Education News

GCSE and A-level exams could be pushed back next year to allow students more teaching time, the UK education secretary has said. Gavin Williamson said Ofqual, England’s exams regulator, was working with the education sector to figure out if there should be a “short delay”. Speaking about a potential delay to the GCSE and A-level timetable next year, Nick Gibb, the schools minister, told BBC’s Today programme: “We will come to a decision very soon.”He said: “We want to have as much teaching time [as possible] for young people to enable them to catch up.” Read moreMr Williamson told The Telegraph: “Ofqual will continue to work with the education sector and other stakeholders on whether there should be a short delay to the GCSE, A and AS-level exam timetable in 2021, with the aim of creating more teaching time.”Exam season usually begins in May, but the newspaper said sources suggested they could be pushed back to June and July – but they would not cut into the summer holidays.Watch moreGCSE and A-level exams were cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.Apologising for the disruption caused in the House of Commons in his first statement following the cancellation, Mr Williamson said his department was “determined” to see the next round of exams completed in 2021.Mr Williamson told MPs: “We are determined that exams and assessments will go ahead next year, and we’re working with the sector to ensure that this is done as smoothly as possible.“While none of this disruption is what we wanted for our students, I believe that they now have the certainty and reassurance they deserve and will be able to embark on the next exciting phase of their lives.“I hope the whole house will join me in wishing all of them the very best for their future.”Shadow education secretary Kate Green said pupils entering year 11 and 13 who have lost up to six months of teaching time face “a mountain to climb” unless the timetable is changed. More

Students should not be allowed their mobile phones during school hours, the culture secretary has said.Matt Hancock suggested more headteachers should confiscate mobile phones from children at the start of the day, as he warned mobiles can have a “real impact” on students’ achievements.The minister is concerned social media use can expose children to “risks” – including cyberbullying.Writing in theDaily Telegraph, Mr Hancock questioned why young children needed phones at school in the first place.He said: “There are a number of schools across the country that simply don’t allow them.“I believe that very young children don’t need to have access to social media. They are children after all. They need to be able to develop their social skills in the real world first.”Schools already have the freedom to ban or curb the use of mobile phones during the school day – and Mr Hancock said there was evidence to suggest banning phones in schools worked.“While it is up to individual schools to decide rather than government, I admire headteachers who do not allow mobiles to be used during the school day. I encourage more schools to follow their lead,” he said.His comments come as a group of Tory MPs have urged for a ban on mobiles during the school day, saying there is evidence it can have “a beneficial effect on pupils’ ability to learn”.In a letter to the Telegraph, the seven politicians cited a 2015 study by the London School of Economics, writing: “Where schools banned smartphones from the premises, or required them to be handed in at the start of the day, pupils’ chances of getting five good GCSEs increased by an average of two per cent.“The improvement was even more marked for lower-achieving pupils. Results among pupils in the bottom quarter of achievement improved twice as much as the average.”The group, which included Harborough MP Neil O’Brien and Chichester MP Gillian Keegan, has urged the Department for Education to give clear guidance to schools about the evidence on attainment.A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Headteachers already, of course, have the power to ban mobile phones in schools and we support their right to do so. “We know that 95 per cent of schools already impose some kind of restriction on mobile phones use during the school day, with a substantial number banning them from the school premises altogether.”Read More: Compare providers and find the best deals with our Mobile Phone Deals page More