re really proud of our revision mats in Maths (Foundation and Higher) and Science (Chemistry, Biology and Physics) which offer endless opportunities to consolidate important concepts.
We also provide a number of longer guides from Maths mastery booklets to English Literature revision guides.
Simply put, we want to encourage you that some of the hard work is already done. Teachers are going to have a lot on their hands with schools reopening, and with having to establish a new one-off system for assessment; we want to encourage educators everywhere that reliable, professionally-produced GCSE content is just a click away. Let us give you that headspace, and prepare yourself to offer your students the best of yourself during these challenging times.
Don’t forget to read even more of our blogs here! You can also subscribe to Beyond for access to thousands of secondary teaching resources. You can sign up for a free account here and take a look around at our free resources before you subscribe too.