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This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

Applies to England

Documents

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If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This guide is for students taking any of the following qualifications:

GCSEs

AS or A levels

other general qualifications, including International Baccalaureate, core mathematics and Pre-U

Technical Qualification (part of a T Level)

BTEC, Cambridge Technicals and other vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken alongside GCSEs and A levels

In this guide, we refer to schools and colleges as a collective term for all schools, colleges and other exam centres.

Some students won't be studying at a school or college and will be private candidates. They are often home educated or are re-taking a qualification after leaving school or college. They may be studying with a distance learning provider, tutor, parent, or without any support. Private candidates will need to register at a school, college or other exam centre to sit their exams. More information on how to do this can be found in this guide. We make clear in this guide where information only applies to a certain type of qualification. If you are not sure exactly which qualifications you are taking, check with your school or college.

This guide talks about awarding organisations and exam boards. All organisations that offer qualifications regulated by Ofqual are called awarding organisations. The 4 awarding organisations that offer GCSEs, AS and A levels in England are also called exam boards.

This guide refers to exams officers. An exams officer is the person in a school or college that organises exams. An exams officer's duties will vary by school or college. Check with your school or college who your exams officer is and how to contact them.

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This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

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12th May 2023
Norwich City Football Club, Carrow road, Norwich

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DfE: Guide to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England from 2025

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DfE: Guide to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England from 2025

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Published: 20th April 2023
Summary - Post 16 Level 3 there will be a choice of A level or T level with the option to take additional single size (1 A level equivalent) technical qualification alongside an A level if you wanted a mixed programme. The old style 2 year full time BTEC technical qualifications type programme will gradually disappear.

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An overview of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below for awarding organisations and providers.

Details

The guide provides a high-level overview of the post-16 qualifications landscape from 2025 onwards, including:

changes to the funding approval process and criteria

the subjects that will be considered for funding

the implications for the availability of qualifications for teaching in England

The separate level 2 and 3 timeline documents provide a chronology of important dates for awarding organisations.

Post-16 qualifications at level 2 and below from spring 2023 signposts awarding organisations and providers to information that is already available and which they may find helpful in preparing for the reforms at level 2 and below.

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Guide to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Published: 21 March 2023
This guide for students provides information about this year’s arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

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Skip to main content

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We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

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Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies

This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

Applies to England

Documents

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This guide is for students taking any of the following qualifications:

GCSEs

AS or A levels

other general qualifications, including International Baccalaureate, core mathematics and Pre-U

Technical Qualification (part of a T Level)

BTEC, Cambridge Technicals and other vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken alongside GCSEs and A levels

In this guide, we refer to schools and colleges as a collective term for all schools, colleges and other exam centres.

Some students won't be studying at a school or college and will be private candidates. They are often home educated or are re-taking a qualification after leaving school or college. They may be studying with a distance learning provider, tutor, parent, or without any support. Private candidates will need to register at a school, college or other exam centre to sit their exams. More information on how to do this can be found in this guide. We make clear in this guide where information only applies to a certain type of qualification. If you are not sure exactly which qualifications you are taking, check with your school or college.

This guide talks about awarding organisations and exam boards. All organisations that offer qualifications regulated by Ofqual are called awarding organisations. The 4 awarding organisations that offer GCSEs, AS and A levels in England are also called exam boards.

This guide refers to exams officers. An exams officer is the person in a school or college that organises exams. An exams officer's duties will vary by school or college. Check with your school or college who your exams officer is and how to contact them.

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

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National Statistics: 2022 Alevel and other 16 to 18 results Breakdown

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National Statistics: 2022 Alevel and other 16 to 18 results Breakdown

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Updated: 2nd February 2023

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Last updated

Release type

National statistics ?

This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades. As part of the transition back to the summer exam series adaptations were made to the exams (including advance information) and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The 16 to 18 performance measures reported in this revised release for the 2021/22 academic year, and to be included on the Find School and College Performance Data website, have been affected by our commitment not to include results from qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 (see section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22').

Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat. Given the unprecedented change in how A level and vocational and VTQ grades were awarded in 2020 and 2021, as well as changes to the grade boundaries and methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in student performance alone.

Related information

Releases in this series

View releases (23)

Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2021/22

A level retention

95.1%

An increase of 3.8 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for A level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their A level programme).

Applied general retention

91.7%

An increase of 5.1 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for applied general programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their applied general programme).

Tech level retention

91.1%

An increase of 3.2 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for tech level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their tech level programme).

Average Point Score (APS) per entry for all level 3 cohorts is lower compared to 2020/21: A level, -2.8 pts; applied general, -0.7 pts; tech level, - 1.1 pts. However, attainment remains higher compared to 2018/19: A level, +4.9pts; applied general, +3.1 pts; tech level +1.9 pts. [An increase of 10 points is equivalent to an increase in one full grade]. This follows Ofqual's announcement in September 2021 that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 (TAG grades) and 2019 (the last year all students sat exams).

The trend for falling average attainment across level 3 cohorts in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 was observed across institution types generally (when grouped into state-funded schools, independent schools, sixth form colleges, and 'Other FE sector colleges') with the exception of applied general attainment in sixth form colleges and independent schools which increased in 2021/22 (+ 0.2 pts and + 0.8 pts respectively).

The disadvantage gap (between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students) is at its widest level for all Level 3 cohorts (A level, tech level, and applied general) since disadvantage measures began in 2016/17.

Gender gaps in favour of female students in average attainment at A level, applied general, and tech level have narrowed in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21; average attainment had increased more for female students than males with the alternative Centre Assessment Grade (CAG) and Teacher Assessed Grade (TAG) awarding processes in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared with 2018/19.

The percentage of students who completed their main or 'core' aim from their study programme, known as the Retention rate, increased across all programmes in 2021/22.

Non-disadvantaged students are more likely to be retained than disadvantaged students, across all cohorts.

Students with higher prior attainment are more likely to be retained than students with lower prior attainment, across all level 3 cohorts.

Given the unprecedented change in the way results were awarded in the summers of 2020 and 2021, as well as the changes to methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in pupil performance alone.

The changes seen in the headline statistics likely reflect the changes in methodology for awarding grades and in calculating the measures, rather than demonstrating a difference in standards.

Explore data and files used in this release

View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool

Browse and download open data files from this release in our data catalogue

Learn more about the data files used in this release using our online guidance

Download all data available in this release as a compressed ZIP file

All supporting files from this release are listed for individual download below:

Provisional results (November 2022) for A level and other 16 to 18 results 2021-22

Transition matrices data used for visualising the progress of pupils aged 16 to 18 from key stage 4 (KS4) to key stage 5 (KS5).

Instructions to accompany the transition matrices data

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes set up to award grades. Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat.

A/AS and vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

In summer 2021 students were awarded A/AS grades based on an assessment by their teachers using a range of available evidence. Students were only assessed on the content they had been taught. In 2021 some VTQ grades were decided using teacher-assessed grades, others using normal assessment routes, and some through adapted assessment such as remote invigilation.

Exceptionally in autumn 2020 and 2021 an autumn series was put in place to allow students the opportunity to try to improve their A level or AS grade from the summer, if they wished to do so. Further information on the autumn 2021 series is available at this link:
https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/16/as-and-a-level-results-in-the-autumn-2021-series/
A/AS exams returned in 2022 and adaptations were made to exams (including advance information), and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The diversity of vocational qualifications meant that Ofqual did not prescribe a single approach to adaptations, so Awarding Organisations (AOs) had flexibility to choose how to adapt their assessments. However, Ofqual's regulatory framework requires AOs as far as possible to ensure VTQ learners were not disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their A level peers when setting standards.

For further information on the process to award grades in 2021 and 2022 see the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-centres-awarding-vtqs-in-2021-and-2022
Reporting of 2022 results by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Ofqual

As happens every year on A level results day (18 August for summer 2022 results) JCQ published data on A level entries for qualifications awarded in summer 2022, and for each subject the distribution of grades awarded (with data for the previous summer for reference): https://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/

The data published by JCQ can be expected to show the same broad patterns as the underlying data published in this statistical release 'Entries and results - A level and AS by subject and student characteristics (single academic year). However, the coverage of the data is different: JCQ data covers all A level entries in the UK by people of all ages. Data in this statistical release covers exam entries by 16 to 18 year olds in schools and colleges in England, and includes breakdowns by a wide range of student characteristics.

In addition, Ofqual also routinely publish data on results day: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guide-to-as-and-a-level-results-in-england-summer-2022

Data excluded from 2021/22 measures due to alternative assessment arrangements in 2020 and 2021

We have committed not to include results of qualifications achieved between January 2020 and August 2021 in school and college performance measures on Find Schools and College Performance Data website, given the alternative assessment arrangements used to award those grades.

For consistency, when calculating 16 to 18 performance measures for 2021/22 in this statistical release, data will only include entries and grades from qualifications awarded in the 2021/22 academic year, with the exception of AS and A level qualifications taken as part of the extraordinary autumn 2021 examination series which are also excluded.

However, results from qualifications routinely offered in the autumn of 2021 that would usually be approved for reporting, such as vocational and technical qualifications taken in autumn 2021, will be included even if some of the VTQ constituent unit-level grades were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 via Centre Assessment Grade, Teacher Assessed Grade, or another process.

The table below shows the impact at national level of excluding these data, by comparing the number of students and headline attainment measures for each cohort.

The impact on A level student numbers is modest. It is greater for students entering vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), who are more likely to enter qualifications over multiple years. It should be noted that students may have results from multiple years including 2021/22. In this case the student is included in this data but some of their results are excluded.

The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting in the same year as they complete the qualification.

Smaller cohorts in 2021/22, do not necessarily translate into impacts on attainment. Nationally, the impact on A level Average Point Score (APS) is minimal (1/200th of a grade) with slightly larger changes for the level 3 vocational and technical qualifications.

Impact of the change

Number of students
-2% -10% -15% -84%

APS
+0.06 +0.60 +0.72 +0.12

Other changes for the 2021/22 release

English and maths progress measures will not be published in this statistical release until these measures return to Find school and college performance data website (likely 2024/25, as set out in 16 to 18 accountability headline measures: technical guide, due to the impact of excluding CAG/TAG grades on this performance measure).

Similarly, 16 to 18 value-added measures, which would rely on KS4 prior attainment including some data from summer 2020, continue not to be published in 2021/22. Value-added measures will return as soon as possible, which will be for the 2023/24 academic year at the earliest; further details are included in the technical guide.

Breakdowns of performance measures by prior attainment, usually published in spring with the Retention update have been brought forward to the provisional release along with other breakdowns by student characteristics. Note, we distinguish between the use of prior attainment data nationally to breakdown measures by student characteristics in this statistical release and their use to calculate performance measures that will be published for individual schools and colleges on Find School and College Performance Data.

SEN Provision contains additional breakdowns by SEN types for the first time in national level data at 16 to 18.

Additional 'bivariate' data giving a breakdown of headline attainment and disadvantage status in combination with other characteristics are available for the first time.

Changes continuing from the 2020/21 release

Characteristic breakdowns usually published in the revised update have been brought forward to the provisional release. This is a permanent change.

The rules for determining when students reach the end of their 16-18 study changed in 2020/21 and students can no longer be triggered solely due to spending two years in the same school or college. The impact of this change on 2020/21 data was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. In 2021/22, student numbers returned to pre-rule change levels, as expected.

Full details of the trigger change are set out in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release' in the Quality and Methodology documentation.

Checking exercise and other amendments

This updated release is based on revised data. Since the release of provisional data in November, amendments to the data have been made. These include the addition of 'late' results from some Awarding Organisations, and changes made by schools and colleges through a 'checking exercise'.

The checking exercise takes place in the autumn term and gives schools and colleges the opportunity to amend their data. Some students are removed from a school or colleges results, for example because the student wasn't on roll or has not yet completed 16-18 study. Some students are added where they are flagged by a school or college as having completed 16-18 study despite not being triggered. Changes need to be approved to be included in revised data.

The 2021/22 academic year saw the return of the school and college checking exercise, after it was suspended in the two previous years. In this release data for 2019/20 and 2020/21 is labelled as 'final' data. This is provisional data adjusted for results from the autumn series for AS and A levels. (The autumn series gave students an opportunity to sit an exam if they were unhappy with the grade awarded to them through the alternative process). Data from 2019/20 and 2020/21 did not go through a checking exercise; schools and colleges did not have an opportunity to amend their data as described above.

The table shows the size of the change between provisional and revised/final data. Generally, the change in the numbers of students included in the data in 2021/22 is relatively small in terms of the overall cohort size, the exception being technical certificates where there are 655 more students in the revised release than the provisional (an increase of 87%). This increase is predominantly due to results being reported late by Awarding Organisations.

The size of the change between provisional and revised data is generally smaller in 2021/22 than in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Changes to the trigger rule were introduced to reduce the burden on schools and colleges. This gives an indication that the change is working as intended.

Change in the numbers of students between the provisional and revised/final data:

Cohort

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

The table below shows the size of the change in the average point score between the provisional and the revised release. The changes are minimal. A change of 0.1 pts at A level / applied general / tech level is equivalent to 1/100th of a grade.

Change in Average Point Score (APS) per entry between the provisional and revised/final data.

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Unless stated otherwise statistics reported here refer to 16 to 18 year olds in England:

who reached the end of their 16 to 18 study in 2021/22. Students typically spend either two or three years in the 16 to 18 phase. (Usually, attainment includes results from qualifications entered during all those years. However, this year, attainment excludes results from qualifications that were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021).

who entered qualifications approved for reporting in 2022 school and college performance tables, set out in the 16 to 18 qualifications, discount codes and point scores guidance.

Qualifications are grouped into A level (subset of Academic), Applied General, and Tech Level exam cohorts at level 3, and Technical Certificates at level 2. Students can be reported in more than one exam cohort.

Student numbers by cohort

Students are included in this statistical release when they reach the end of their 16 to 18 study in schools and colleges in England. As set out in the Methodology guidance, the rules for determining when that happens changed in 2020/21, and students are no longer automatically triggered for reporting after spending two years in the same school or college.

The impact of the trigger change in 2020/21 was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. As expected, student numbers have generally returned to their pre-rule change level in 2021/22, with student numbers in all level 3 cohorts being higher than in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Results for qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from the data. The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting until they turn 18, often a year or two after they complete the qualification. More detail is provided in the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22', where in particular excluding CAG and TAG grades reduced reported technical certificate student numbers by 84%.

The growth in the number of students entered for applied general and tech level qualifications in 2021/22 approved for reporting in performance measures reflects the removal of funding approval from 1 August 2020 for pre-existing qualifications which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications. Prior to that numbers had been increasing more slowly following big falls in 2017/18 when qualifications were reformed. The number of students in the A level cohort, which includes students who only enter AS levels, has increased after several years of decline. (The previous decline reflected fewer AS level entries following the now completed A level reform to decouple A and AS levels.)

The overall growth in student numbers may also be partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students reported here completed their pre-16 study in 2019/20 where higher grades were awarded via Centre Assessment Grades. These higher grades resulted in greater numbers of students applying for post-16 places and may have shifted some students away from level two technical certificates and into level 3 qualifications. There were also fewer alternative options available for these students in terms of apprenticeships and other employment opportunities ( Key stage 4 destination measures showed that a smaller proportion of students who completed key stage 4 in 2019/20 progressed to sustained apprenticeship or employment outcomes in 2020/21).

Disadvantage

Disadvantaged students are all students who were in receipt of pupil premium when they were in their last year of KS4.

Disadvantage measures do not include students who were not reported at the end of KS4 - for example, because they came from overseas. Students who were known to be at independent schools in their last year of KS4 are treated as non-disadvantaged.

Disadvantage measures cover students in state-funded schools or colleges.

23.6% of state-funded students, at the end of 16 to 18 study, were recorded as having disadvantaged status in 2021/22. The percentage of students examined in level 3 vocational and technical qualifications was generally in line with this. (Applied general 23.0% and tech level 23.0%). Disadvantages students were overrepresented at technical certificate with 32.4% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status. Disadvantaged students were underrepresented at A level with 14.3% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status.

Prior attainment

Prior attainment is a measure of the average points attained per qualification at Key Stage 4. Simple discounting rules apply, with the best result in any subject used when calculating the average point score at KS4. Any GCSE resits or additional qualifications gained during 16 to 18 are ignored. For the vast majority, prior attainment is between 0-9 reflecting the range of possible grades at GCSE (where 9 is the highest grade).

[Note, whilst results from January 2020 to August 2021 are removed from calculation of performance measures, for the purposes of this statistical release they will be retained when calculating a student's prior attainment to explain outcomes in performance measures, in the same way that outcomes nationally are broken down by gender, disadvantage, etc].

In 2021/22, 18.4% of students at the end of their 16 to 18 study had the highest prior attainment (grade 7+). The large majority of students with the highest prior attainment choose to study at least one A/AS level (94.8%). High attainers now make up 36.2% of the A level cohort compared to 4.7% of the applied general and 3.7% of the tech level cohort. The proportion of students with the highest prior attainment has increased year on year for each cohort since 2019/20 (from when KS4 prior attainment has been calculated in this release).

27.5% of students at the end of 16 to 18 study in 2021/22 had the lowest prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4). The proportion of students with the lowest prior attainment has decreased year on year for each exam cohort since 2019/20.

This change in the distribution of prior attainment for exam cohorts, will in part reflect year on year grade increases at KS4 and in part reflect that the majority of students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and whose GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

Summary

These figures give the average points and average result that students achieved throughout their 16 to 18 study. Results awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from this data. (See the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22). While the majority of results come from the student's final year of study (in particular for A levels), a small number of results awarded prior to January 2020 are included.

Points are given to all qualifications so we can compare qualifications of different size and grading structures. A maximum of 60 points are available for A level, 50 points for applied general and tech level and 8 points for technical certificates. More information on points, APS bands and grade boundaries can be found in the technical guide for 16 to 18 accountability measures (from page 27).

In September 2021 Ofqual announced that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019. Consequently, the average results are lower in 2021/22 across all level 3 cohorts than in 2020/21.

A level programmes have seen the largest decrease (2.8 pts, compared to 0.7 pts for applied general and 1.1 pts for tech level). This is as expected due to the larger increases seen in A level grades between 2018/19 and 2020/21 relative to the vocational and technical qualifications. Technical certificates have seen a small increase (0.2 pts) in the average points score. However, interpretation of this increase is undermined by a 58% drop in cohort numbers. Given that 84% of technical certificate students have been excluded form the data (see 'Changes to the data in 2021/22'), technical certificate results will not be discussed in the breakdowns, however the data is available in the table builder tool.

For all Level 3 cohorts, the average result remains the same as in 2020/21.

At A level, the South East, London and East of England tend to do better, being on or near the top in the last 3 years. These same regions have ranked in the bottom 4 for applied general in the same time period.

The North West is in the top half of the table for both A level and applied general, although the region dipped in both exam cohorts in 2020/21 when teacher assessed grades were used.

The East Midlands is in the bottom half of the table for both A level and applied general. The region attained the lowest A level results this year.

Regional rankings are more variable for tech levels (which may be attributable to the smaller total number of tech level entries).

Average results by disadvantage status

The 2021/22 disadvantage gap has increased in comparison to last year for the A level cohort and has remained stable for applied general and tech level cohorts. For the level 3 exam cohorts, the average point score has decreased for both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students, however for A level students, the decrease was larger for disadvantaged students.

The disadvantage gap for Level 3 cohorts is at its widest point since the measure was introduced in 2016/17. (NB, this statistical release contains data for the last 5 years back to 2017/18, but disadvantage data was first published based on 2016/17 revised data).

To get a fuller picture on the impact of disadvantage status, this data should be looked at in conjunction with data on retention rates (the percentage of students who have completed their main study programme at a provider). In 2020/21, 94.3% of non-disadvantaged A level students were retained and assessed compared to 88.5% of disadvantaged students. Students are only included in the average point score measure if they are entered for examination i.e. if they are retained and assessed. More information on 2020/21 retention can be found in the 2020/21 version of this statistical release. An update to this statistical release with 2021/22 retention figures will be released on 30th March 2023.

Average results by gender

For the level 3 exam cohorts, both female and male students saw a drop in average attainment in 2021/22 when compared to 2020/21. The decrease was larger for female students than male students, which has resulted in a narrowing of the gender gap compared to last year.

When compared to 2018/19, the gender gap is slightly wider for A level students, but slightly narrower for applied general students in 2021/22. For tech level students the gender gap has reversed such that in 2018/19 it was in favour of male students, but since 2020/21 it has been in favour of female students.

