Highlights of the week ending 18 December 2020
Rising coronavirus cases drove headlines in the education this week. Calls for England to follow Wales in moving classes online before the Christmas holidays led to the Department for Education threatening legal action against Greenwich Borough Council. This after the council wrote to head teachers asking to move teaching online. To counter the rising rates of coronavirus in schools the Government has announced that from January, every secondary school and college in England will have access to rapid coronavirus tests following a pilot.
We also had the publication of data from Ofqual which showed that the number of grades changed following an appeal for GCSEs awarded in the summer rose by 900% this year.
We also saw the Northern Ireland Education Minister again make clear that exams will go ahead and in Wales further detail on how general qualifications will be assessed.
And, finally, the Office for Students published new analysis showing an increase in the proportion of BAME students entering higher tariff universities between 2013-14 and 2018-19.
This week’s blogs are by Rod Bristow, discussing our new ‘Future of Qualifications and Assessment’ project, and Gary Gates on the future of Higher Technical Education.
Making the most of Higher Technical Education – reforming for the future