Over 75% of students have experienced stress or anxiety over exam changes, research reveals

A-level and GCSE exams
GCSE and A-Level students are still waiting to hear how they will be assessed
PA
Anna Davis @_annadavis25 February 2021

More than three quarters of students have experienced stress or anxiety about changes to their exams this year, new research reveals.

GCSE and A-Level students are still waiting to hear how they will be assessed, seven weeks after exams were cancelled due to the pandemic.

An announcement is expected this week.

Grades will be based on teacher assessments, and students could be made to sit “mini exams” to give teachers evidence to base their grades on. It is not clear if these will be mandatory, and what other evidence teachers can use.

A survey of 1,400 teenagers found than 85 per cent have been left stressed or anxious about the changes.

60 per cent feel it is unclear how their grades will be assessed this year while a further 25 per cent believe there has been no communication at all.

One quarter of students said they do not have a suitable space at home to take a remote exam, such as a quiet room, a desk or strong internet connection.

Rahim Hirji, UK Country Manager at Quizlet, the online education app which carried out the research, said: “In order to ensure that young people can take the next steps in life that they wish to, whether that’s going to university or picking up an apprenticeship, these grades absolutely matter.

“This far into the academic year, it’s immensely worrying for so many to still be unsure of how they can actually obtain those grades and it will be hugely important for their schools and the government to provide some clarity on this immediately. After one of the most disrupted academic years in a generation, these students deserve clarity on how their academic futures will look post-pandemic.”

A separate survey of more than 5,000 students by the Jack Petchey Foundation found that more than half want the curriculum to be reduced in order to help them catch up.

The young people also said tutoring in small groups, more text books and resources and mental health support would also help them make up some of the work they have missed.

Extra lessons over the summer holidays proved to be the least popular option for school students with only 9 per cent saying it would be useful to help them catch up on their education.

Trudy Kilcullen, Chief Executive Officer at the Jack Petchey Foundation, said: “Covid-19 has impacted on every member of society, however the impact on young people’s futures will be long lasting. It is important that their voices be at the centre of decisions influencing our recovery as we rebuild a positive and constructive future for the UK.”

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