The gender gap for the percentage of students achieving at least 2 A levels has been continuously decreasing for the past 5 years, falling from 5.2 ppts in 2017/18 to 0.9 ppts in 2021/22 in favour of female students.

Average results by ethnicity

Of the major ethnicity groups, Black or Black British students attained the lowest average result across all level 3 cohorts in 2021/22. At A level, Black or Black British students' attainment was almost a full grade lower than that of Chinese students. The rank order of attainment by ethnicity has remained almost unchanged at A level through the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes to the grading processes.

Prior attainment

Typically, the higher the average KS4 prior attainment, the higher the average outcome at the end of 16 to 18 study, regardless of the programme of study.

The attainment gap between students with the highest and lowest prior attainment has remained stable throughout different grading processes since 2019/20 (when this prior attainment data is available). The attainment gap at A level is around 25 pts (or 2.5 grades) and at applied general and tech level is around 19 pts (or just under 2 grades).

Average results for other student characteristics

Breakdowns of other student characteristics, including SEN provision, first language and more, are available in the featured tables and create your own tables sections of this statistical release.

This year we have introduced a new data file to this statistical release called 'Attainment and other performance measures - student characteristics and disadvantage status'. This data file gives more detail about disadvantaged students by breaking down the disadvantaged status of students by other student characteristics. In breaking down the data in this way we hope to be able to better identify how student characteristics interact. The following sections show some illustrative analyses.

Disadvantage and prior attainment

The distribution of disadvantaged students is uneven across the prior attainment bands. At A level, 9.3% of students in state-funded institutions with the highest prior attainment (grade 7+) have disadvantaged status, while 27.8% with prior attainment from grade 0 up to grade 4 have disadvantaged status.

At A level the disadvantage gap for students with the lowest prior attainment was 1.3 pts in 2021/22 or just over 1/10th of a grade. The gap increased to 2.8 pts for A level students with prior attainment from grade 4 up to grade 7 and 3.5 pts (or just over 1/3 of a grade) for students with the highest prior attainment.

The increase in the overall A level disadvantage gap was driven by the increase in the disadvantage gap for students with the highest prior attainment. (Up 0.9 pts from 2.7 pts in 2020/21). There was a small increase for those with prior attainment of grade 4 up to grade 7 (up 0.2 pts from 2.6 pts) and the gap stayed steady for those with prior attainment of grade 0 up to grade 4.

Disadvantage and other student characteristics

Across level 3 exam cohorts, non-disadvantaged students with English as their first language obtained higher average results than students with a first language other than English. However, the reverse is true for disadvantaged students. Here students with a first language other than English achieved higher average results.

Disadvantaged Black or Black British students attained the lowest average results in 2021/22 of any ethnicity across level 3 cohorts. Non-disadvantaged Black or Black British students also attained lower average results than their non-disadvantaged peers. White students had the biggest disadvantage gaps (of students with known ethnicity) across level 3 cohorts.

The disadvantage gap remains greater for female students in all level 3 cohorts, as it has since 2019/20.

Summary

Data in this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16-18 at the start of the respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16-18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

The chart below shows the distribution of A level grades for students aged 16 to 18 for each academic year. Overall, the proportion of entries achieving top grades (between A* and B) has decreased in comparison to 2020/21 but remains higher than 2018/19.

In 2021/22, 14.8% of awarded grades were at A*. This is an increase of 6.9ppts from 2018/19, but a decrease of 4.3ppts from 2020/21. The percentage of entries achieving A*-A grades is now 36.4%, which similarly corresponds to an increase of 10.6ppts compared to 2018/19 but a decrease of 7.9ppts from 2020/21. As previously noted however, year on year comparisons cannot be interpreted as students achieving at a higher standard. Where achievement gaps alter in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared to previous years, it might reflect the different process by which grades were awarded across these years.

A level results by gender

Overall, in 2021/22 both male and female students were more likely to be awarded the higher A level grades (A*/A/B) than in 2018/19 but less likely than in 2020/21.

Across the top A* and A*-A grades the gender gap has decreased in comparison to 2020/21. Female students continue to be more likely to achieve these grades, which has been the trend for the last three years (since 2019/20) when a reversal of the gender gap was observed.

At A*-B the gap between female and male student achievement had been continuously increasing since 2017/18, however this year the gender gap has reduced from 6.9ppts in 2020/21 to 4.7ppts.

Data is this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16 to 18 at the start of respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16 to 18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

STEM subjects here are defined as: biology, chemistry, physics, maths, further maths, and computing.

A level grades in STEM subjects

For 2021/22, the proportion of students achieving top grades (A*, A*-A, A*-B) in STEM subjects compared to 2020/21 has fallen. At A*, the largest decrease was in further maths (8.4ppts) and the smallest decrease was in physics (4.7ppts).

The STEM subjects have generally seen large increases in the proportion of students achieving top grades when compared to 2018/19. The largest increase at A* was further maths rising by 15.7ppts, and the smallest increase was in biology at 6.3ppts. The A*-A grade boundary also observed large increases in the proportion of entries achieving these grades, ranging from computer science (17.1ppts increase) to maths (6.6ppts increase).

This section replaces one that usually describes outcomes in the English and maths progress accountability measures. These are not being created in 2021/22 in Find School and College Performance Data due to the impact of excluding CAG and TAG grades on this measure (set out in more detail in the 16 to 18 accountability measures: technical guide).

These alternative data have been published as part of this statistical release since 2015/16. Coverage is all entries and outcomes in below level 3 English and maths qualifications for students aged 16 to 18 at the start of the respective year. Unlike data based on students at the end of 16-18 study, it means these data are not impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21, and not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

It also means a student here can be reported in successive years, for example at age 16 in 2019/20, at age 17 in 2020/21, and at age 18 in 2021/22 if they entered exams in each year.

The tables below focus on GCSEs, and Functional Skills qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level which make up the large majority of English and maths qualifications entered below level 3 (though outcomes for Other level 2, level 1, and Entry Level qualifications are available via the 'Explore data and files' section).

Fewer students are entering below level 3 maths and English qualifications

Most students aged 16 to 18 enter below level 3 English and maths qualifications because they did not achieve a GCSE pass at grade 9-4 or equivalent during key stage 4, and so are required to continue to study those subjects under Condition of Funding rules (CoF).

The overall fall observed in the number of below level 3 entries across both English and maths in GCSEs and Functional Skills is consistent with data published in Key Stage 4 performance showing an increasing proportion of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSE during key stage 4 ( increasing from 59.8% in 2018/19 to 67.1% in 2020/21 in provisional data) - and so not being required to study below level 3 English or maths during the 16-18 phase.

An additional factor explaining the big fall in entries at GCSE from 2019/20 to 2021/22 (-27% English, -12% maths) is the higher proportion of GCSE entries in 2019/20 and 2020/21 during the 16-18 phase that resulted in a grade 9-4 pass, when grades were awarded through the CAG and TAG processes, because once a student achieves a 9-4 GCSE pass during 16-18 they no longer have to continue studying English and/or maths the following year.

Achievement of Level 2 English and maths through GCSE and Functional Skills qualifications

Many more age 16-18 students enter GCSEs (a level 1/level 2 qualification) than are entered for Functional skills (distinct qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level).

Overall pass rates are broadly comparable at GCSE and L1 and L2 Functional skills. Given that the prior attainment distributions are similar at GCSE and level 2 functional skills (see table below), we might have expected to see a higher level 2 pass rate (grades 9-4) at GCSE. Although it is difficult to make direct comparisons due to range of grades available within the GCSE qualification.

Qualification KS4 Prior Attainment English entries in 2021/22 Proportion of English entries at prior attainment band maths entries in 2021/22 Proportion of maths entries at prior attainment band

All level 1 and level 2 qualifications have had decreases in their pass rates in 2021/22. Mathematics qualifications have seen much larger decreases than English across all qualifications.

Maths L2 functional skills decreased by 20.8 ppts to 63.6% (12.0 ppts fall in English to 81.0%). Maths L1 functional skills decreased by 10.2 ppts to 85.4% (English fall, 3.3ppts to 94.0%). For maths GCSE the overall pass rate (grade 9-1) decreased by 5.8ppts to 84.9% (English decreased by 3.7 ppts to 85.8%) and the level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) also decreased 16.7ppts to 15.3% for Maths and 13.9ppts to 25.7% for English

In contrast, at KS4 the English language GCSE level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) fell by more than maths. English language fell by 4.0 ppts and maths by 3.1ppts between 2020/21 and 2021/22 (provisional data).

Pass rates in English and maths at level 2 by institution type

GCSE entries by students at independent schools are most likely to pass at level 2, but it should be noted that Condition of Funding rules are not relevant for these schools, and these students may be resitting GCSEs to improve their KS4 grade, which could have already been at grade 4 or above. Amongst state-funded institutions, students in schools are consistently most likely to pass GCSE at level 2, then sixth form colleges and other FE sector colleges in both English and maths in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Level 2 Functional Skills entries: within state-funded institutions sixth form colleges and 'Other FE sector' colleges are consistently more likely to pass than schools. Most entries in L2 Functional Skills are in 'Other FE sector' colleges.

Applied general, tech level, and technical certificate qualifications approved for reporting in this statistical release (and institution level performance data) are updated annually and published on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/performance-tables-technical-and-vocational-qualifications
The concept of qualifications approved for reporting has been applied since 2015/16 following Professor Alison Wolf's Review of Vocational Education. From 2017/18 at level 3 and from 2018/19 for technical certificates, the quality threshold for vocational and technical qualifications to be included in performance measures further increased. The later reforms include criteria relating to the size, content, and assessment, including a requirement that a proportion of a qualification's content is subject to external assessment. From 1 August 2020 the ESFA removed funding approval for pre-existing applied general and tech level qualifications (which had been approved in 2015/16 and 2016/17) which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications.

The measures presented in this section show the students entering these approved qualifications as a proportion of students entering a wider set of vocational qualifications that had been approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for funding during 16 to 18 study.

Proportions entering approved tech level and applied general qualifications continue to increase following a large fall in 2017/18 (when both lists of approved qualifications changed substantially), with a jump in students entering reformed versions of qualifications in 21/22 (in part attributable to the defunding of unreformed pre-existing qualifications).

The coverage of the measure for technical certificates is strongly impacted by the removal of CAG and TAG data from 2021/22 accountability data (as coverage is students at the end of 16-18 study, and level 2 vocational qualifications are more often entered during a student's first year of 16-18 study and so are excluded from the calculation).

The following table shows that there is variation in whether different institution types enter students for qualifications approved for reporting in performance tables versus the wider set of qualifications that were approved for funding.

Overall students in state-funded schools continue to be most likely to enter reformed versions of vocational and technical qualifications at level 3 (reformed in 2017/18), but 2021/22 saw a marked increase in the proportion of students entering approved/reformed applied general and tech levels across all broad institution types.

Introduction to retention measures

The Retention measure shows the percentage of students who are retained to the end of the 'core aim' (or main learning aim) of their study programme at a school or college.

Students are counted as retained if they are recorded as having "completed the learning activities leading to the learning aim" by their institution. This information is collected in the school census or for students that attended sixth form or FE colleges, the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

Retention measures are not calculated for independent schools or special schools (both independent and maintained) as learning aims data is not available for these schools.

The Retention measure is calculated by dividing the total number of students retained by the total number of students with a core aim, in each of the five programmes approved for reporting in performance tables: academic, A level, applied general, tech level, and at level 2, technical certificate programmes.

Since academic programmes comprise largely of A levels, only data for A level core aims are described here; overall data for academic programmes can be found in the 'create your own tables' section and in the underlying data available to download.

Alongside the headline Retention measure there are two supporting retention measures:

Retained and Assessed: The percentage of students who are retained to the end of their course and are assessed.

Returned and Retained for a second year: The percentage of level 3 students who return to the same provider and complete their programme of study in their second year. (The main difference when compared to Retention is for students who complete their core aim in one year.)

A fuller description of the methodology underlying retention measures can be found in the 16-18 technical guide (from page 41).

Retention measures and the impact of the trigger change in 2020/21

The impact of the trigger rule change, meaning that students were no longer automatically reported after two years in 16-18 study, was to reduce the reported number of students in scope for retention measures across all exam cohorts in 2020/21, with the biggest impact on vocational and technical cohorts (VTQs).

For retention measures, this meant that Retention rates were slightly increased in 2020/21 for level 3 cohorts (A level, applied general, tech level) than would have been seen otherwise. However, the impact on the level 2 technical certificate cohort was a large decrease in Retention rates (and in cohort size).

Fuller analysis on the impact on 2020/21 retention data can be found in the methodology document, in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release', under the heading 'Impact of the trigger change on headline retention rates'.

Students whose reporting was delayed for one year due to the 2020/21 trigger change are reported in 2021/22. In other words, the impact of the trigger change was one-off discontinuity in retention data for 2020/21. For this reason, when looking at trends, data for 2021/22 is better compared to data for 2019/20 and earlier years.

All level 3 study programmes show increases in Retention rates in 2021/22 (A level +0.1 pts to 95.1%; applied general +1.8 pts to 91.7%; tech level +0.5 ppts to 91.1%). This continues a trend of increasing Retention rates since 2018/19. A level programmes continue to have the highest Retention rate as has been the case since the measure was introduced in 2015/16, but for the first time applied general programmes have a higher Retention rate than tech levels programmes.

Technical certificates have had lower Retention rates than Level 3 cohorts since being added to performance measures in 2016/17. However, they have seen an increase in Retention rate this year (+4.5 ppts to 86.6%), recovering from the impact of the trigger change that was seen last year and returning to previously-seen levels.

For the A level and applied general cohorts, rates for the Retained and Assessed measure have increasingly followed the same general trend as the Retention rate in recent years. Similarly, the Returned and Retained measure now also follows the same trend. This is most notable for the A level cohort where the phased decoupling of AS and A levels predominantly between 2017 and 2019 has resulted in a much smaller proportion of the A level cohort taking AS levels only and not then returning for a second year of study.

The tech level cohort shows a slightly different pattern this year whereby the Retained and Assessed rate has dropped slightly despite increases in both the Retained rate (retention to the end of the course) and the Returned and Retained rate (retention specifically over two years of a course). This means that within this cohort there was an increase in the proportion of students not being assessed at the end of their course .

The much smaller technical certificate cohort (Level 2) was heavily impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21 and shows less stable trends. In addition, the low cohort numbers mean that breakdowns of the technical certificate data, by student characteristics become increasingly unreliable, and therefore this cohort isn't discussed further.

Due to the similarity in the trends shown by the three retention measures, in particular for the two largest cohorts (A level and applied general), our further narrative will focus on the Retained and Assessed measure. Further breakdowns of the Retention measure and the Returned and Retained measure across all qualification cohorts are available in underlying data and through the table builder.

The Retained and Assessed rate is higher for non-disadvantaged students across all level 3 cohorts. Disadvantaged tech level students are least likely to be Retained and Assessed at 79.1%, which is 7.1 ppts lower than their non-disadvantaged peers. The Retained and Assessed disadvantage gap is smaller for A level and applied general (5.6 ppts and 5.3 ppts respectively).

The disadvantage gap has been narrowing for the A level cohort since 2018/19 (from 8.4 ppts to 5.6 ppts). Similarly, the applied general cohort has, overall, seen a substantial decrease in the gap in that time (from 7.9 ppts to 5.6 ppts). In contrast, the tech level cohort did not consolidate an initial decrease in the gap in 2019/20 and is now only slightly smaller than in 2018/19 (from 7.6 ppts to 7.1 ppts).

Changes to the distribution of prior attainment at A level between 2017/18 and 2021/22

The coverage of the retention measures is different to the attainment measures, and is described above in 'Retention: introduction and changes to the data in 2021/22'. The largest difference is that independent schools are excluded from the data, and this impacts the distribution of the prior attainment groups as students from independent schools have higher prior attainment on average.

The distribution of prior attainment has changed over time for all cohorts. The proportion of A level students with low prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4) has decreased from 8.1% of the cohort in 2017/18 to 1.9% in 2021/22. High prior attaining students (average grade 7 or more) have increased their proportion of the cohort from 16.1% in 2017/18 to 35.3% in 2021/22.

This increase in the proportion of KS4 students achieving grades averaging 7 or more, in part reflects year on year grade increases at KS4, and in part reflects that most A level students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and so their GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

However, in the vocational and technical cohorts, a larger proportion of students are being reported after three years in 16-18, hence prior attainment for these cohorts is less affected by CAGs. This is following delay in their reporting last year due to the change in the rule in 2020/21 triggering students for reporting.

Overall, students with the highest average prior attainment (grade 7+) are most likely to be Retained and Assessed in their main programme of study and students with the lowest prior attainment (grade 0 up to grade 4) the least likely to be Retained and Assessed. The highest Retained and Assessed rate is for high prior attaining A level students at 98.7%. The lowest Retained and Assessed rate is also for A level students. Low prior attaining A level students have a Retained and Assessed rate of 66.0%.

The Retained and Assessed rate for low prior attaining A level students has fallen and is now close to the 2018/19 rate, whereas the rate remains higher for other level 3 cohorts.

A full breakdown of all three retention measures by a range of other student characteristics is available through the table builder. Here, we draw attention to small number of breakdowns that may be of interest.

English Language

Across all level 3 cohorts, students with English as their first language have lower Retained and Assessed rates than students who do not. The difference is driven by poor rates for disadvantaged students with English as their first language.

The applied general cohort similarly has an increase in the Retained and Assessed rate since last year for all major (known) ethnicity groups and shows many of the same trends between groups. The Chinese ethnic group has the highest Retained and Assessed rates since 2018/19 (now at 95.8%) and the Black or Black British ethnic group and the Mixed Dual background ethnic group have made the biggest improvements in Retained and Assessed rates over recent years (+9.9 ppts to 89.1%, +9.9 ppts to 87.0% respectively). Again, the White ethnic group shows the largest disadvantage gap and White disadvantaged students have the lowest rates for Retained and Assessed.

The tech level cohort and the technical certificate cohort have very low numbers in some ethnic groups, and show less distinct patterns over recent years.

For the A level cohort, state-funded mainstream schools and Sixth form colleges have seen an increase in rates for Retained and Assessed this year (+1.5 ppts to 95.4% and +0.5 ppts to 92.3% respectively). In contrast, 'Other FE sector colleges' have seen a decrease (-2.3 ppts to 88.2%). However, the decrease for 'Other FE sector colleges' follows very large increases last year; the relative rates of the three major institution types have returned to levels seen before the change to the trigger rule.

There have also been decreases in the Retained and Assessed rate for 'Other FE sector colleges' in the applied general and tech level cohorts, following larger increases in the previous two years. All state-funded mainstream schools continue to have the lowest Retained and Assessed rates for applied general and tech level qualifications. This has been the case since 2018/19.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - APS per entry by institution type'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: APS per entry and average result' brings up the dashboard with attainment data in terms of APS per entry.

Data including the applied general and tech level cohorts starts in 2015/16 (when these cohorts were first defined in this statistical release, and school and college data). Data for the A level cohort starts in 2012/13.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - A level subject entries and grade by gender'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: A level entries and grade distribution' brings up the dashboard with A level entries data by subject, and A level grades by subject.

These data cover A level entries by students aged 16 to 18 within each academic year from 1995/96.

We have moved our Transition Matrices tool into a web based app for easier use. It is available at the following link:
16-18 Transition Matrices
Transition matrices (TM) are a useful tool to help visualise the progression from different groups of attainment at key stage 4 (KS4) to outcomes achieved during 16 to 18 for a range of different subjects.

Note that the 16 to 18 outcomes here will also be impacted by the different process to award grades in 2022, which is likely to impact the relationship between outcomes and KS4 prior attainment in 2021/22 for subjects.

Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

National statistics

These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

meet identified user needs

produced according to sound methods

well explained and readily accessible

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

If you have a specific enquiry about A level and other 16 to 18 results statistics and data:

Attainment statistics team

Email: Attainment.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Michael Greer

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Telephone: 037 0000 2288

Opening times:
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)

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A level and other 16 to 18 results, Academic year 2021/22

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This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades.

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07:30-12:55
12th May 2023
Norwich

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ICT for Education's national conference programme visits EAST ANGLIA, and will be held on Friday May 12th 2023 at Carrow Road (Norwich City Football Club).
The conference runs from 07.30-12.55 pm. Attendance is FREE for all delegates.
Drawing on both regional and national ICT expertise, we have sourced a great line-up of speakers who will address ICT challenges faced by both teachers and schools. Alongside the conference, we will be hosting a vendor exhibition - showcasing solutions to meet your ICT needs.

Meet the experts, network with peers, solve practical problems and discover new resources in just one short day - FREE OF CHARGE! Pick up your conference badge(s) from Reception on the day. If you would like to bring colleagues, please ensure they register.

We look forward to meeting you!

Conference schedule yet to be set

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ICT for Education send out regular, informative emails to our client base. These include product updates, case studies and items that are of interest in our industry.

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ICT for Education's national conference programme visits EAST ANGLIA, and will be held on Friday May 12th 2023 at Carrow Road (Norwich City Football Club). The conference runs from 07.30-12.55 pm. Attendance is FREE for all delegates.

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STEM Learning: Physical computing kit - KS2 & KS3 Crumble

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STEM Learning: Physical computing kit - KS2 & KS3 Crumble

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8th February 2023
Wymondham College

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Physical computing involves programming digital devices to sense and interact with the world - an engaging alternative to screen-only activity. It touches upon many areas of the computing curriculum, bringing subject knowledge and programming skills to engaging and enjoyable classroom activities.

The Crumble Controller is an easy-to-use programmable device, ideal for physical computing in primary schools. It is capable of driving two motors. With 4 input / output terminals, children can connect LEDs, switches and other interesting add-ons.

During this CPD you'll explore how Crumble can be used in the classroom, with blocks of code 'snapping' together in an easy-to-use, Scratch-like environment suitable for key stage 2. You'll find out how to setup the device, how to make use of input and output terminals and explore how to use the device with children. The CPD will help you gain confidence in teaching using Crumble, and the free Teach Computing Curriculum.

The National Centre for Computing Education has developed a Crumble physical computing kit that can be borrowed from your local Computing Hub, following your CPD.

By the end of this course you will be able to:

● Understand the impact physical computing has on engaging students in computing

● Lead children to create block based programs to control the Crumble

● Understand how the Teach Computing Curriculum unit can be delivered with the Crumble

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Physical computing kit - KS2 & KS3 Crumble - short course | STEM

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Physical computing involves programming digital devices to sense and interact with the world – an engaging alternative to screen-only activity. It touches upon many areas of the computing curriculum, bringing subject knowledge and programming skills to engaging and enjoyable classroom activities.

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The use of the internet and other digital devices is on the rise and creates fresh challenges for young people and the difficulties they can face online. Safer Internet Day takes place on 7 February and is a chance to highlight how young people can build healthier relationships with online activities such as gaming, messaging and emailing carried out using internet services.

The UK Safer Internet Centre, who coordinate the UK version of the awareness day, provide all sorts of interactive resources for use in the primary classroom, such as presentations, games and quizzes to support children's learning of online safety.

We've collated a range of useful resources to help you plan your lessons.

Teach Computing Curriculum resources

The Teach Computing Curriculum provides a range of resources for each year group including lesson plans and activity sheets. We have picked out two key resources which explore how to use technology safely and the accuracy of the internet.
Computer systems and networks around us (KS1)
How is information technology being used for good in our lives? Help learners explore the benefits of IT to our society in places like shops, libraries, and hospitals. Discuss the ways to use technology responsibly and make smart choices when using it.
Can I believe what I read? (KS2)*
Not everything on the internet is true, honest or accurate. Help your pupils recognise false information by seeing how web searches can return ambiguous and occasionally misleading results. The practical activity will demonstrate how quickly information online can spread beyond control.
*This session is the final one in a six session teaching unit provided by the NCCE Safety snakes (KS1)
Smartie The Penguin (KS1)
STEM Learning resources
E-safety scenario cards (KS2)

STEM Learning has an extensive resource collection covering different topics including internet safety. We have collated resources for both key stages which explore different areas related to Safer Internet Day. They vary in how they are delivered to students so you can pick out the best option for your class.
Personal information (KS2)
Get pupils to practice coding skills and refresh their knowledge of online safety whilst enjoying a game of snakes and ladders. Create the correct algorithm and program to send Bee-Botsto the correct square, climbing any ladders and going down snakes. If pupils land on squares with online safety 'Do and Don't' tips they discuss these with their partner.
Searching the internet (KS2)
Online safety story created by Childnet International for 3 to 7 year olds. Join in with Mummy Penguin's song and follow the adventures of Smartie the Penguin as he learns how to be safe on the internet.

Explore this set of 15 different e-safety scenarios for pupils to act out in the classroom. This could be used in a PSHE or computing lesson to reinforce ways to keep safe online.

What is personal information? Ask this question in your classroom and give pupils the opportunity to discuss and share their own understandings of the subject. Encourage them to think about what information should be shared and what should be kept private.

Help pupils develop their digital literacy using Mars exploration as the context. The activity teaches them to use the search engine and how to recognise reliable and trustworthy sources online.

Other useful resources

There are a range of websites available to support with the teaching of internet safety through providing information and resources which can be shared with young people. The websites featured below are a great starting point to inspire conversations with your students.

Education for a Connected World framework, developed by the UK Council for internet safety supports learning from 4-18 years of age. It is aimed at equipping children and young people to live knowledgeably, responsibly and safely in a digital world. The Project EVOLVE Toolkit supports this framework with progressive resources which prompt discussion and reflection, shape thinking, and challenge misconceptions.

Common sense education has a whole host of resources which support online safety including some really useful videos for younger learners. These resources can help young people develop as digital citizens throughout a progressive series of lessons and activities.

Barefoot computing has lots of unplugged activities which support children's understanding on online safety. Resources are free to access once logged in.

Childnet offers a number of useful resources for use with young learners. They also offer a digital leaders programme which empowers children to champion safe use of the internet with their peers.

There are lots of great story books that support understanding of internet safety for young people. The Education People's Online Safety Storybooks page gives ideas of books and how to use them in a classroom.

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Safer Internet Day: Making space for conversations about life online

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Safer Internet Day takes place on 7 February and is a chance to highlight how young people can build healthier relationships with online activities such as gaming, messaging and emailing carried out using internet services. We've collated a range of useful resources to help you plan your lessons.

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Published: 19th January 2023
"We expect that overall results in summer 2023 will be much closer to the pre-pandemic years than results since 2020. In other words, we expect that overall, nationally, results in 2023 will be lower than they were in 2022."

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Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be with you this afternoon as Chair of Ofqual. Unfortunately, the Chief Regulator is unable to be with us today, which I know she very much regrets. She spoke to your winter conference last year in remote format, but it's obviously much better to be here face to face and talk in person.

And what a difference a year makes. Last year saw the very welcome return of a normal series of examinations and formal assessments, or nearly normal. Thank you for everything you did to enable those to run smoothly in your colleges. I know it wasn't always easy but we had a really good outcome for young people, nonetheless.

I will be saying something later on exams this summer, but I wanted to start with what is happening on the review of level 3 qualifications, including, for example, courses like BTECs at level 3, but also the whole range of alternative academic and technical qualifications at level 3.

I know that there are questions and potentially some concerns about what is happening, including the approval process for continued funding, and why all this is happening, so I thought it might be helpful for me to offer a brief overview.

Aside from a small number of exceptions, all level 3 alternative academic and technical qualifications (qualifications at level 3 which are not T Levels or A levels, like for example level 3 BTECS, alongside many others) are being required to re-apply for funding as part of a government-led streamlining programme for these qualifications.

The government's aim for this exercise is in essence threefold:

firstly, to simplify the landscape, including addressing what is seen as in some cases unnecessary duplication where that exists

to drive up the quality of qualifications and the assessment that underpins them

and to ensure that appropriate priority is given to T Levels and their place in the landscape

These alternative and technical qualifications constitute a large and complex area in comparison, say, with A levels and T Levels. For example, there are more than 60 awarding organisations offering the qualifications that are in scope, and several thousand different level 3 qualifications in the alternative academic and technical space.

Some of these are large entry and well known to you in your colleges, and some, of course, are very small in terms of entry, and not likely to be on your radar as college leaders.

Last week the government published details of their new qualifications funding approval process for qualifications at level 3. Talking to your colleagues, I know that that is under scrutiny by your representatives and I am sure debate will continue. What the document sets out to do is bring clarity on what type of L3 qualifications are likely to be publicly funded alongside A levels and T Levels, and bring clarity on the timescales.

I recommend that you take a look at this for more detailed information. I believe the Department for Education will be running some webinars to look at some of this in more detail, which may be useful for colleagues here as well.

As part of the process that awarding organisations are going through, re-applying for funding, we, Ofqual, are contributing by providing qualitative feedback to the DfE on each qualification where funding is being reapplied for, as well as on the awarding organisation itself.

This means that these qualifications are coming under much greater individual regulatory scrutiny than has been the case up to now. Ofqual has put in place a range of higher expectations relating to quality that we expect awarding organisations to meet in their reapplications. It is against those expectations that we provide our qualitative feedback to the DfE and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

As the process plays out, the DfE is taking decisions on funding for the reapplications it receives taking into consideration the quality-based advice Ofqual provides, as well as the contribution of IfATE, that represents the employer voice.

It is probably important to flag that the government absolutely recognises that, alongside the aim of simplifying the landscape, there will, in the future, still need to be a range of qualifications at L3 available alongside A levels and T Levels.

For many students these qualifications are important, not only as vehicles for their continued education and engagement in education, but also because they provide important routes for further study or employment. So there will likely be many decisions to approve applications for funding, alongside decisions not to continue to fund.

You might be wondering what this means for you as a college leader.

In short, unless you are a college which offers only A levels and GCSEs, or T Levels, it is almost certain you will be offering some of these qualifications, maybe for example level 3 BTECs or equivalent.

It is also at least possible that the government will determine that some of those qualifications do not meet the criteria for continued funding, which may mean you will need to take decisions about changing the portfolio of courses you provide in the interests of your students to reflect what is available and funded in the future. So following this process, including through your representatives in this association, to make sure that you are up to speed with decisions being taken is critically important. I am sure you will also continue to make your views heard.

Grading in 2023

Moving on now, I will now say something about arrangements for grading GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2023. We published our plans back in September so that higher education institutions could factor in decisions that were being made about grading before they embarked on their offer-making, and of course because some of you will have been arriving at UCAS predictions for students. We felt it was important you had as much information as possible before you started that process. Our plans for 2023 take us a step further on the road to normality, building on what happened in 2022, while also recognising the impact of the pandemic.

You will recall that in summer 2022, we aimed for a staging post on the way back to more normal grading. In 2023, we will return to pre-pandemic grading, but with some protection in place for your students, a soft landing, if you like.

Students in the 2023 cohort have not, during their exam courses, experienced the level of national school or college closures experienced by students in the 2 years before them. But I know, from listening to teachers, college leaders and students themselves, that many have certainly experienced some level of disruption.

So, to achieve that extra bit of protection, Ofqual will put in place the same sort of safeguards used for the first students taking reformed GCSEs and A levels from 2017 onwards.

Back in the reform context, that meant not disadvantaging students in the first cohorts if overall they performed less well because they were the first to sit the new exams.

So how will it work this summer? In practice, as in any year, grade boundaries for every specification will be set by senior examiners after they have reviewed the work produced by students in their exams.

But those senior examiners will be guided in their decisions about where to set grade boundaries by information about the grades achieved in pre-pandemic years, along with prior attainment data for the cohort.

So that means students in 2023 will be protected in grading terms if their examination performance in 2023 is a little lower than it might have been had the pandemic not taken place. That is what I mean by a soft landing.

What that means is, a typical student who would have achieved an A grade in their A level geography before the pandemic will be just as likely to get an A in summer 2023, even if their performance in the assessments is a little weaker in 2023 than it might have been before the pandemic.

We expect that overall results in summer 2023 will be much closer to the pre-pandemic years than results since 2020. In other words, we expect that overall, nationally, results in 2023 will be lower than they were in 2022.

Individual providers, including colleges and schools, should be prepared for this. I know, as a school leader myself, it's worrying if you look at figures that are lower than the previous year.

It's important that we don't compare the results in 2022 with any other year. Lower results in 2023 compared with 2022 will not mean, by itself, that your college's performance has fallen. It will be much more likely to reflect the return nationally to normal grading standards.

It is important to note that, while we aim to return pretty much to normal grading in 2023, this does not mean there is any nationally pre-determined 'quota' of grades. Every set of grade boundaries, qualification by qualification, is determined by human, senior examiners, taking account of all the information they have available, including actual student performance.

I did want to sound one note of caution: if you are using summer or autumn 2022 papers as mock or trial exams, the grade boundaries set for those papers are likely to be more generous, reflecting the approach we took in 2022, both summer and autumn. Do bear that in mind if you are using the results from mocks to give indicative grades for students being examined this year.

For vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken alongside or instead of GCSEs and A levels, awarding organisations are expected to take account of the grading approach being used in GCSEs and A levels. So for VTQ qualifications certificating in 2023, this also means a return to normal grading arrangements.

And a word about universities and higher education: decisions about grading by themselves have no effect on the number of higher education places available. That is determined by other factors and has got nothing to do with grading decisions.

Universities themselves will take account of how exams will be graded when they make their offers, including any differences between the 4 nations of the UK (which already exist). Universities are well-experienced in factoring those in to their offering arrangements.

UCAS wrote out to all schools just after Ofqual announced our grading decision, to explain how offers will be made this year, and to confirm that universities would take our grading decision into account. The Chief Regulator also wrote to admissions officers just before Christmas.

Formulae/equation sheets, MFL and resilience

Further points on 2023: there are one or two changes to support students taking GCSEs. Students will be given formulae sheets for GCSE maths and revised equation sheets for GCSE physics and combined science, which we did in 2022 for those GCSEs. This will give some additional reassurance to GCSE students in the exam itself.

And for modern foreign languages GCSEs, Ofqual's changed requirements mean that exams do not have to test unfamiliar vocabulary. That's to make it feel a bit more accessible for students this year.

Delivering exams

Turning now to resilience, the arrangements in place should the unthinkable happen in summer 2023. Clearly the closer we get to the summer, the less likely that becomes, but we've all learned to be cautious in how we predict the future. In November, Ofqual and the DfE jointly published guidance on resilience, in the very unlikely event that exams are not able to go ahead as planned. Some colleges may be running mock exams now and I know this is a big operation, particularly in colleges such as yours with large cohorts of students. You are also, simultaneously, preparing students to take their end of year exams. Ofqual was conscious of this when we published the guidance.

The thrust of that guidance, designed to minimise the burden on you and your students, is that any assessment opportunities you plan should be in line with your normal approaches, as far as possible.

As well as all the work you do to prepare your students to take their assessments through your teaching and learning, we know that the administration and delivery of exams is something you take seriously. We take our hats off to people in colleges leading the examinations operation.

It is enormously complex, but there is training and support available, and I encourage you to make sure those who are charged with doing this work get access to the range of training available for them so they can benefit from it and deliver as well as possible on behalf of students.

If you've looked at the GCSE and A level exam timetables for next year, you'll see there are some changes from 2022.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) listened to feedback about the spacing between exams in the same subject in summer 2022. They have taken this on board for 2023.

They will largely be preserving those gaps, to reduce the risk of students missing all exams in a subject, but the spacing between some papers is slightly less next summer.

I did just want to draw your attention to the contingency days that they have built in. Both the 8 and 15 June will be 'contingency afternoons' and the 28 June will be a contingency day in case there is national or local disruption that would mean exams had to be re-scheduled.

Do please let your students know about this and remind them that they might have to be available on those dates. It's particularly important for them to be aware if they are planning holidays.

There are more details on the JCQ website, and a quick plug for Ofqual's resources as well: every year we provide a guide for students and a guide for schools and colleges. These will be published in the spring, and always live somewhere central on our website. I hope you'll be able to point your students to them.

Vocational and technical qualification results in 2023

And finally, just as Ofqual regulates in the interests of students of all ages and apprentices, we are also convinced of the need for parity of treatment for students across the different sorts of qualifications your colleges provide, whether vocational or academic.

So I wanted to reassure you that we have in train a series of actions to prevent a repeat of the delayed results in vocational and technical qualifications that we saw last August. I know this affected some of you and your students.

We were shocked by what became apparent in August. Not only that around 20,000 students from 1,550 centres had delayed results, but that for some time, there hadn't been a single date by which VTQ students could expect results - even when they were used for progression. That is not acceptable and Ofqual will work with the sector to fix this, not just for this summer, but for the long term and in the interests of being fair to students taking these qualifications.

Our investigation of the awarding organisations involved continues, as does our review of the extent of the problem. We will consider whether enforcement action is appropriate after that concludes.

In December, we published the 5 key actions that Ofqual, working with you and others in the sector, will deliver.

These actions cover a range of areas, and there isn't time to cover them in detail here. They include putting in place clear deadlines, improving data sharing, introducing check-ins for colleges and awarding organisations, improving information accessibility about these qualifications, improving communications from awarding organisations to centres, improving training for staff running exams, and monitoring the implementation of all this via a joint taskforce from around the sector chaired by the Chief Regulator.

We are certain that taken together these actions will to a very significant extent address the issues we saw playing out this summer (and which to a greater or lesser extent have been endemic in the system).

Thank you very much for your attention - I think we still have a few moments for any questions.

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Sir Ian Bauckham CBE at the Sixth Form Colleges Association winter conference

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Ofqual's Chair looks ahead to assessment and examination results in 2023.

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New Digital T level Training and Support

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New Digital T level Training and Support

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This suite of courses is suitable for anyone supporting T Level learners with embedded English, maths and digital competencies in T Levels.

The suite of courses is made up of:

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English (online)

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Maths (online)

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Digital (online)

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English, Maths and Digital (face-to-face or live online)

Course delivery: a mixture of online and face-to-face courses.

Taking both course options will maximise the impact of your CPD activity, but if you are time-limited, taking either the online course or the face-to-face/live online event will provide you with the knowledge you need.

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English

This course will introduce vocational teachers to the General English Competencies and explore how these can be used to develop the embedded English skills of learners on T Levels. It will help you to:

examine the General English Competencies in vocational context

explore and evaluate practical pedagogical approaches to teaching, learning and assessment of the General English Competencies in T Levels.

Course delivery: online course, accessed through the Professional Development Platform once you have inputted your T Level Occupational Specialism.

Recommended six hours of self-guided learning.

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Maths

This course will introduce vocational teachers to the General Maths Competencies and explore how these can be used to support learners as they develop and apply the embedded maths skills in T Levels. It will help you to:

consider some teaching, learning and assessment activities that will support the development of learners' procedural fluency and conceptual understanding of maths skills

explore and examine practical pedagogical approaches to teaching maths skills within your specialist area

review some resources that you can use to help your learners develop the required maths skills for employment.

Course delivery: online course, accessed through the Professional Development Platform once you have inputted your T Level Occupational Specialism.

Recommended six hours of self-guided learning.

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Digital

This course will introduce vocational teachers to the General Digital Competencies and explore how these can be used to develop the digital skills and confidence of learners on T Levels. It will help you to:

examine the General Digital Competencies in vocational context

explore and evaluate practical pedagogical approaches to teaching, learning and assessment of the General Digital Competencies in T Levels

identify resources and activities to help learners to develop and demonstrate their digital knowledge, skills and understanding in vocational context.

Course delivery: online course, accessed through the Professional Development Platform once you have inputted your T Level Occupational Specialism

Recommended six hours of self-guided learning.

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T Level Role and Route Specific Training - The Education and Training Foundation

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This suite of courses is suitable for anyone supporting T Level learners with embedded English, maths and digital competencies in T Levels. The suite of courses is made up of: Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English (online) Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Maths (online) Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Digital (online) Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English, Maths and Digital (face-to-face or live online) Course delivery: a mixture of online and face-to-face courses.

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JTSH: Are you meeting the requirements for KS4 Computing?

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JTSH: Are you meeting the requirements for KS4 Computing?

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11th January 2023
Online

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Inviting all Heads, MAT Leads, Governors and Senior Leaders.

Are you meeting the statutory requirements for the computing curriculum? Join this remote briefing on 11 January 2023 to hear from experts and receive 10 takeaways to help your school provide a computing curriculum for all.

The session will help you to decide how your school can respond to this question:
Is your school providing this? All pupils must have the opportunity to study aspects of information technology and computer science at sufficient depth to allow them to progress to higher levels of study or to a professional career. All pupils should be taught to:

develop their capability, creativity and knowledge in computer science, digital media and information technology

develop and apply their analytic, problem-solving, design, and computational thinking skills

understand how changes in technology affect safety, including new ways to protect their online privacy and identity, and how to report a range of concerns.

Book here to attend the 7.45-8.15am session.

Book here to attend the 4-4.30pm session.

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Are you meeting the requirements for KS4 Computing?

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Inviting all Heads, MAT Leads, Governors and Senior Leaders. Are you meeting the statutory requirements for the computing curriculum? Join this remote briefing on 11 January 2023 to hear from experts and receive 10 takeaways to help your school provide a computing curriculum for all.

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Y7/8
21-23 June 2023.
Birmingham

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The Big Bang Fair is back for 2022! We're so excited for you to join us at the UK's biggest celebration of STEM for young people.

The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair is returning from Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 June 2022 at The NEC in Birmingham. The Fair is open to schools from 9.30am to 3.30pm to get stuck in, get inspired and get excited at the STEM event of the year.

The Big Bang Fair 2022 will be packed full of exciting, interactive activities and has been designed specifically with 11 to 14 year olds in mind, to provide the best careers inspiration, advice and opportunities to meet with real scientists and engineers.

Registrations for schools groups are now fully booked. Tickets remain for families, home educators and school groups to visit us at The Big Bang Fair Unlocked on Thursday 23 June 4pm to 8pm.
Register for The Big bang Fair Unlocked.
Got your tickets? Let's get stuck in! Discover what's happening at The Fair, what you can do and who you can meet before you arrive. Find out what's on.

Ready to go? Plan your visit.

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The Big Bang Fair 2022 - Register now! - The Big Bang

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The Big Bang Fair is back for 2022! We're so excited for you to join us at the UK's biggest celebration of STEM for young people. The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair is returning from Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 June 2022 at The NEC in Birmingham.

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Y7-13
Deadline: 30th March 2023

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The Big Bang competition

Know the next space explorer or climate change hero? Got an idea that will transform people's lives?

Inspire inquisitive minds to think big, challenge facts, ask questions and invent solutions with the UK's top annual science and engineering competition. Young people are amazing - help them shine and change the world.
Join the fun! (...and develop skills along the way)

Build confidence and teamwork skills

Solve problems

Get expert feedback

Celebrate and share your work

The Big Bang Competition is free, and is open to young people in the UK aged 11 to 19 in state funded education, who are home educated or who enter as part of a community group. Competitors can only enter one project, either on their own or as part of a team.

Please check that you're eligible before you start your entry - have a look at our rules and eligibility for more details.

The Competition is now open for entries! The Competition will close on 30 March 2023 at 5pm.

Enter The Big Bang Competition

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Know the next space explorer or climate change hero? Got an idea that will transform people's lives? Inspire inquisitive minds to think big, challenge facts, ask questions and invent solutions with the UK's top science and engineering competition. Young people are amazing - help them shine and change the world.

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Updated: 8 December 2022

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Progress of Essential Digital Skills Qualifications and Digital Functional Skills Qualifications through Ofqual's technical evaluation process.

Details

The Department for Education has introduced a new legal entitlement that specified digital qualifications, at Entry Level and Level 1, will be fully funded for adults with no or low digital skills. This entitlement was made available starting in August 2020. Alongside the new entitlement, the Department is reforming basic digital qualifications, introducing new Essential Digital skills qualifications (EDSQs) and new Digital Functional Skills qualifications (Digital FSQs).

You can find further information about the 2 qualifications in the table below. From August 2020, the Department for Education introduced funding of specified Entry Level and Level 1 digital qualifications for adults with no or low digital skills.

At the same time, the Department started reforming basic digital qualifications, introducing new Essential Digital skills qualifications and new Digital Functional Skills qualifications.The documents on this page let you follow the progress of those reforms.

Essential Digital Skills qualifications

Digital Functional Skills qualifications

New qualification available at Entry level 3 and at Level 1

Replacing Functional Skills in ICT, but new qualifications available at Entry level 3 and at Level 1

Appropriate qualification for adults with no or low digital skills wishing to gain digital skills for a specific life, work or study purpose - for example, to apply for jobs online, to manage finances online or to access government services online

Appropriate qualification for adults with no or low digital skills wishing to confirm they have digital skills needed for employment or further study

Qualifications based on new national standards for essential digital skills

Qualifications based on DfE subject content derived from the national standards for essential digital skills

30-50 hours of guided learning

55 hours of guided learning

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Ofqual: Letter to Heads and Principals - arrangements for exams and assessments in 2023

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Ofqual: Letter to Heads and Principals - arrangements for exams and assessments in 2023

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Published: 9th December 2022

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Thank you to you and your colleagues for the vital part you played in the successful return to exams and formal assessments earlier this year. Over one million students received more than 5 million qualifications despite the disruption caused by the pandemic. From talking to teachers and students wh…

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN LEADING TEACHING

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN LEADING TEACHING

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February 2023 Start

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Link to download GCSE and A Level Computer Science Advance Information Q&A webinar presentation PDF (available from our secure OCR Interchange – login required) and a recording of the webinar session (available from OCR YouTube channel.

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Description

OCR is here to support you as you prepare students for exams in Summer 2022. Advance information will be available from 7th February and this live Q&A session is an opportunity for you to put any questions you have to an OCR Subject Advisor. Each session will consist of an overview of the advance information. There will then be at least 45 minutes for your questions on any aspect of the summer 2022 exam series.

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computer science and ict professional development

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Advance information for summer 2022 Q&A webinars: GCSE Computer Science J277 and AS and A Level Computer Science H046, H446 - Professional Development - OCR

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OCR is here to support you as you prepare students for exams in Summer 2022. Advance information will be available from 7th February and this live Q&A session is an opportunity for you to put any questions you have to an OCR Subject Advisor. Each session will consist of an overview of the advance information.

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP

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February 2023 Start

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DfE: T Levels capital fund for September 2024

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DfE: T Levels capital fund for September 2024

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Deadline: Midday on 3 February 2023

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Stay at home

Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)

If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times

Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don't have symptoms.

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Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home) If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times Wash your hands as soon as you get home Do not meet others, even friends or family.

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Inspiration Teaching School Hub: Spring Newsletter - Recruitment for NPQs

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Inspiration Teaching School Hub: Spring Newsletter - Recruitment for NPQs

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For schools in Mid, South and East Norfolk

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National Statistics: 2021/22 16 to 18 Results and Performance Measures 

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National Statistics: 2021/22 16 to 18 Results and Performance Measures 

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Published: 10th November

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This is a new service - your Beta feedback will help us to improve it.

Last updated

Release type

National statistics ?

This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades. As part of the transition back to the summer exam series adaptations were made to the exams (including advance information) and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The 16 to 18 performance measures reported in this revised release for the 2021/22 academic year, and to be included on the Find School and College Performance Data website, have been affected by our commitment not to include results from qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 (see section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22').

Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat. Given the unprecedented change in how A level and vocational and VTQ grades were awarded in 2020 and 2021, as well as changes to the grade boundaries and methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in student performance alone.

Related information

Releases in this series

View releases (23)

Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2021/22

A level retention

95.1%

An increase of 3.8 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for A level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their A level programme).

Applied general retention

91.7%

An increase of 5.1 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for applied general programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their applied general programme).

Tech level retention

91.1%

An increase of 3.2 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for tech level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their tech level programme).

Average Point Score (APS) per entry for all level 3 cohorts is lower compared to 2020/21: A level, -2.8 pts; applied general, -0.7 pts; tech level, - 1.1 pts. However, attainment remains higher compared to 2018/19: A level, +4.9pts; applied general, +3.1 pts; tech level +1.9 pts. [An increase of 10 points is equivalent to an increase in one full grade]. This follows Ofqual's announcement in September 2021 that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 (TAG grades) and 2019 (the last year all students sat exams).

The trend for falling average attainment across level 3 cohorts in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 was observed across institution types generally (when grouped into state-funded schools, independent schools, sixth form colleges, and 'Other FE sector colleges') with the exception of applied general attainment in sixth form colleges and independent schools which increased in 2021/22 (+ 0.2 pts and + 0.8 pts respectively).

The disadvantage gap (between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students) is at its widest level for all Level 3 cohorts (A level, tech level, and applied general) since disadvantage measures began in 2016/17.

Gender gaps in favour of female students in average attainment at A level, applied general, and tech level have narrowed in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21; average attainment had increased more for female students than males with the alternative Centre Assessment Grade (CAG) and Teacher Assessed Grade (TAG) awarding processes in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared with 2018/19.

The percentage of students who completed their main or 'core' aim from their study programme, known as the Retention rate, increased across all programmes in 2021/22.

Non-disadvantaged students are more likely to be retained than disadvantaged students, across all cohorts.

Students with higher prior attainment are more likely to be retained than students with lower prior attainment, across all level 3 cohorts.

Given the unprecedented change in the way results were awarded in the summers of 2020 and 2021, as well as the changes to methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in pupil performance alone.

The changes seen in the headline statistics likely reflect the changes in methodology for awarding grades and in calculating the measures, rather than demonstrating a difference in standards.

Explore data and files used in this release

View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool

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Provisional results (November 2022) for A level and other 16 to 18 results 2021-22

Transition matrices data used for visualising the progress of pupils aged 16 to 18 from key stage 4 (KS4) to key stage 5 (KS5).

Instructions to accompany the transition matrices data

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes set up to award grades. Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat.

A/AS and vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

In summer 2021 students were awarded A/AS grades based on an assessment by their teachers using a range of available evidence. Students were only assessed on the content they had been taught. In 2021 some VTQ grades were decided using teacher-assessed grades, others using normal assessment routes, and some through adapted assessment such as remote invigilation.

Exceptionally in autumn 2020 and 2021 an autumn series was put in place to allow students the opportunity to try to improve their A level or AS grade from the summer, if they wished to do so. Further information on the autumn 2021 series is available at this link:
https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/16/as-and-a-level-results-in-the-autumn-2021-series/
A/AS exams returned in 2022 and adaptations were made to exams (including advance information), and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The diversity of vocational qualifications meant that Ofqual did not prescribe a single approach to adaptations, so Awarding Organisations (AOs) had flexibility to choose how to adapt their assessments. However, Ofqual's regulatory framework requires AOs as far as possible to ensure VTQ learners were not disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their A level peers when setting standards.

For further information on the process to award grades in 2021 and 2022 see the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-centres-awarding-vtqs-in-2021-and-2022
Reporting of 2022 results by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Ofqual

As happens every year on A level results day (18 August for summer 2022 results) JCQ published data on A level entries for qualifications awarded in summer 2022, and for each subject the distribution of grades awarded (with data for the previous summer for reference): https://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/

The data published by JCQ can be expected to show the same broad patterns as the underlying data published in this statistical release 'Entries and results - A level and AS by subject and student characteristics (single academic year). However, the coverage of the data is different: JCQ data covers all A level entries in the UK by people of all ages. Data in this statistical release covers exam entries by 16 to 18 year olds in schools and colleges in England, and includes breakdowns by a wide range of student characteristics.

In addition, Ofqual also routinely publish data on results day: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guide-to-as-and-a-level-results-in-england-summer-2022

Data excluded from 2021/22 measures due to alternative assessment arrangements in 2020 and 2021

We have committed not to include results of qualifications achieved between January 2020 and August 2021 in school and college performance measures on Find Schools and College Performance Data website, given the alternative assessment arrangements used to award those grades.

For consistency, when calculating 16 to 18 performance measures for 2021/22 in this statistical release, data will only include entries and grades from qualifications awarded in the 2021/22 academic year, with the exception of AS and A level qualifications taken as part of the extraordinary autumn 2021 examination series which are also excluded.

However, results from qualifications routinely offered in the autumn of 2021 that would usually be approved for reporting, such as vocational and technical qualifications taken in autumn 2021, will be included even if some of the VTQ constituent unit-level grades were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 via Centre Assessment Grade, Teacher Assessed Grade, or another process.

The table below shows the impact at national level of excluding these data, by comparing the number of students and headline attainment measures for each cohort.

The impact on A level student numbers is modest. It is greater for students entering vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), who are more likely to enter qualifications over multiple years. It should be noted that students may have results from multiple years including 2021/22. In this case the student is included in this data but some of their results are excluded.

The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting in the same year as they complete the qualification.

Smaller cohorts in 2021/22, do not necessarily translate into impacts on attainment. Nationally, the impact on A level Average Point Score (APS) is minimal (1/200th of a grade) with slightly larger changes for the level 3 vocational and technical qualifications.

Impact of the change

Number of students
-2% -10% -15% -84%

APS
+0.06 +0.60 +0.72 +0.12

Other changes for the 2021/22 release

English and maths progress measures will not be published in this statistical release until these measures return to Find school and college performance data website (likely 2024/25, as set out in 16 to 18 accountability headline measures: technical guide, due to the impact of excluding CAG/TAG grades on this performance measure).

Similarly, 16 to 18 value-added measures, which would rely on KS4 prior attainment including some data from summer 2020, continue not to be published in 2021/22. Value-added measures will return as soon as possible, which will be for the 2023/24 academic year at the earliest; further details are included in the technical guide.

Breakdowns of performance measures by prior attainment, usually published in spring with the Retention update have been brought forward to the provisional release along with other breakdowns by student characteristics. Note, we distinguish between the use of prior attainment data nationally to breakdown measures by student characteristics in this statistical release and their use to calculate performance measures that will be published for individual schools and colleges on Find School and College Performance Data.

SEN Provision contains additional breakdowns by SEN types for the first time in national level data at 16 to 18.

Additional 'bivariate' data giving a breakdown of headline attainment and disadvantage status in combination with other characteristics are available for the first time.

Changes continuing from the 2020/21 release

Characteristic breakdowns usually published in the revised update have been brought forward to the provisional release. This is a permanent change.

The rules for determining when students reach the end of their 16-18 study changed in 2020/21 and students can no longer be triggered solely due to spending two years in the same school or college. The impact of this change on 2020/21 data was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. In 2021/22, student numbers returned to pre-rule change levels, as expected.

Full details of the trigger change are set out in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release' in the Quality and Methodology documentation.

Checking exercise and other amendments

This updated release is based on revised data. Since the release of provisional data in November, amendments to the data have been made. These include the addition of 'late' results from some Awarding Organisations, and changes made by schools and colleges through a 'checking exercise'.

The checking exercise takes place in the autumn term and gives schools and colleges the opportunity to amend their data. Some students are removed from a school or colleges results, for example because the student wasn't on roll or has not yet completed 16-18 study. Some students are added where they are flagged by a school or college as having completed 16-18 study despite not being triggered. Changes need to be approved to be included in revised data.

The 2021/22 academic year saw the return of the school and college checking exercise, after it was suspended in the two previous years. In this release data for 2019/20 and 2020/21 is labelled as 'final' data. This is provisional data adjusted for results from the autumn series for AS and A levels. (The autumn series gave students an opportunity to sit an exam if they were unhappy with the grade awarded to them through the alternative process). Data from 2019/20 and 2020/21 did not go through a checking exercise; schools and colleges did not have an opportunity to amend their data as described above.

The table shows the size of the change between provisional and revised/final data. Generally, the change in the numbers of students included in the data in 2021/22 is relatively small in terms of the overall cohort size, the exception being technical certificates where there are 655 more students in the revised release than the provisional (an increase of 87%). This increase is predominantly due to results being reported late by Awarding Organisations.

The size of the change between provisional and revised data is generally smaller in 2021/22 than in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Changes to the trigger rule were introduced to reduce the burden on schools and colleges. This gives an indication that the change is working as intended.

Change in the numbers of students between the provisional and revised/final data:

Cohort

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

The table below shows the size of the change in the average point score between the provisional and the revised release. The changes are minimal. A change of 0.1 pts at A level / applied general / tech level is equivalent to 1/100th of a grade.

Change in Average Point Score (APS) per entry between the provisional and revised/final data.

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Unless stated otherwise statistics reported here refer to 16 to 18 year olds in England:

who reached the end of their 16 to 18 study in 2021/22. Students typically spend either two or three years in the 16 to 18 phase. (Usually, attainment includes results from qualifications entered during all those years. However, this year, attainment excludes results from qualifications that were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021).

who entered qualifications approved for reporting in 2022 school and college performance tables, set out in the 16 to 18 qualifications, discount codes and point scores guidance.

Qualifications are grouped into A level (subset of Academic), Applied General, and Tech Level exam cohorts at level 3, and Technical Certificates at level 2. Students can be reported in more than one exam cohort.

Student numbers by cohort

Students are included in this statistical release when they reach the end of their 16 to 18 study in schools and colleges in England. As set out in the Methodology guidance, the rules for determining when that happens changed in 2020/21, and students are no longer automatically triggered for reporting after spending two years in the same school or college.

The impact of the trigger change in 2020/21 was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. As expected, student numbers have generally returned to their pre-rule change level in 2021/22, with student numbers in all level 3 cohorts being higher than in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Results for qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from the data. The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting until they turn 18, often a year or two after they complete the qualification. More detail is provided in the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22', where in particular excluding CAG and TAG grades reduced reported technical certificate student numbers by 84%.

The growth in the number of students entered for applied general and tech level qualifications in 2021/22 approved for reporting in performance measures reflects the removal of funding approval from 1 August 2020 for pre-existing qualifications which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications. Prior to that numbers had been increasing more slowly following big falls in 2017/18 when qualifications were reformed. The number of students in the A level cohort, which includes students who only enter AS levels, has increased after several years of decline. (The previous decline reflected fewer AS level entries following the now completed A level reform to decouple A and AS levels.)

The overall growth in student numbers may also be partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students reported here completed their pre-16 study in 2019/20 where higher grades were awarded via Centre Assessment Grades. These higher grades resulted in greater numbers of students applying for post-16 places and may have shifted some students away from level two technical certificates and into level 3 qualifications. There were also fewer alternative options available for these students in terms of apprenticeships and other employment opportunities ( Key stage 4 destination measures showed that a smaller proportion of students who completed key stage 4 in 2019/20 progressed to sustained apprenticeship or employment outcomes in 2020/21).

Disadvantage

Disadvantaged students are all students who were in receipt of pupil premium when they were in their last year of KS4.

Disadvantage measures do not include students who were not reported at the end of KS4 - for example, because they came from overseas. Students who were known to be at independent schools in their last year of KS4 are treated as non-disadvantaged.

Disadvantage measures cover students in state-funded schools or colleges.

23.6% of state-funded students, at the end of 16 to 18 study, were recorded as having disadvantaged status in 2021/22. The percentage of students examined in level 3 vocational and technical qualifications was generally in line with this. (Applied general 23.0% and tech level 23.0%). Disadvantages students were overrepresented at technical certificate with 32.4% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status. Disadvantaged students were underrepresented at A level with 14.3% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status.

Prior attainment

Prior attainment is a measure of the average points attained per qualification at Key Stage 4. Simple discounting rules apply, with the best result in any subject used when calculating the average point score at KS4. Any GCSE resits or additional qualifications gained during 16 to 18 are ignored. For the vast majority, prior attainment is between 0-9 reflecting the range of possible grades at GCSE (where 9 is the highest grade).

[Note, whilst results from January 2020 to August 2021 are removed from calculation of performance measures, for the purposes of this statistical release they will be retained when calculating a student's prior attainment to explain outcomes in performance measures, in the same way that outcomes nationally are broken down by gender, disadvantage, etc].

In 2021/22, 18.4% of students at the end of their 16 to 18 study had the highest prior attainment (grade 7+). The large majority of students with the highest prior attainment choose to study at least one A/AS level (94.8%). High attainers now make up 36.2% of the A level cohort compared to 4.7% of the applied general and 3.7% of the tech level cohort. The proportion of students with the highest prior attainment has increased year on year for each cohort since 2019/20 (from when KS4 prior attainment has been calculated in this release).

27.5% of students at the end of 16 to 18 study in 2021/22 had the lowest prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4). The proportion of students with the lowest prior attainment has decreased year on year for each exam cohort since 2019/20.

This change in the distribution of prior attainment for exam cohorts, will in part reflect year on year grade increases at KS4 and in part reflect that the majority of students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and whose GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

Summary

These figures give the average points and average result that students achieved throughout their 16 to 18 study. Results awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from this data. (See the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22). While the majority of results come from the student's final year of study (in particular for A levels), a small number of results awarded prior to January 2020 are included.

Points are given to all qualifications so we can compare qualifications of different size and grading structures. A maximum of 60 points are available for A level, 50 points for applied general and tech level and 8 points for technical certificates. More information on points, APS bands and grade boundaries can be found in the technical guide for 16 to 18 accountability measures (from page 27).

In September 2021 Ofqual announced that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019. Consequently, the average results are lower in 2021/22 across all level 3 cohorts than in 2020/21.

A level programmes have seen the largest decrease (2.8 pts, compared to 0.7 pts for applied general and 1.1 pts for tech level). This is as expected due to the larger increases seen in A level grades between 2018/19 and 2020/21 relative to the vocational and technical qualifications. Technical certificates have seen a small increase (0.2 pts) in the average points score. However, interpretation of this increase is undermined by a 58% drop in cohort numbers. Given that 84% of technical certificate students have been excluded form the data (see 'Changes to the data in 2021/22'), technical certificate results will not be discussed in the breakdowns, however the data is available in the table builder tool.

For all Level 3 cohorts, the average result remains the same as in 2020/21.

At A level, the South East, London and East of England tend to do better, being on or near the top in the last 3 years. These same regions have ranked in the bottom 4 for applied general in the same time period.

The North West is in the top half of the table for both A level and applied general, although the region dipped in both exam cohorts in 2020/21 when teacher assessed grades were used.

The East Midlands is in the bottom half of the table for both A level and applied general. The region attained the lowest A level results this year.

Regional rankings are more variable for tech levels (which may be attributable to the smaller total number of tech level entries).

Average results by disadvantage status

The 2021/22 disadvantage gap has increased in comparison to last year for the A level cohort and has remained stable for applied general and tech level cohorts. For the level 3 exam cohorts, the average point score has decreased for both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students, however for A level students, the decrease was larger for disadvantaged students.

The disadvantage gap for Level 3 cohorts is at its widest point since the measure was introduced in 2016/17. (NB, this statistical release contains data for the last 5 years back to 2017/18, but disadvantage data was first published based on 2016/17 revised data).

To get a fuller picture on the impact of disadvantage status, this data should be looked at in conjunction with data on retention rates (the percentage of students who have completed their main study programme at a provider). In 2020/21, 94.3% of non-disadvantaged A level students were retained and assessed compared to 88.5% of disadvantaged students. Students are only included in the average point score measure if they are entered for examination i.e. if they are retained and assessed. More information on 2020/21 retention can be found in the 2020/21 version of this statistical release. An update to this statistical release with 2021/22 retention figures will be released on 30th March 2023.

Average results by gender

For the level 3 exam cohorts, both female and male students saw a drop in average attainment in 2021/22 when compared to 2020/21. The decrease was larger for female students than male students, which has resulted in a narrowing of the gender gap compared to last year.

When compared to 2018/19, the gender gap is slightly wider for A level students, but slightly narrower for applied general students in 2021/22. For tech level students the gender gap has reversed such that in 2018/19 it was in favour of male students, but since 2020/21 it has been in favour of female students.

The gender gap for the percentage of students achieving at least 2 A levels has been continuously decreasing for the past 5 years, falling from 5.2 ppts in 2017/18 to 0.9 ppts in 2021/22 in favour of female students.

Average results by ethnicity

Of the major ethnicity groups, Black or Black British students attained the lowest average result across all level 3 cohorts in 2021/22. At A level, Black or Black British students' attainment was almost a full grade lower than that of Chinese students. The rank order of attainment by ethnicity has remained almost unchanged at A level through the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes to the grading processes.

Prior attainment

Typically, the higher the average KS4 prior attainment, the higher the average outcome at the end of 16 to 18 study, regardless of the programme of study.

The attainment gap between students with the highest and lowest prior attainment has remained stable throughout different grading processes since 2019/20 (when this prior attainment data is available). The attainment gap at A level is around 25 pts (or 2.5 grades) and at applied general and tech level is around 19 pts (or just under 2 grades).

Average results for other student characteristics

Breakdowns of other student characteristics, including SEN provision, first language and more, are available in the featured tables and create your own tables sections of this statistical release.

This year we have introduced a new data file to this statistical release called 'Attainment and other performance measures - student characteristics and disadvantage status'. This data file gives more detail about disadvantaged students by breaking down the disadvantaged status of students by other student characteristics. In breaking down the data in this way we hope to be able to better identify how student characteristics interact. The following sections show some illustrative analyses.

Disadvantage and prior attainment

The distribution of disadvantaged students is uneven across the prior attainment bands. At A level, 9.3% of students in state-funded institutions with the highest prior attainment (grade 7+) have disadvantaged status, while 27.8% with prior attainment from grade 0 up to grade 4 have disadvantaged status.

At A level the disadvantage gap for students with the lowest prior attainment was 1.3 pts in 2021/22 or just over 1/10th of a grade. The gap increased to 2.8 pts for A level students with prior attainment from grade 4 up to grade 7 and 3.5 pts (or just over 1/3 of a grade) for students with the highest prior attainment.

The increase in the overall A level disadvantage gap was driven by the increase in the disadvantage gap for students with the highest prior attainment. (Up 0.9 pts from 2.7 pts in 2020/21). There was a small increase for those with prior attainment of grade 4 up to grade 7 (up 0.2 pts from 2.6 pts) and the gap stayed steady for those with prior attainment of grade 0 up to grade 4.

Disadvantage and other student characteristics

Across level 3 exam cohorts, non-disadvantaged students with English as their first language obtained higher average results than students with a first language other than English. However, the reverse is true for disadvantaged students. Here students with a first language other than English achieved higher average results.

Disadvantaged Black or Black British students attained the lowest average results in 2021/22 of any ethnicity across level 3 cohorts. Non-disadvantaged Black or Black British students also attained lower average results than their non-disadvantaged peers. White students had the biggest disadvantage gaps (of students with known ethnicity) across level 3 cohorts.

The disadvantage gap remains greater for female students in all level 3 cohorts, as it has since 2019/20.

Summary

Data in this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16-18 at the start of the respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16-18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

The chart below shows the distribution of A level grades for students aged 16 to 18 for each academic year. Overall, the proportion of entries achieving top grades (between A* and B) has decreased in comparison to 2020/21 but remains higher than 2018/19.

In 2021/22, 14.8% of awarded grades were at A*. This is an increase of 6.9ppts from 2018/19, but a decrease of 4.3ppts from 2020/21. The percentage of entries achieving A*-A grades is now 36.4%, which similarly corresponds to an increase of 10.6ppts compared to 2018/19 but a decrease of 7.9ppts from 2020/21. As previously noted however, year on year comparisons cannot be interpreted as students achieving at a higher standard. Where achievement gaps alter in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared to previous years, it might reflect the different process by which grades were awarded across these years.

A level results by gender

Overall, in 2021/22 both male and female students were more likely to be awarded the higher A level grades (A*/A/B) than in 2018/19 but less likely than in 2020/21.

Across the top A* and A*-A grades the gender gap has decreased in comparison to 2020/21. Female students continue to be more likely to achieve these grades, which has been the trend for the last three years (since 2019/20) when a reversal of the gender gap was observed.

At A*-B the gap between female and male student achievement had been continuously increasing since 2017/18, however this year the gender gap has reduced from 6.9ppts in 2020/21 to 4.7ppts.

Data is this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16 to 18 at the start of respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16 to 18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

STEM subjects here are defined as: biology, chemistry, physics, maths, further maths, and computing.

A level grades in STEM subjects

For 2021/22, the proportion of students achieving top grades (A*, A*-A, A*-B) in STEM subjects compared to 2020/21 has fallen. At A*, the largest decrease was in further maths (8.4ppts) and the smallest decrease was in physics (4.7ppts).

The STEM subjects have generally seen large increases in the proportion of students achieving top grades when compared to 2018/19. The largest increase at A* was further maths rising by 15.7ppts, and the smallest increase was in biology at 6.3ppts. The A*-A grade boundary also observed large increases in the proportion of entries achieving these grades, ranging from computer science (17.1ppts increase) to maths (6.6ppts increase).

This section replaces one that usually describes outcomes in the English and maths progress accountability measures. These are not being created in 2021/22 in Find School and College Performance Data due to the impact of excluding CAG and TAG grades on this measure (set out in more detail in the 16 to 18 accountability measures: technical guide).

These alternative data have been published as part of this statistical release since 2015/16. Coverage is all entries and outcomes in below level 3 English and maths qualifications for students aged 16 to 18 at the start of the respective year. Unlike data based on students at the end of 16-18 study, it means these data are not impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21, and not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

It also means a student here can be reported in successive years, for example at age 16 in 2019/20, at age 17 in 2020/21, and at age 18 in 2021/22 if they entered exams in each year.

The tables below focus on GCSEs, and Functional Skills qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level which make up the large majority of English and maths qualifications entered below level 3 (though outcomes for Other level 2, level 1, and Entry Level qualifications are available via the 'Explore data and files' section).

Fewer students are entering below level 3 maths and English qualifications

Most students aged 16 to 18 enter below level 3 English and maths qualifications because they did not achieve a GCSE pass at grade 9-4 or equivalent during key stage 4, and so are required to continue to study those subjects under Condition of Funding rules (CoF).

The overall fall observed in the number of below level 3 entries across both English and maths in GCSEs and Functional Skills is consistent with data published in Key Stage 4 performance showing an increasing proportion of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSE during key stage 4 ( increasing from 59.8% in 2018/19 to 67.1% in 2020/21 in provisional data) - and so not being required to study below level 3 English or maths during the 16-18 phase.

An additional factor explaining the big fall in entries at GCSE from 2019/20 to 2021/22 (-27% English, -12% maths) is the higher proportion of GCSE entries in 2019/20 and 2020/21 during the 16-18 phase that resulted in a grade 9-4 pass, when grades were awarded through the CAG and TAG processes, because once a student achieves a 9-4 GCSE pass during 16-18 they no longer have to continue studying English and/or maths the following year.

Achievement of Level 2 English and maths through GCSE and Functional Skills qualifications

Many more age 16-18 students enter GCSEs (a level 1/level 2 qualification) than are entered for Functional skills (distinct qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level).

Overall pass rates are broadly comparable at GCSE and L1 and L2 Functional skills. Given that the prior attainment distributions are similar at GCSE and level 2 functional skills (see table below), we might have expected to see a higher level 2 pass rate (grades 9-4) at GCSE. Although it is difficult to make direct comparisons due to range of grades available within the GCSE qualification.

Qualification KS4 Prior Attainment English entries in 2021/22 Proportion of English entries at prior attainment band maths entries in 2021/22 Proportion of maths entries at prior attainment band

All level 1 and level 2 qualifications have had decreases in their pass rates in 2021/22. Mathematics qualifications have seen much larger decreases than English across all qualifications.

Maths L2 functional skills decreased by 20.8 ppts to 63.6% (12.0 ppts fall in English to 81.0%). Maths L1 functional skills decreased by 10.2 ppts to 85.4% (English fall, 3.3ppts to 94.0%). For maths GCSE the overall pass rate (grade 9-1) decreased by 5.8ppts to 84.9% (English decreased by 3.7 ppts to 85.8%) and the level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) also decreased 16.7ppts to 15.3% for Maths and 13.9ppts to 25.7% for English

In contrast, at KS4 the English language GCSE level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) fell by more than maths. English language fell by 4.0 ppts and maths by 3.1ppts between 2020/21 and 2021/22 (provisional data).

Pass rates in English and maths at level 2 by institution type

GCSE entries by students at independent schools are most likely to pass at level 2, but it should be noted that Condition of Funding rules are not relevant for these schools, and these students may be resitting GCSEs to improve their KS4 grade, which could have already been at grade 4 or above. Amongst state-funded institutions, students in schools are consistently most likely to pass GCSE at level 2, then sixth form colleges and other FE sector colleges in both English and maths in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Level 2 Functional Skills entries: within state-funded institutions sixth form colleges and 'Other FE sector' colleges are consistently more likely to pass than schools. Most entries in L2 Functional Skills are in 'Other FE sector' colleges.

Applied general, tech level, and technical certificate qualifications approved for reporting in this statistical release (and institution level performance data) are updated annually and published on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/performance-tables-technical-and-vocational-qualifications
The concept of qualifications approved for reporting has been applied since 2015/16 following Professor Alison Wolf's Review of Vocational Education. From 2017/18 at level 3 and from 2018/19 for technical certificates, the quality threshold for vocational and technical qualifications to be included in performance measures further increased. The later reforms include criteria relating to the size, content, and assessment, including a requirement that a proportion of a qualification's content is subject to external assessment. From 1 August 2020 the ESFA removed funding approval for pre-existing applied general and tech level qualifications (which had been approved in 2015/16 and 2016/17) which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications.

The measures presented in this section show the students entering these approved qualifications as a proportion of students entering a wider set of vocational qualifications that had been approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for funding during 16 to 18 study.

Proportions entering approved tech level and applied general qualifications continue to increase following a large fall in 2017/18 (when both lists of approved qualifications changed substantially), with a jump in students entering reformed versions of qualifications in 21/22 (in part attributable to the defunding of unreformed pre-existing qualifications).

The coverage of the measure for technical certificates is strongly impacted by the removal of CAG and TAG data from 2021/22 accountability data (as coverage is students at the end of 16-18 study, and level 2 vocational qualifications are more often entered during a student's first year of 16-18 study and so are excluded from the calculation).

The following table shows that there is variation in whether different institution types enter students for qualifications approved for reporting in performance tables versus the wider set of qualifications that were approved for funding.

Overall students in state-funded schools continue to be most likely to enter reformed versions of vocational and technical qualifications at level 3 (reformed in 2017/18), but 2021/22 saw a marked increase in the proportion of students entering approved/reformed applied general and tech levels across all broad institution types.

Introduction to retention measures

The Retention measure shows the percentage of students who are retained to the end of the 'core aim' (or main learning aim) of their study programme at a school or college.

Students are counted as retained if they are recorded as having "completed the learning activities leading to the learning aim" by their institution. This information is collected in the school census or for students that attended sixth form or FE colleges, the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

Retention measures are not calculated for independent schools or special schools (both independent and maintained) as learning aims data is not available for these schools.

The Retention measure is calculated by dividing the total number of students retained by the total number of students with a core aim, in each of the five programmes approved for reporting in performance tables: academic, A level, applied general, tech level, and at level 2, technical certificate programmes.

Since academic programmes comprise largely of A levels, only data for A level core aims are described here; overall data for academic programmes can be found in the 'create your own tables' section and in the underlying data available to download.

Alongside the headline Retention measure there are two supporting retention measures:

Retained and Assessed: The percentage of students who are retained to the end of their course and are assessed.

Returned and Retained for a second year: The percentage of level 3 students who return to the same provider and complete their programme of study in their second year. (The main difference when compared to Retention is for students who complete their core aim in one year.)

A fuller description of the methodology underlying retention measures can be found in the 16-18 technical guide (from page 41).

Retention measures and the impact of the trigger change in 2020/21

The impact of the trigger rule change, meaning that students were no longer automatically reported after two years in 16-18 study, was to reduce the reported number of students in scope for retention measures across all exam cohorts in 2020/21, with the biggest impact on vocational and technical cohorts (VTQs).

For retention measures, this meant that Retention rates were slightly increased in 2020/21 for level 3 cohorts (A level, applied general, tech level) than would have been seen otherwise. However, the impact on the level 2 technical certificate cohort was a large decrease in Retention rates (and in cohort size).

Fuller analysis on the impact on 2020/21 retention data can be found in the methodology document, in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release', under the heading 'Impact of the trigger change on headline retention rates'.

Students whose reporting was delayed for one year due to the 2020/21 trigger change are reported in 2021/22. In other words, the impact of the trigger change was one-off discontinuity in retention data for 2020/21. For this reason, when looking at trends, data for 2021/22 is better compared to data for 2019/20 and earlier years.

All level 3 study programmes show increases in Retention rates in 2021/22 (A level +0.1 pts to 95.1%; applied general +1.8 pts to 91.7%; tech level +0.5 ppts to 91.1%). This continues a trend of increasing Retention rates since 2018/19. A level programmes continue to have the highest Retention rate as has been the case since the measure was introduced in 2015/16, but for the first time applied general programmes have a higher Retention rate than tech levels programmes.

Technical certificates have had lower Retention rates than Level 3 cohorts since being added to performance measures in 2016/17. However, they have seen an increase in Retention rate this year (+4.5 ppts to 86.6%), recovering from the impact of the trigger change that was seen last year and returning to previously-seen levels.

For the A level and applied general cohorts, rates for the Retained and Assessed measure have increasingly followed the same general trend as the Retention rate in recent years. Similarly, the Returned and Retained measure now also follows the same trend. This is most notable for the A level cohort where the phased decoupling of AS and A levels predominantly between 2017 and 2019 has resulted in a much smaller proportion of the A level cohort taking AS levels only and not then returning for a second year of study.

The tech level cohort shows a slightly different pattern this year whereby the Retained and Assessed rate has dropped slightly despite increases in both the Retained rate (retention to the end of the course) and the Returned and Retained rate (retention specifically over two years of a course). This means that within this cohort there was an increase in the proportion of students not being assessed at the end of their course .

The much smaller technical certificate cohort (Level 2) was heavily impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21 and shows less stable trends. In addition, the low cohort numbers mean that breakdowns of the technical certificate data, by student characteristics become increasingly unreliable, and therefore this cohort isn't discussed further.

Due to the similarity in the trends shown by the three retention measures, in particular for the two largest cohorts (A level and applied general), our further narrative will focus on the Retained and Assessed measure. Further breakdowns of the Retention measure and the Returned and Retained measure across all qualification cohorts are available in underlying data and through the table builder.

The Retained and Assessed rate is higher for non-disadvantaged students across all level 3 cohorts. Disadvantaged tech level students are least likely to be Retained and Assessed at 79.1%, which is 7.1 ppts lower than their non-disadvantaged peers. The Retained and Assessed disadvantage gap is smaller for A level and applied general (5.6 ppts and 5.3 ppts respectively).

The disadvantage gap has been narrowing for the A level cohort since 2018/19 (from 8.4 ppts to 5.6 ppts). Similarly, the applied general cohort has, overall, seen a substantial decrease in the gap in that time (from 7.9 ppts to 5.6 ppts). In contrast, the tech level cohort did not consolidate an initial decrease in the gap in 2019/20 and is now only slightly smaller than in 2018/19 (from 7.6 ppts to 7.1 ppts).

Changes to the distribution of prior attainment at A level between 2017/18 and 2021/22

The coverage of the retention measures is different to the attainment measures, and is described above in 'Retention: introduction and changes to the data in 2021/22'. The largest difference is that independent schools are excluded from the data, and this impacts the distribution of the prior attainment groups as students from independent schools have higher prior attainment on average.

The distribution of prior attainment has changed over time for all cohorts. The proportion of A level students with low prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4) has decreased from 8.1% of the cohort in 2017/18 to 1.9% in 2021/22. High prior attaining students (average grade 7 or more) have increased their proportion of the cohort from 16.1% in 2017/18 to 35.3% in 2021/22.

This increase in the proportion of KS4 students achieving grades averaging 7 or more, in part reflects year on year grade increases at KS4, and in part reflects that most A level students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and so their GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

However, in the vocational and technical cohorts, a larger proportion of students are being reported after three years in 16-18, hence prior attainment for these cohorts is less affected by CAGs. This is following delay in their reporting last year due to the change in the rule in 2020/21 triggering students for reporting.

Overall, students with the highest average prior attainment (grade 7+) are most likely to be Retained and Assessed in their main programme of study and students with the lowest prior attainment (grade 0 up to grade 4) the least likely to be Retained and Assessed. The highest Retained and Assessed rate is for high prior attaining A level students at 98.7%. The lowest Retained and Assessed rate is also for A level students. Low prior attaining A level students have a Retained and Assessed rate of 66.0%.

The Retained and Assessed rate for low prior attaining A level students has fallen and is now close to the 2018/19 rate, whereas the rate remains higher for other level 3 cohorts.

A full breakdown of all three retention measures by a range of other student characteristics is available through the table builder. Here, we draw attention to small number of breakdowns that may be of interest.

English Language

Across all level 3 cohorts, students with English as their first language have lower Retained and Assessed rates than students who do not. The difference is driven by poor rates for disadvantaged students with English as their first language.

The applied general cohort similarly has an increase in the Retained and Assessed rate since last year for all major (known) ethnicity groups and shows many of the same trends between groups. The Chinese ethnic group has the highest Retained and Assessed rates since 2018/19 (now at 95.8%) and the Black or Black British ethnic group and the Mixed Dual background ethnic group have made the biggest improvements in Retained and Assessed rates over recent years (+9.9 ppts to 89.1%, +9.9 ppts to 87.0% respectively). Again, the White ethnic group shows the largest disadvantage gap and White disadvantaged students have the lowest rates for Retained and Assessed.

The tech level cohort and the technical certificate cohort have very low numbers in some ethnic groups, and show less distinct patterns over recent years.

For the A level cohort, state-funded mainstream schools and Sixth form colleges have seen an increase in rates for Retained and Assessed this year (+1.5 ppts to 95.4% and +0.5 ppts to 92.3% respectively). In contrast, 'Other FE sector colleges' have seen a decrease (-2.3 ppts to 88.2%). However, the decrease for 'Other FE sector colleges' follows very large increases last year; the relative rates of the three major institution types have returned to levels seen before the change to the trigger rule.

There have also been decreases in the Retained and Assessed rate for 'Other FE sector colleges' in the applied general and tech level cohorts, following larger increases in the previous two years. All state-funded mainstream schools continue to have the lowest Retained and Assessed rates for applied general and tech level qualifications. This has been the case since 2018/19.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - APS per entry by institution type'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: APS per entry and average result' brings up the dashboard with attainment data in terms of APS per entry.

Data including the applied general and tech level cohorts starts in 2015/16 (when these cohorts were first defined in this statistical release, and school and college data). Data for the A level cohort starts in 2012/13.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - A level subject entries and grade by gender'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: A level entries and grade distribution' brings up the dashboard with A level entries data by subject, and A level grades by subject.

These data cover A level entries by students aged 16 to 18 within each academic year from 1995/96.

We have moved our Transition Matrices tool into a web based app for easier use. It is available at the following link:
16-18 Transition Matrices
Transition matrices (TM) are a useful tool to help visualise the progression from different groups of attainment at key stage 4 (KS4) to outcomes achieved during 16 to 18 for a range of different subjects.

Note that the 16 to 18 outcomes here will also be impacted by the different process to award grades in 2022, which is likely to impact the relationship between outcomes and KS4 prior attainment in 2021/22 for subjects.

Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

National statistics

These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

meet identified user needs

produced according to sound methods

well explained and readily accessible

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

If you have a specific enquiry about A level and other 16 to 18 results statistics and data:

Attainment statistics team

Email: Attainment.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Michael Greer

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Telephone: 037 0000 2288

Opening times:
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)

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A level and other 16 to 18 results, Academic year 2021/22

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This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades.

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Published: 17th November 2022

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T Levels support for schools and colleges

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This week's newsletter includes updates on:

New: T Levels Connect service to help you find employers

Our digital team have been working closely with providers to get your views on delivering T Levels and we've heard that finding employers for industry placements continues to be a challenge. We also know while employers are interested in T Levels and industry placements, they aren't always able to dedicate time to contacting providers.

With this in mind, we've been working on a great new service which allows employers to express interest in T Levels, and providers to see that interest in order to initiate contact. Our hope is that the ' Connect with employers interested in T Levels service' will help you do exactly that: connect and build relationships with employers about all things T Levels - from career talks to hosting industry placements.

The service will launch on Monday 21 November.  Find out more.

T Level Transition Programme: New Marketing subject content development

Your support is needed to shape the proposed Marketing National Technical Outcomes for future programmes in the Sales, Marketing and Procurement route.

Register your interest by midnight Monday 5 December via the online registration form to get involved and please share the link to the registration form with colleagues in your organisation.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for education professionals, teachers, curriculum leads and T Level and T Level Transition Programme leads to work with government and other education and industry professionals in an online review of the T Level Transition Programme's Marketing National Technical Outcomes subject content in the Sales, Marketing and Procurement route.

The time commitment is for two online sessions, each 2.5 hrs in duration. It is vital that you attend both sessions as these are equally important to the content development work. There will be some work outside meetings to read draft materials and to gather views from your network so that you are ready to give feedback. In total, we estimate this will require up to two days of your time, including preparation and attendance at meetings on the following dates and times:
Session 1 Thursday 19 January 2023 @ 3:00-5:30pm Session 2 Monday 6 February 2023 @ 3:00-5:30pm
Your role in the process is important and contributions are highly valuable to developing a quality product for our young people. Further information on the T Level Transition Programme is available from gov.uk, including the Framework for Delivery and the national technical outcomes for existing T Level Transition Programmes.

If you have a question, please email the team TLevelTransition.PROGRAMME@education.gov.uk.

TLTP on the 'T Levels support for schools and colleges' website and Provider Case Studies

Providers will be aware that up to date information and guidance on all things T Levels can be found at the T Levels support for schools and colleges site on Gov.UK. This now includes a section dedicated to the T Level Transition Programme (TLTP) which gives providers information about how to register for, plan, promote, market and deliver their TLTPs. It also provides regular updates on forthcoming TLTP-related events and any new resources for providers to use. These resources now include a series of Video Case Studies in which some of the early TLTP Providers (those who began to deliver TLTP in 2020 and 2021) outline the approaches they each took in designing, developing and implementing the T Level Transition Programme in their own education institutions and provide key advice based on their own experience to support your planning.

Along with the Case Studies, there are also some bitesize promotional videos that can be used to promote TLTP to your key stakeholders. We hope you find all of these really useful.

Awarding Organisations updates

Pearson's November E-Bulletin was published and included the following:

Q&A Networks and Training events

Registrations and entries

Legal Services update

Read the November E-Bulletin Have your say...
If you would like to know more about the T Level Technical Qualification in Catering and the supporting resources that will be available to assist with your planning and delivery, Highfield are looking to host a forum in December 2022 where you can have your say!

If you would like to be a part of this forum please get in touch at tlevels@highfield.co.uk
T Level Familiarisation webinars
City & Guilds are running familiarisation webinars for Engineering and Manufacturing (17, 18 November) and Agriculture, Land Management and Production (25 November). These webinars are designed for providers that are not yet delivering T Levels and are an opportunity to find out more about the programmes available with City & Guilds. They are aimed at tutors, curriculum managers, trainers, assessors, and quality leads. Register for these events online: Events and webinars - T Levels | City & Guilds (cityandguilds.com)
Digital Credentials for Providers
In recognition of being an approved T Level provider, City & Guilds are awarding centres a digital credential. Digital credentials allow us to recognise and communicate all skills consistently. We do this by using the Open Badge Standard, a universal format that creates data that can be validated quickly and easily. Your digital credential will be issued automatically to the named T Level lead contact we have on record. Find out more about digital credentials: Digital Credentials | City & Guilds (cityandguilds.com)
Approval Window for Eligible Providers
The approval window for eligible providers opens on Monday 27 February 2023, ready for first teaching in September 2023. Application forms for approval to deliver T Levels in 2023 will be released in January on the T Levels Resource Hub: Resource Hub - T Levels | City & Guilds (cityandguilds.com). We will be running webinars to support providers and these dates will be made available shortly.

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This week's newsletter includes updates on: Our digital team have been working closely with providers to get your views on delivering T Levels and we've heard that finding employers for industry placements continues to be a challenge. We also know while employers are interested in T Levels and industry placements, they aren't always able to dedicate time to contacting providers.

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Raising Robots Ltd: Introducing LEGO Learning System resources for Secondary Schools

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Raising Robots Ltd: Introducing LEGO Learning System resources for Secondary Schools

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17:00-18:00
24th November 2022
Online

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Introducing LEGO Learning System resources for Secondary Schools!

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Join a LEGO Education Academy Certified Trainer from Raising Robots to discover how the LEGO Learning System creates real classroom impact!

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The National Centre for Computing Education ( NCCE) Computing Quality Framework is intended to help schools review their progress in developing an exemplary computing curriculum. The framework takes schools through each aspect of the computing curriculum with access to the CQF reporting functions, and helps them access the NCCE's support and resources for progress. The development of the framework was funded by the DfE .

NCCE Computing Hubs will be able to focus their support based on the outcomes of the self-reviews of schools in their regions.
Start Review

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Website designed and developed by Will Earp, SWGfL

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The NCCE Computing Quality Framework for Schools

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NCCE’s Computing Quality Framework is a free tool to help schools review their computing curriculum. We walk you through each aspect of an effective computing curriculum, helping you to collaborate, report, and progress.

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Norfolk Computing Hub: Programming Kits to Borrow

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Norfolk Computing Hub: Programming Kits to Borrow

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Raspberry Pi Pico

A low cost, high-performance microcontroller board built around Raspberry Pi's very own chip - the RP2040. Raspberry Pi Pico is Raspberry Pi's first microcontroller board, designed especially for physical computing. Microcontrollers are a different type of device than Single Board Computers (like the Raspberry Pi 4 and previous generations of Pi), they don't run an operating system and they are typically programmed to do just one task, though that task can be pretty intricate and exciting! They're perfect for experimenting with hardware and using as the brains of custom devices, machines and inventions.
Coming Soon!

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A low cost, high-performance microcontroller board built around Raspberry Pi's very own chip - the RP2040. Raspberry Pi Pico is Raspberry Pi's first microcontroller board, designed especially for physical computing.

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CCH: An introduction to algorithms, programming and data in GCSE computer science

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CCH: An introduction to algorithms, programming and data in GCSE computer science

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09:30-15:30
25th January 2023
Cambridge

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An introduction to algorithms, programming and data in GCSE computer science - face to face | STEM

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Take your first steps towards teaching GCSE computer science and establish a foundational knowledge base of concepts, terminology and classroom practice. Find out how algorithms are designed and how programs are written to provide clear instructions to machines. Learn about the binary system and how…

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18:00-20:00
8th December 2022
Norwich University of the Arts.

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Thursday 8 December | 6.00 to 8.00pm

Join Jon Dunleavy, Course Leader for BA (Hons) Animation and BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects for this follow up session on digital drawing on campus at Norwich University of the Arts.

You'll have an opportunity to experiment in Adobe Photoshop, to explore drawing techniques and will begin to develop your own character cast sheet. This session is for teachers, technicians and advisers and you do not need to have attended the first session in October 2022.
This event is being hosted for Teachers, Technicians and Advisers.

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Thursday 8 December | 6.00 to 8.00pm You'll have an opportunity to experiment in Adobe Photoshop, to explore drawing techniques and will begin to develop your own character cast sheet. This session is for teachers, technicians and advisers and you do not need to have attended the first session in October 2022.

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JCQ: Key dates in the examination cycle document - June 2023

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JCQ: Key dates in the examination cycle document - June 2023

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Published: 8th November 2022
Contingency days update: Timetabled for the afternoons of the 8 and 15 June and all day of 28 June 2023. To be used in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations

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Ofqual: A review of the quality of T-level courses: interim report

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Ofqual: A review of the quality of T-level courses: interim report

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Published: 24th October 2022

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Executive summary

T levels provide learners aged 16 to 19 with a new opportunity to study a high-quality and ambitious technical qualification.

We visited a sample of providers that were among the first to offer these qualifications. This study evaluates the quality of T-level courses in those providers.

We hope that this interim report will help providers, employers and policy-makers to reflect and build on how T levels are taught in the future.

In 2023, we will visit these providers again, and some new ones, to see how T-level courses have been developed further.

Main findings

Our research shows that providers are committed to making T levels a success.

On T levels, we found that:

some providers gave learners initial advice and guidance that focused on preparing them for the expectations of T levels. Learners were given information about the different components of the course and what their next steps could be. However, not all learners felt prepared for how much work they had to do for a T-level course

although some teachers were well prepared for teaching T-level courses, many did not receive comprehensive training and found teaching the new curriculum challenging. Recruitment and retention of staff with sufficient knowledge and experience were challenging due to the pandemic and sector workforce challenges

some providers did not have access to resources such as textbooks and practice exam papers

providers that were more effective had already used the flexibility in the new T-level courses to sequence different components in a coherent way that develops learners' knowledge and skills

learners were appreciative of the quality of teaching on their T-level course. However, teachers faced challenges in balancing all the requirements of the course

the more effective industry placements gave broad, high-quality and appropriate experiences that helped learners make decisions about their futures

the more effective T-level curriculums were developed by providers in collaboration with employers

at the time of our visits, many learners were experiencing delays in starting industry placements, primarily due to the impact of COVID-19. Providers of digital, construction, and health and science courses in particular were struggling to find employers

On the T Level Transition Programme ( TLTP), we found that:

the TLTP did not always result in learners progressing to a T level as intended

teaching on the TLTP was generally of a high standard.

the quality of work experience for learners on the TLTP was not always high. Providers did not always help learners on the programme to find meaningful work experience relevant to their course

Background

T levels are 2-year technical qualifications that the Department for Education launched in September 2020. Learners can choose to study these after completing GCSEs. They are broadly equivalent in size to 3 A levels and include a substantial industry placement.

They were developed in response to the 2016 Sainsbury Review. This review recommended 'systematically reform[ing] technical education for the long term' and 'ensuring individuals can develop the technical knowledge and skills that industry needs'. Courses are now available in occupational areas where there is a substantial requirement for technical knowledge.

The courses have been developed in collaboration with employers and education providers. They combine practical and knowledge-based learning at a college, other further education provider or school with significant work experience through an industry placement. T levels therefore provide an opportunity for learners to gain the knowledge and skills needed for university courses, higher apprenticeships or skilled employment.

T levels include:

exams, which test theory, concepts and contextual understanding of the sector

a substantial employer-set project based on a real-life work problem that assesses contextual English, mathematics and transferable skills

assignments or projects that assess technical competence in the selected occupation

an industry placement of at least 45 days

employability, enrichment and personal development sessions

At the point of our visits, between December 2021 and April 2022, providers could offer T levels in:

There are plans to introduce more T levels until over 20 courses are available. This will cover sectors ranging from agriculture to catering and engineering to science.

Some providers are also offering learners the TLTP. This is a 1-year level 2 course designed to support progression to a T level.

The TLTP gives learners the opportunity to study technical content and develop English, mathematics and digital skills, alongside work experience and personal development.

Methodology

Our overall research aims to evaluate the quality of T-level courses. For this interim study, we wanted to assess early implementation. Next year, we will carry out a final study evaluating how the quality has improved.

This study investigated the strengths and weaknesses of the new T-level courses. During the visits, inspectors evaluated:

the main strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum

how well industry placements were being implemented

how well providers met the needs of learners

We visited a sample of 24 providers. Ten of these were running the TLTP, which inspectors also evaluated.

A group of inspectors visited each provider to carry out visits. The T-level visits took place over 3 days and the TLTP visits over 2 days. We evaluated the quality of provision of each subject in line with the criteria in the education inspection framework.

Inspectors carried out deep dives into each T level and the TLTP. The deep dives covered:

the curriculum

the integration of personal development and wider curriculum

how learners were assessed

the quality of learners' work

the quality of teaching

the quality of industry placements and work experience

the appropriateness of teacher training

During each visit, we spoke to the following:

Following each visit, inspectors completed evaluation reports on each course. Our research and evaluation team carried out a thematic analysis of these reports using qualitative analysis software.

Report findings

Some providers gave learners initial advice and guidance that focused on preparing them for the specific expectations of T levels. Learners were given information about the different components of the course and what their next steps could be. However, not all learners felt prepared for how much work they had to do for a T-level course.

T levels aim to be ambitious. The specific expectations include a combination of exams, a substantial industry placement and an employer-set project.

Inspectors saw examples of some providers managing learners' expectations well. Some providers informed learners about the expectations of T-level courses before they enrolled. Providers arranged information and guidance events and held summer schools. They also ensured that learners knew about their suitability for the course, the structure of the course and progression opportunities. As a result, most learners felt well informed about the course before it started.

Most providers considered carefully which T-level courses to introduce. Providers used their existing relationships with local employers to offer relevant opportunities for their learners. They also considered the subject-specific expertise of their teachers. Providers also used data on the career or further education destinations of their previous learners to identify which T levels to offer.

Most staff gave learners plenty of information about career choices and the different options available. Learners who received this were clear about their chosen careers and the different ways to get there, for example through an apprenticeship or university course.

Learners are not required to achieve a grade 4 in mathematics and English at GCSE to do a T level. However, teachers in some providers were conscious that there were gaps in learners' knowledge, particularly in mathematics and English. This was because of the disruption they had experienced during the pandemic and because they had received centre-assessed GCSE grades that did not always accurately reflect their knowledge. Therefore, some providers chose to require learners to have a minimum of GCSE grade 5 in English and mathematics. This was to ensure that they could cope with course expectations.

Despite this, at the start of their courses, learners did not always have the requisite knowledge and skills. Some teachers assessed learners before the start of the course to identify knowledge gaps. They then ensured that they covered any gaps in their teaching. For example, on one digital course, teachers identified through initial assessments that learners did not know the programming language 'Python' and, as a result, they ensured that this was taught. Teachers also set projects for learners to complete in the summer holidays before they started.

However, some learners still commented that the course turned out to be more challenging and involved a greater depth of learning than they had anticipated.

In a small number of cases, the initial advice and guidance to learners was not effective or was non-existent. Furthermore, learners were not always aware of T levels because of poor information and guidance from schools. In providers where initial advice was weaker, some learners were placed on T-level courses without a clear idea of what they entailed.

Furthermore, the route from T levels to university has not been made clear. Among leaders, teachers and learners, there were concerns about how well university admissions staff understand T levels and the knowledge and skills that learners develop on these courses.

If T levels are to be successful, providers need to inform learners about the expectations of their chosen T-level course. They should help learners to understand how the course helps them to achieve their chosen career. Universities need to recognise and value T levels as qualifications and include them in their entry requirements.

Although some teachers were well prepared for teaching T-level courses, many teachers did not receive comprehensive training and found teaching the new curriculum challenging. Recruitment and retention of staff with sufficient knowledge and experience were challenging due to the pandemic and sector workforce challenges.

Some teachers were well prepared for teaching T-level courses. Providers supported teachers delivering T-level courses by:

having regular meetings and informal discussions, including feedback from observations on what is working well and what can be improved, and planning the curriculum and industry placements

providing internal training sessions and inset days

allowing time for teachers' continuous professional development ( CPD)

Providers also used their links with local employers to support teachers' CPD. For example, teachers sat in on employer workshops or visited workplaces. Curriculum leaders spoke positively about using external industry specialists to fill gaps in teachers' knowledge.

Staff from different subjects and industry specialist teachers worked together to ensure that teaching was based on an expert understanding of the core concepts needed and how to sequence them. In one example, teachers on a construction course did not have experience of the kind of written assessment required for T levels. These construction teachers worked with the English department to understand what to expect from the learners' written assignments and how to improve learners' English.

Awarding bodies also provided training for staff. For example, teachers and managers had direct contact with a specialist from the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education to help them teach. Some providers were complimentary about the direct help that their awarding body gave. Teachers said the awarding body provided detailed schemes of work and devised webinars that enabled them to explore how best to plan and teach the programme.

However, many teachers reported that developing and teaching the new T-level curriculum alongside other commitments was challenging. They struggled to keep up to date with the new curriculum area.

Most leaders and teachers had taken part in the T Level Professional Development programme run by the Education and Training Foundation ( ETF). However, many teachers did not feel it prepared them to teach T levels. Training was disrupted due to COVID-19. Staff found placements to update their industry knowledge useful, but some of these were delayed or not available. Some teachers said they were not given sufficient time for training and had not attended all the sessions provided. Many teachers participated in ETF webinars on troubleshooting aspects of T levels. Some found them useful at the beginning, while others described them as 'poor'.

Some providers had found it difficult to recruit industry specialist teachers. They reported that it was more challenging to recruit teachers for the construction course than for the other courses because of a lack of applicants with suitable knowledge and expertise. One provider had concerns about offering other T levels in the future, because they thought they would struggle to recruit specialist teachers.

Some providers did not have access to resources such as textbooks and practice exam papers.

Across all T levels, providers were dissatisfied that some resources from awarding bodies were initially not available. Textbooks, teaching materials and sample exam papers were either delayed or in short supply. Staff reported that the quality of resources varied. They identified inconsistencies in both the curriculum content and assessment content, and spelling errors. Some staff were frustrated about not having clear direction, support and timely answers from their awarding body.

As a result, some teachers were unsure of the breadth and depth of content that they should cover in modules. They were also uncertain about how to ensure learners had the required level of knowledge and skill to pass their exams.

Consequently, not all learners were confident about how prepared they would be for the summative T-level exams. Most 2022 learners had never taken external exams and said that they would value more opportunities to practise exam questions.

Providers will now be in a stronger position, since course textbooks and awarding body materials have been published. However, all awarding bodies must ensure that resources are available in good time for future T-level courses.

Providers that were more effective had already used the flexibility in the new T-level courses to sequence the T-level components in a coherent way that develops learners' knowledge and skills.

Providers have flexibility to structure curriculum content in the best way to develop learners' knowledge and skills. Inspectors saw good practice in some providers where teachers sequenced and linked topics in a way that complemented each other. As a result, learners were better able to make links between concepts and developed foundational knowledge first, which they then built on over time. For example, in one health T level, learners were taught foundational knowledge on infection control, safeguarding and musculoskeletal systems at the beginning of the course to prepare them for industry placements.

Teachers used practical examples and case studies to develop knowledge. Some providers built high-quality, industry-standard simulated work environments, such as hospital wards, often using capital funding awarded from central government. This helped learners to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need for work. For example, learners on a healthcare course commented that learning how to use medical equipment, such as blood pressure cuffs, gave them a realistic idea of what it is like to be a healthcare professional.

However, not all courses or providers could provide realistic working environments to help learners develop their theoretical knowledge when not on placement. For example, on education courses, some providers had only built simulated early years environments. This was despite many learners on the T level working with other age groups.

Some providers set a project for learners to complete at the beginning of their course to develop fundamental vocational knowledge. In one construction course, learners carried out a project based on building a house. The design brief allowed them to demonstrate a range of skills and knowledge, including:

research skills, when finding suitable land

law knowledge, when obtaining the appropriate permissions

mathematics and design skills, when sourcing materials and costing the build

When structuring the curriculum, providers also considered the most beneficial time for placements. Some providers planned for learners to take placements in blocks. For example, employers in digital industries gave learners experience of working intensively on time-bound projects. Other providers chose to begin their placements early in the course. This was so that learners could practise the skills they learned throughout the course.

Teachers made sure that learners could apply theoretical concepts in practice. For example, in one education and childcare T level, learners studied theorists such as Pavlov, Thorndike and Skinner. This helped them to understand children's behaviour and responses. They then applied this knowledge when planning activities for children on their placements.

In the weakest examples, learners reported a disconnect between their industry placement and theory sessions. Some employers didn't know what learners were studying in the classroom, so they did not routinely give them the opportunity to put theory into practice.

In a small number of providers, inspectors found the curriculum to be underdeveloped and not sequenced effectively. Fundamental concepts were not introduced early enough or revisited sufficiently so that learners could apply them in different contexts. In one example, the provider taught project management tools without considering what tools learners would need in the other parts of the course. As a result, learners were unable to apply these in their other learning. Without coherent sequencing, learners will not be able to make links between topics and modules or make good progress through the curriculum.

Concerningly, a number of providers simply used the list of topics in the specification from the awarding organisation as a curriculum. This meant that they did not sufficiently consider learners' needs when planning the curriculum. This led to providers teaching subjects in the order set out in the specification of each T level.

Many leaders talked about adapting and improving their curriculum planning after the first year. They mentioned changes to the sequencing of course content and the time spent on certain aspects of the course. They also mentioned running more refresher sessions on study skills. In future, providers will need to use the flexibility of T levels to ensure that they teach content in the best way for learners.

Learners were appreciative of the quality of teaching on their T-level course. However, teachers faced challenges in balancing all the requirements of the course.

Inspectors found that the curriculum was often at the right level for learners to develop the skills and knowledge required for the T level. Teachers asked pertinent questions to check and develop learners' understanding. Learners appreciated this high-quality teaching.

Teachers used a variety of assessment methods to check learners' understanding, knowledge and recall. Teachers used this information to identify gaps in learning and to adjust their teaching. Learners said that feedback helped them to improve their work and address weaknesses.

However, in a few cases, inspectors found that the curriculum was not challenging enough. For example, in one digital course, the problems that learners were expected to solve were mundane, requiring them to copy and paste code into a solution rather than writing it from scratch.

Providers faced challenges in balancing all the requirements of the course. Course leaders and teachers expressed concerns that there was too much content to cover in class. This led to some modules feeling rushed.

Some providers struggled to offer personal development or wider curriculum sessions on topics such as mental health, money management and team working. They found it difficult to make time to include these in the timetable along with the vocational curriculum and the large industry placement.

Most learners received study skills sessions, such as academic writing and referencing. However, inspectors found that learners did not always remember or use this knowledge correctly or consistently when producing research-based work.

Furthermore, teachers told us there was insufficient time for learners to work towards re-sitting their GCSEs if they needed to. There was some concern that studying for mathematics and English GCSEs alongside a T level would add stress and pressure.

The less effective providers were not monitoring learners' progress enough, checking for understanding in lessons or giving effective feedback. Not all teachers had yet developed a fully effective assessment strategy. Some assessment activities were poorly planned and executed, or pitched at the wrong level to check learners' understanding. As a result, learners did not make good progress and struggled to remember concepts they had been taught.

Most providers had appropriate arrangements in place to identify and support learners who had additional needs. However, in a small number of cases, the help providers gave was not effective. For example, they dealt with requests for support too slowly. Where support was weaker, inspectors reported that some learners seemed disengaged in lessons.

The more effective industry placements gave broad, high-quality and appropriate experiences that helped learners make decisions about their futures.

Every T level includes an industry placement to develop technical occupational skills. Learners develop work-related skills by working with experienced professionals.

The more effective placements involved providers linking these to learners' future career goals. These placements helped learners to make decisions about their future careers. In the best examples, placements inspired and excited learners and helped them to make progress. Learners' experiences developed their thinking in a way that purely classroom-based learning would not have. These placements were highly valued by learners. Learners said that placements were enjoyable, productive, informative and helped to develop their life skills and interaction with colleagues.

Most learners benefited from high-quality industry placements with employers. In the education T level, for example, learners managed the behaviour of a whole class of children with support. In a digital course, learners were taught how to edit code, monitor website analytics, design graphics, post social media content and create email campaigns.

Placements offer learners a broad experience by giving them opportunities in different departments or roles, for example different hospital wards in health and science placements. In one construction placement, the employer planned for learners to experience the whole of a building project. This helped them to understand how different specialisms, such as plumbing and electrical engineering, contribute to a building project.

Placements with a good breadth of experiences helped learners to make career decisions. Learners said that placements helped to identify areas they wanted to specialise in, some of which they would not have considered previously.

In the more effective placements, employers helped learners to secure their practical learning and progress through the curriculum faster. Learners were given specific responsibility for a task or additional responsibility. In one education T-level placement, the employer saw learners as trainee teaching assistants or nursery practitioners. In one digital placement, an employer entrusted a learner with the redesign of the company website. This learner modernised the website, made it more accessible and used analytics to increase the site's social media presence.

However, a small number of learners reported that they had only been allowed to observe or complete basic tasks. For example, they were asked to prepare the children's snacks in education settings or complete data entry on digital placements.

Inspectors also reported that some placements lacked structure. This meant that learners had no clear expectations for what they needed to do and when. Some managers had ensured that an agreement was in place to allow learners to cover the required criteria and learning outcomes. However, in some providers, there was no focus on specific knowledge and skill development over time.

When designing the next T-level courses, employers should focus on giving learners experiences that are relevant to their course. Providers should monitor learners' achievements and progress, ensuring that placements have a positive impact. We found that this was not happening in some cases.

The more effective T-level curriculums were developed by providers in collaboration with employers.

The most effective T-level curriculums were developed through collaboration between providers and employers. Learners benefited from employers' expert and up-to-date knowledge and skills. For example, the head of clinical education from the local hospital helped to develop facilities and taught on a health T-level course. Employers also taught learners about professional behaviours in the workplace and what they could expect on placement. Consequently, learners got an excellent introduction before starting their placement. Industry specialists and staff from employers had given skills classes, for example on interview skills or employer expectations, and workshop-based sessions. Learners enjoyed these sessions.

Collaboration between providers and employers was also essential to organising placements. Inspectors saw examples of good practice where providers worked with employers effectively to plan high-quality experiences. Employers were well briefed in the requirements and expectations of the industry placement and were involved in planning the T level. Employers valued regular updates from the provider's staff. They felt that strong communication helped them to support learners on placement. During many placements, teachers monitored learners' progress closely. They visited learners while they were on placement and assessed their practical work. On the best placements, employers encouraged learners to reflect on their own progress.

In a small number of cases, providers did not tell employers what was being taught and when. As a result, employers were not able to plan a placement that put into practice the knowledge and skills that learners gained in the classroom.

In a small number of cases, neither employers nor learners could explain how learners were assessed in the workplace. These employers reported that they had not been asked to complete any assessments of learners' work or provide feedback on their progress.

The strongest employers and providers worked together to ensure that learners understood and worked in line with health and safety procedures when on placement. Some employers were clear about their safeguarding responsibilities. However, others were less confident about safeguarding arrangements for learners. To help these employers, some providers had developed employer guidebooks and established a point of contact.

At the time of our visits, many learners were experiencing delays in starting industry placements, primarily due to the impact of COVID-19. Providers of digital, construction, and health and science courses in particular were struggling to find employers.

Work-based learning is a fundamental part of the T-level course. Without this, learners will not have sufficient experience of working with experienced professionals or work environments. They will therefore miss out on opportunities to learn skills needed for their career.

Not all learners had been on a placement at the time of our visit. Inspectors reported that learners were experiencing delays in starting placements, often due to the impact of COVID-19. In some cases, learners had a placement planned but it had not yet started. In others, learners did not have any placement planned. Learners who had not been able to go on placement felt that they were at a disadvantage and had had a lesser experience than their peers.

Providers of digital, construction, and health and science courses struggled to attract enough high-quality employers. The pandemic was a significant barrier for employers when offering placements. Many businesses required their staff to work from home, or had experienced staff shortages and could therefore no longer host a learner on placement.

Health and science placements were particularly affected. To work in some health settings, learners had to be over the age of 18 and double vaccinated against COVID-19. Disclosure and Barring Service checks were delayed, which prevented learners from starting placements. Some placements in local hospitals were unable to go ahead. Therefore, many learners were on placement in pharmacies and care homes, which did not always directly link to their future career goals.

Providers of digital T levels also had difficulties organising placements. They reported that IT support is often provided by small businesses with limited capacity to take on placement learners. Providers offering digital T levels also expressed some concern that the industry capacity for placements will not be enough when the number of providers increases.

Providers that have historically offered childcare and education courses told inspectors that their pre-existing relationships with employers were vital in providing placements. As a result, employers understand the requirements of the placement and have experience in supporting learners. In one provider, learners benefited from excellent placements with schools that were committed to providing high-quality, relevant experiences. This contrasts with digital programmes, for example, where providers did not always have these relationships.

There were a handful of cases, mostly on health and science and digital courses, where no learners on the course had been able to start a placement. Providers reported that industry placements were due to start later in the year.

Two providers delayed the start of the industry placement because learners were not ready for work. These providers felt that the effects of isolation and the pandemic had led to weaker social skills and a lack of confidence. However, these learners were on placement at the time of our visit and employers thought it was a positive experience for both learners and themselves.

Delays to placements led to frustration and anxiety for learners.

The TLTP did not always result in learners progressing on to a T level as intended.

At some providers, the TLTP was preparing learners effectively to study a T level. The curriculum design enabled learners to gain the skills, knowledge and positive behaviours they needed. Learners gained a good basic understanding of topics that they would expand on in the T level. However, during our visits it was clear that many learners would not necessarily progress to a T-level course from the TLTP.

In some cases, this was due to providers setting up TLTP courses without the clear purpose of preparing learners for a T level. For example, providers had offered learners the TLTP in subjects that are not yet offered as a T-level course, making immediate progress to a T-level course impossible. For example, there is no T level in sport for learners studying a sport TLTP. Inspectors also saw examples of learners being placed on the TLTP to retake GCSEs before progressing to their preferred A-level courses.

Indeed, many learners were unclear about their next steps after the TLTP. Some learners said that this was because of a lack of careers advice and guidance. Some could talk about their preferred career paths but were unsure of how to achieve their ambitions. Learners were not always able to identify the different T levels that they might take on completing the TLTP.

Some learners on the TLTP did not expect to get the grades required to progress to a T level. Additionally, learners did not always feel well prepared for the quantity of work they would need to complete on their TLTP. Some found the timetable and workload difficult to manage, particularly those who were also studying English and maths GCSEs.

As a result, it was clear that many learners would not necessarily start a T-level course once they had completed the TLTP.

Teaching on the TLTP was generally of a high standard

Even though the TLTP was not always clearly going to lead to a T level, the quality of teaching on the TLTP was generally of a high standard. Teachers were well qualified and learners benefited from their experience. The strongest teachers understood what learners needed to gain from the TLTP.

Most learners completed work to a high standard and engaged well in lessons. Learners benefited from constructive and developmental feedback from their teachers, which improved their knowledge and skills.

As with T-level courses, teachers used a range of assessment tools to check learners' understanding and make sure that they were retaining knowledge over time. These included written tasks, verbal discussions and presentations. When teachers found that learners had not understood topics, they extended sessions or revisited learning to overcome learners' difficulties. Some teachers taught learners exam techniques to make sure that they were ready to sit T-level exams.

Leaders had generally planned a good range of personal development activities as part of the TLTP. Teachers were running regular sessions on professional and personal skills. Some providers were also offering targeted help to improve their employability. This included interview practice and CV writing sessions.

The quality of work experience for learners on the TLTP was not always high.. Providers did not always help learners on the programme to find appropriate work experience relevant to their course.

Learners' work experience, a fundamental part of the TLTP, was not always of a high quality. The best work experience was organised by staff, who ensured it was relevant to the course content. Providers had sometimes integrated level 2 qualifications into the TLTP. This is because the qualifications often required learners to complete industry placements in multiple settings.[footnote 10]

Concerningly, at a few providers, learners themselves were responsible for sourcing work experience. Learners were not always successful at arranging work experience or ensuring that they were relevant to their learning. At one provider, only one learner on the course was on work experience at the time of the visit. This had been arranged by a member of the learner's family and there was little evidence of input from the curriculum team. Additionally, unlike learners on T-level courses, TLTP learners did not always have access to work experience coordinators.

Without strong coordination and planning from the provider, TLTP learners may not be gaining the full opportunities and skills they need from their work experience, if at all. This is a fundamental element of the course, giving learners the workplace skills they need to progress to a T level. Providers need to ensure that they are providing this fundamental component of TLTP.

Recommendations from our visits

Based on our findings, we recommend that providers:

provide initial advice and guidance to learners before they start a T-level course, such as summer schools and projects, to help them decide on which pathway to study

make sure that the curriculum sequences the different components of a T level in a coherent way that develops learners' knowledge and skills

reduce any delays to learners going on placements

collaborate with employers to make sure that learners get a high-quality curriculum

monitor learners' achievements and progress and the impact of placements on learners' knowledge and skills

ensure that learners on the TLTP get relevant work experience

We also recommend that employers:

provide placements that give learners appropriate experiences relevant to their T level

The Department for Education should:

We recommend that awarding bodies:

make sure that teachers and learners have access to the resources they need in good time

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A review of the quality of T-level courses: interim report

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T levels provide learners aged 16 to 19 with a new opportunity to study a high-quality and ambitious technical qualification. We visited a sample of providers that were among the first to offer these qualifications. This study evaluates the quality of T-level courses in those providers.

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Schools Week: T Level exams issues could be more widespread than first thought, Ofqual reveals

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Schools Week: T Level exams issues could be more widespread than first thought, Ofqual reveals

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Published: 12th October 2022

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Ofqual raises concerns over core papers in education and childcare T Level as well as health and science

Ofqual raises concerns over core papers in education and childcare T Level as well as health and science

More T Level exam papers have been called into question by Ofqual.

The exams regulator published an enforceable 'undertaking' signed by awarding body NCFE today following issues reported in this summer's health and science T Level core papers which impacted on 1,115 students and culminated in results being regraded.

Ofqual has now revealed that it wrote to NCFE in June 2022 about the education and childcare T Level the awarding body also offers, raising concerns about the targeting of assessment objectives in the November 2021 core exam papers.

The exams watchdog also warned that "given the range of issues identified in the health and science and education and childcare technical qualifications", Ofqual "considers that there is a risk that similar issues may be present" in NCFE's digital T Levels.

As a result, NCFE has promised to deliver an action plan and provide Ofqual with a copy of core exam papers and mark schemes within 24 hours of those exams being delivered.

In addition, it must provide Ofqual with an evidence statement of assurance for each of its T Levels confirming that actions in the plan have been delivered, and that issues raised in 2022 no longer remain in its papers.

Those statements must be provided before NCFE's final sign-off and printing for each core exam paper.

The news comes during National T Level Week aimed at celebrating the flagship new government qualifications.

Each T Level is offered and awarded by a single exam board. NCFE scooped more contracts - nine - to deliver T Levels than any other awarding body. No T Levels offered by other awarding bodies have had issues raised by Ofqual.

A spokesperson from NCFE said: "NCFE has agreed an undertaking with Ofqual to review our T Level autumn 2022 series and to provide assurance that all assessments will be robust. We know how important it is that both providers and students are confident in the validity of the assessments.

"We have therefore reviewed existing processes to ensure that any issues with the papers are rectified, as well as rolling out a comprehensive package of targeted resources, developed closely with providers to support teaching staff in maximising successful outcomes for T Level students in their 2022/23 assessments."

Many first year health and science students in the summer reported lower-than-expected grades, citing exam questions on topics they had not been taught and the textbook only being available a few weeks before the exam.

Angry students set-up a petition which gained more than 1,200 signatures.

A letter sent to colleges and students by the Department for Education last month following an Ofqual investigation said that issues included "question errors, inadequate mark schemes, and questions covering areas not explicitly in the specification".

It added that "given the breadth and volume of issues, Ofqual has determined that the assessments do not secure a sufficiently valid or reliable measure of student performance," which it dubbed a "significant finding and a serious matter".

Ofqual's written undertaking this week confirmed that "fundamental issues" were discovered in all six core papers in the health and science T Level, and meant the exams were "not fit for purpose".

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is understood to be conducting a separate review on the health and science T Level exams investigating concerns that assessment criteria was too broad and too advanced for first-year students.

During an education select committee session on Wednesday morning, Ofqual chief regulator Jo Saxton told MPs that the DfE had signed off dummy papers for the health and science T Level, but that the final papers were "significantly different" and "actual material failed to live up to that standard".

Less than an hour before Ofqual published NCFE's undertaking, Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes warned that "the whole T Level reputation is at risk in this," and added: "I am worried this is not the only T Level where this will happen."

He continued: "It shows the risks of new qualifications, it shows the risks of defunding existing qualifications that OCR and Pearson deliver too quickly, because this isn't the only time this is going to happen."

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T Level exams issues more widespread than first thought, Ofqual reveals

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Ofqual raises concerns over core papers in education and childcare T Level as well as health and science Ofqual raises concerns over core papers in education and childcare T Level as well as health and science More T Level exam papers have been called into question by Ofqual.

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NCH: Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection and iteration - face to face

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NCH: Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection and iteration - face to face

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09:00-16:00
23rd November
Norwich

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Develop your foundational knowledge around the Python language.

Summary

Take your first steps to becoming a competent teacher of Python programming; this CPD will develop your foundational knowledge around the Python language. Learn how to write code to input, process and output data, and how to manipulate data stored in variables. Using the building blocks of sequence, selection and iteration you'll begin to understand how programs are constructed to perform a multitude of simple and more complex tasks.

You'll gain confidence with lots of hands-on experience under the guidance of highly successful teachers of computer science.

Mapped closely to the specifications of GCSE computer science, the course will provide you with essential knowledge leading to expertise in teaching programming.

Prior knowledge:

You'll benefit from having some experience of basic programming, perhaps using a block-based language, to access this GCSE-level subject knowledge enhancement.

Do you prefer to learn remotely? If so, take a look at: Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection and iteration

Recommended next steps:

This course forms part of the Computer Science Accelerator Programme. For the next step towards becoming a confident teacher of Python programming, we recommended the one-day course: Python programming - working with data at your local computing hub and Programming 101: An Introduction to Python for Educators online.

This course is delivered as part of the National Centre for Computing Education.

Who is it for?

This course is for current or prospective teachers of GCSE computer science with some understanding of computer science fundamentals.

What topics are covered?

01 | Inputs and outputs - explore how to utilise inputs and outputs in Python, including the use of variables and efficient use of simple data types.

02 | Selection - learn how to write branching programs using selection. Understand how to apply operators and use nested selection within a program.

03 | Count-controlled iteration - this session will help you create code that repeats using count-controlled loops. You'll also trace program outputs using trace tables.

04 | Condition-controlled iteration - this session will explore condition-controlled iteration, using logic to dictate how programs run in the Python language.

How will you learn?

You'll engage with active learning in groups including direct instruction, hands-on activities and challenge-based learning. Examination practice with guidance will be linked to the specific requirements of the main awarding bodies. The course will model teaching approaches that can be taken back to the classroom.

How long is this course?

This is a one-day course which consists of five hours of teaching time.

Outcomes

You will:

Become familiar with the Python programming language

Develop some basic program constructs using variables, handling user input and output to the screen

Use mathematical and logical operators to build functionality into programs

Follow the flow of a program, identifying values held in variables at different stages of execution

Create and control indefinite loop structures in programs

Begin to evaluate programs and suggest improvements

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Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection and iteration - face to face | STEM

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Develop your foundational knowledge around the Python language. Take your first steps to becoming a competent teacher of Python programming; this CPD will develop your foundational knowledge around the Python language. Learn how to write code to input, process and output data, and how to manipulate data stored in variables.

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ANNOUNCEMENT

COVID-19 restrictions: Current restrictions mean most face-to-face course bookings are on hold until further notice. Our wide range of remote and online courses are not impacted by these restrictions. You can also visit our home teaching page to see an extensive list of free, high quality materials for teachers and parents.

Curriculum > KS4

The Teach Computing curriculum is structured into units for each year group, and each unit is broken down into lessons. Units can generally be taught in any order, with the exception of programming, where concepts and skills rely on prior knowledge and experiences. Lessons must be taught in numerical order.

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The Teach Computing curriculum is structured into units for each year group, and each unit is broken down into lessons. Units can generally be taught in any order, with the exception of programming, where concepts and skills rely on prior knowledge and experiences. Lessons must be taught in numerical order.

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Ofqual: Essential Digital Skills qualifications: progress so far

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Ofqual: Essential Digital Skills qualifications: progress so far

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Updated: 11th October 2022

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Applies to England

In April 2019 we published the rules against which we will regulate the new Essential Digital Skills qualifications (EDSQs). At the same time, the Department for Education published the national standards for essential digital skills which awarding organisation must use to develop their qualifications.

All new EDSQs will go through a technical evaluation process before being made available to centres (schools, colleges and training providers) to deliver. This is to ensure that the qualifications are valid and fit for purpose. Using a combination of subject and assessment experts, we review the materials submitted by each awarding organisation against our rules. These materials include the specification and the sample assessments. We consider issues such as their level of demand, coverage of the Department for Education national standards, and the quality of the questions and the associated mark schemes. We also review the awarding organisation's assessment strategy, the key document in which they explain the approach they are proposing to the design and delivery of their qualification.

Evaluation progress

The status, as at 11 October 2022, of each of the qualifications that awarding organisations have notified Ofqual they are developing is as follows.
Key

1. Awarding organisation is yet to submit materials to Ofqual for technical evaluation

2. Currently undergoing technical evaluation by Ofqual

3. Has been through technical evaluation by Ofqual and is back with awarding organisation

4. Resubmitted to Ofqual and undergoing technical evaluation

5. Has completed Ofqual process of technical evaluation

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Essential Digital Skills qualifications: progress so far

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Ofqual & DfE: Consultation on Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

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Ofqual & DfE: Consultation on Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

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Published: 29th September 2022
Deadline: 20th October 2022

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Detail of outcome

As outlined in our consultation document, both the DfE and Ofqual have responsibilities in this area, and so we consulted jointly.

The DfE is responsible for its policy for qualifications (including whether the government considers that exams can go ahead safely and fairly as planned) and the subject content that is taught and assessed. Ofqual is responsible for assessment arrangements and is therefore responsible for setting rules to implement alternative arrangements, if required.

As outlined in the consultation, the DfE considers that, if it becomes necessary to cancel exams this should apply to all students and a TAG approach should be implemented nationally. This would only happen due to an event like the pandemic which has such severe and catastrophic consequences for a significant number of students. The DfE has also confirmed that TAGs would not be used to award a grade when exams take place.

In line with our respective responsibilities, Ofqual and the DfE have decided to implement the proposals set out in the consultation about the provision of guidance for teachers on how they should collect evidence of student performance. The DfE has decided that the provision of guidance for schools and colleges is appropriate, given its responsibilities in this area. Ofqual has decided that the proposed guidance would support schools and colleges in gathering evidence of student performance that could be used to determine a TAG should exams not be able to go ahead as planned. Ofqual has revised the guidance consulted on, in response to feedback, with a view to minimise further the burden on students, schools and colleges. Ofqual has taken a decision to publish the final guidance, in line with its responsibilities for qualifications and assessments, including in the unlikely case that exams cannot go ahead.

The government is firmly committed to exams taking place. Schools and colleges are, therefore, not asked to determine TAGs and should not seek to do so. Guidance on how to determine a TAG, and on any quality assurance and appeal processes, will be provided only in the unlikely event that exams are not able to go ahead safely or fairly. These arrangements would depend on the nature and timing of any decision that exams cannot take place.

In this decisions document and the accompanying analysis, we have not sought to discuss every point made by those who responded to our consultation. In taking our respective decisions and finalising the guidance we have, however, considered all the points made in response to the consultation.

Detail of feedback received

The Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual welcomed the return of exams and other formal assessments in summer 2022, for the first time since 2019. Exams and other formal assessments are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. That's why it was so important that students were able to take exams in 2022 and can continue to take them in 2023 and in the future.

The national cancellation of exams - and the need for alternative assessment arrangements - is now very unlikely. The government does not expect to ever be in the situation again where exams do not go ahead, but good public policy means having contingency, even for extremely unlikely scenarios.

A consultation, prepared jointly by the DfE and Ofqual, invited views on guidance to schools and colleges about gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in the unlikely event it is necessary to use that evidence to inform Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs). The proposed guidance was designed to allow schools and colleges to decide how to gather evidence of student performance in assessments in ways that align with their normal arrangements for preparing students for exams. The consultation asked for the views of relevant people and institutions, such as students, teachers, exam boards, schools and colleges and their representatives on the proposed guidance. In particular, it sought their views on whether it supported the gathering of evidence to build resilience in the system whilst minimising any additional burden on teachers and students.

Responses to the consultation have informed the arrangements for gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in 2023 that we have now put in place. The decisions taken on the final form of the guidance are set out in a decisions document, and the final guidance itself can be found here . The consultation was available online for 21 days and received 213 responses.

Original consultation

Summary

Consultation proposals for gathering evidence of student performance in GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications to support qualification system resilience in 2023.

This consultation ran from

Consultation description

We welcomed the return of exams and other formal assessments in summer 2022, for the first time since 2019. Exams and other formal assessments are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. That's why it was so important that we got back to students taking them in 2022, and that this continues next year.

The national closure of schools or cancellation of exams - necessitating the use of alternative assessment arrangements - is now very unlikely. The government does not expect to ever be in the situation again where exams do not go ahead, but good public policy means having contingency, even for extremely unlikely scenarios.

It is important to learn lessons from the past 3 years. We have taken into account feedback received on the arrangements in place in 2022 and we propose to put in place arrangements which will build resilience in the exam system next year. We know that most schools and colleges have robust and effective assessment activities in place to monitor students' progress and prepare them for exams, such as mock exams, and these are well established.

This document, prepared jointly by the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual, invites views on guidance to schools and colleges about gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in the unlikely event it is necessary to use that evidence to inform Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs). It is designed to allow schools and colleges to determine arrangements to gather evidence that align with their normal arrangements for preparing students for exams.

The proposals in this consultation apply to GCSEs, AS, A levels, Project Qualifications and the Advanced Extension Award (AEA) in mathematics.

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Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

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Consultation proposals for gathering evidence of student performance in GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications to support qualification system resilience in 2023.

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Pearson: NEW BTEC Tech Awards L1/2 Support Pages 

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Pearson: NEW BTEC Tech Awards L1/2 Support Pages 

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Published: 3rd October 2022

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Copyright © 1996 - 2022 Pearson All rights reserved.

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Deadline: 14th October 2022

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Y8 Girls
Registration opens: 26 September 2022
Online qualifier: midday 21 - midday 30 November 2022

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The CyberFirst Girls Competition aims to inspire girls interested in technology to pursue a career in cyber security

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Y7-9 & Y10-13
Competition begins: 14th October 2022

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Previous editions - CyberCenturion VIII

The final of CyberCenturion VIII took place in April 2022, bringing together sixteen teams from across the UK and overseas territories, and was the culmination of three prior virtual rounds of intense competition between more than 450 teams!

Six junior teams and ten senior teams took part in the final at the RAF Museum London. Over four intense hours of competition, teams worked against the clock to secure a range of computer systems. The stages put participants in authentically challenging defensive cyber security situations, building valuable skills.

In the end, there could only be two winners. Bishop Team 3 from Bishop Stopford School emerged as the winning junior team, holding off stiff competition.

The senior crown went to CyberAces from the Isle of Man Code Club with the top spot swapping places several times throughout the final moments and the teams separated by the finest of margins!

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The final of CyberCenturion VIII took place in April 2022, bringing together sixteen teams from across the UK and overseas territories, and was the culmination of three prior virtual rounds of intense competition between more than 450 teams! Six junior teams and ten senior teams took part in the final at the RAF Museum London.

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Year 12/13
16:30-17:30
11th October 2022

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Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here
In this Computer Science session, Dr Robert Blair, Lecturer in Computing Sciences in the School of Computing Sciences at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on Python for Data Analysis - Programming Techniques & Approaches.

The session will develop skills and approaches to support students in developing their skill in analysis of data applicable in Computer Science studies and future aspirations. The knowledge gained in this session is applicable across a wide range of studies which use qualitative and quantitative data.

In the session we will start by using Python programming libraries to import text form the web to look at the original length of a 'tweet' in comparison to the average number of characters found in a sentence from classic texts published in 1844 and 1868. After this we will look at publicly available 'Open' geodata to build an interactive map of bike sharing in San Francisco

During the session you will be have the opportunity to input and run code in a browser based Jupyter Notebook i.e. without the need to set up an IDE or work from the command line. For the first task we will collect text from a web source then use Python libraries including Numpy, Pandas, Matplolib and Urllib to analyse the data. For the second task we introduce the visualisation library Folium along with Python widgets to create an interactive map based on geolocation data.
Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Dr Robert Blair
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Computer Science and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance, with respect to challenges they may face or questions they have. Students can also think about questions they have about studying Computer Science at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:
Register here

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Computer Science: Python for Data Analysis - Programming Techniques & Approaches With Dr Robert Blair From University of East Anglia - Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here In this Computer Science session, Dr Robert Blair, Lecturer in Computing Sciences in the School of Computing Sciences at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on Python for Data Analysis - Programming Techniques & Approaches.

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TES: Secondary schools face trainee teacher shortfalls in Computing

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TES: Secondary schools face trainee teacher shortfalls in Computing

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Published: 12th September 2022

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Secondary schools face 6,000 trainee teacher shortfall

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Analysis shows the government is thousands off its teacher target this year - with recruitment also getting worse

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A-level  and GCSE Computer Science: Feedback on the 2022 exams and NEAs

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A-level  and GCSE Computer Science: Feedback on the 2022 exams and NEAs

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Online
16:00-18:00
GCSE: 1st & 8th November 2022
A-level: 1st, 3rd, 8th & 10th October 2022

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Browse our qualifications support, teaching skills, subject expertise and leadership and management courses for primary and secondary teachers.

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Ofqual: Arrangements for 2022 to 2023 NEAs and Exams

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Ofqual: Arrangements for 2022 to 2023 NEAs and Exams

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- Ofqual confirms the usual arrangements for NEA, fieldwork and practical science are in place for 2023.
- Ofqual will ask exam boards to look carefully at the design of the exam timetable for next year, to see if the increased spacing between subjects in the exam timetable should be retained.

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Applies to England

In 2021 and 2022, Ofqual made a range of adjustments to the arrangements for NEA and fieldwork and practical science requirements in some GCSE, AS and A level subjects to respond to public health measures. Given that they are no longer in force, for the 2023 cohort Ofqual confirms that, as planned, the usual arrangements for NEA, fieldwork and practical science are now in place.

For the 2022 cohort, the Department for Education determined that there should be a choice of topics in GCSE English literature, history and ancient history and a choice of content in GCSE geography as part of a range of adaptations to GCSE, AS and A levels for this year. For 2023, the Department for Education confirms the return to full subject content coverage for those GCSE subjects.

For other qualifications, including vocational and technical qualifications taught alongside or instead of GCSEs, AS and A levels, a range of adaptations were permitted in academic year 2021 to 2022. Awarding organisations decided which adaptations were appropriate for their qualifications in accordance with Ofqual's Vocational and Technical Qualifications Contingency Regulatory Framework (VCRF). Some adaptations were in response to public health restrictions. Given that public health restrictions are no longer in place, these adaptations are no longer necessary for the academic year 2022 to 2023 onwards.

This means that schools and colleges have the information they need to plan their teaching of the required content and to provide non-exam assessments. The Department for Education and Ofqual will continue to monitor the path and impact of the pandemic and evaluate the delivery of arrangements this year, including the provision of exam aids, such as formulae sheets, and advance information to support students' revision, before finalising 2023 arrangements. Our intention is to return to the carefully designed and well-established pre-pandemic assessment arrangements as quickly as possible, given they are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do.

For GCSEs, AS and A levels, Ofqual will, as planned, consider the approach to grading for 2023 in light of outcomes in 2022. Ofqual will also ask exam boards to look carefully at the design of the exam timetable for next year in the light of experience this year, to see if the increased spacing between subjects in the exam timetable should be retained.

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Subject content and assessment arrangements in the academic year 2022 to 2023

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Y9+
Registration Open:  1st June 2022
Deadline: 1st October 2022

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Teach and learn coding with Virtual Robots

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Teach and learn coding with Virtual Robots

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VEXcode VR - VEX Robotics

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Y12
University of Suffolk., Ipswich
09:30-15:00
24 May or 25 May 2022

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An interactive technology event for schools and colleges

We warmly welcome you to our annual DigiTech School Event. Due to be held on 24 May or 25 May 2022, the event allows Year 12 Computing / Computer Science / IT students to experience our state-of-the-art DigiTech Centre at Adastral Park.

This £10 million investment includes a specialist cyber security range, artificial intelligence lab, networking sandpit, anechoic chamber and smart living lab. Students will begin the day with complimentary breakfast at our Waterfront Campus before travelling the short journey to DigiTech to experience an interactive tour of the facility. Students will have an opportunity to speak with experts in cyber security, web development, software engineering, data science, artificial intelligence, network engineering and more. Once complete, students will return to our Ipswich Campus for lunch before having an opportunity to tour the campus and speak with students.

This event has been designed for Year 12 students currently enrolled on a Computing, Computer Science or IT A-Level or BTEC.

Promotional Video

Dates / Times

This event will begin in The Hold on our Waterfront Campus (IP4 1LN) and will take place on 24 May, or 25 May 2022. The day will be repeated so you can pick which day to attend. All students should arrive at 9.30am for complimentary breakfast, and the day concludes at 3.00pm. See the full schedule below.

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We warmly welcome you to our annual DigiTech School Event. Due to be held on May 24 and 25, 2022, the event allows Year 12 Computing / Computer Science / IT students to experience our state-of-the-art DigiTech Centre at Adastral Park.

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Ofqual: Post 16 qualifications that sit alongside A and T levels - Second Consultation launched

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Ofqual: Post 16 qualifications that sit alongside A and T levels - Second Consultation launched

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Published: 30th June 2022
Deadline: 10th August 2022

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Ofqual seeks views on its detailed proposals for regulating a range of academic and technical level 3 qualifications.

Ofqual has today confirmed how it will make sure there is quality and fairness for students who take level 3 qualifications that sit alongside A levels and T Levels. These decisions are informed by the views of students, employers, awarding organisations, and others who recognise the importance of these qualifications which enable progression into higher education and employment.

Alongside these decisions, in a second consultation Ofqual is seeking views on:

titles of qualifications

grading of alternative academic qualifications

details of the proposed draft regulations

Ofqual's proposals focus on providing students with good quality, fair assessments, supported by meaningful grading scales and titles which make it clear, to all, what these level 3 qualifications represent.

For alternative academic qualifications, Ofqual is requiring that awarding organisations should set and mark at least 40% of the assessment to be undertaken by all students, at the same time. For these alternative academic qualifications, Ofqual is also proposing putting in place guidance regarding grading scales and is considering a move to a smaller number of common grading scales in the future.

Dr Jo Saxton, Ofqual Chief Regulator, said:

It is important that students have access to high-quality qualifications that will help them to build a meaningful career. Qualifications lead to better opportunities in life.

It is also important that students and employers can easily identify which qualifications are relevant to them and understand what the grades awarded represent.

Ofqual has drawn up its proposals for regulating alternative level 3 qualifications to make sure students best interests are met.

These proposals all contribute to making sure that qualifications approved for use alongside A levels and T Levels are of high quality and relevant, an ambition the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed in July 2021 in i ts plans to reform post-16 qualifications.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is currently consulting on proposals for its approval of level 3 alternative technical qualifications.

Ofqual, IfATE and DfE are working together to provide awarding organisations with a streamlined approval process for all level 3 qualifications, with no duplication of, or tension between, requirements. Awarding bodies will only be required to submit one set of documents for approval.

The aim is to have one single source of information once Ofqual's and IfATE's consultations are complete.

Ofqual's consultation opens today Thursday, 30 June 2022 and runs for six weeks, closing on Wednesday 10 August 2022.

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Post 16 qualifications that sit alongside A and T levels

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Currys & Digital Poverty Alliance: Free technology to children who need it.

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Currys & Digital Poverty Alliance: Free technology to children who need it.

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Priority Area:  Norfolk Coast (Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Great Yarmouth local authorities)

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Not as a loan or rental. It’s for your family, for good. Connecting disadvantaged families to devices and connectivity across the UK. Apply now!

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Provisional entries for GCSE, AS and A level Summer 22

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Provisional entries for GCSE, AS and A level Summer 22

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Borrow Class Sets of Physical Computing Equipment!

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Borrow Class Sets of Physical Computing Equipment!

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https://teachcomputing.neatherd.org/borrow-kit/

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Raspberry Pi Pico

A low cost, high-performance microcontroller board built around Raspberry Pi's very own chip - the RP2040. Raspberry Pi Pico is Raspberry Pi's first microcontroller board, designed especially for physical computing. Microcontrollers are a different type of device than Single Board Computers (like the Raspberry Pi 4 and previous generations of Pi), they don't run an operating system and they are typically programmed to do just one task, though that task can be pretty intricate and exciting! They're perfect for experimenting with hardware and using as the brains of custom devices, machines and inventions.
Coming Soon!

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A low cost, high-performance microcontroller board built around Raspberry Pi's very own chip - the RP2040. Raspberry Pi Pico is Raspberry Pi's first microcontroller board, designed especially for physical computing.

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DfE: Digital Production, Design and Development T-Level

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DfE: Digital Production, Design and Development T-Level

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQLT 2022/23

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQLT 2022/23

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DfE: Register now to deliver any of the Programme on the 11 T Level Routes  in 2024 to 2025

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DfE: Register now to deliver any of the Programme on the 11 T Level Routes  in 2024 to 2025

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Deadline: Register by midnight on the 29 July 2022 to access the full range of support that is available. Providers can register after this, up to midnight on the 31 July 2023, but will not be able to access the same support and capital funding opportunities.

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DfE Sign-in is the new way to access your DfE online services and has now replaced Secure Access.

Before you start

You'll either need:

An existing DfE Sign-in account. This will be the email address and password you created when you first accessed DfE Sign-in.

To create a DfE Sign-in account. If you haven't used DfE Sign-in before you'll need to create a DfE Sign-in account.

Need help with DfE Sign-in?

If you need help using the DfE Sign-in service, please contact us.
Sign up now

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Registration for providers planning to deliver T Levels from the 2024 to 2025 academic year - DFE Online Forms

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Ofqual: Podcast on Marking and grading in summer 2022

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Ofqual: Podcast on Marking and grading in summer 2022

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Published: 13th May 2022

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Ofqual Podcast: Marking and grading in summer 2022

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Gateway Qualifications: T Level-Transition Programmes 2022 Presentation

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Gateway Qualifications: T Level-Transition Programmes 2022 Presentation

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June 2022
Presentation given on the new Transition T-levels including in Digital

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Ofsted: Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) - Updated guidance on report

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Ofsted: Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) - Updated guidance on report

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Updated: 7th June 2022

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School inspection data summary report (IDSR) guide

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This guide provides an overview of the inspection data summary report (IDSR) for primary and secondary schools, including schools with a sixth form and gives guidance on interpreting the data.

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Discover our range of professional development courses, designed to help you teach computing. Courses cover key stages 1 to 4 and cater for all levels of knowledge.

Choose how and when you want to learn, through face to face, online, or live remote training.

Funding

We offer financial support to state-funded schools and colleges across England, including subsidies to support supply cover for continuing professional development.

Funding information

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Providing resources, training and support for teaching Computing in primary and secondary schools and colleges from Key Stage 1 through to A Level

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NUA: Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series 2022

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NUA: Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series 2022

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21st June - 8th July 2022
Online

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Tuesday 21 June - Friday 8 July

Creative teachers, technicians, heads of departments and career advisers, you are welcome to our 2022 Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series.

Across three weeks, we will be hosting a range of creative and inspiring workshops that you can get involved with from the comfort of your own home.

Plus, join us on campus for our Teacher, Technician and Adviser Day for the chance to get stuck-in with practical workshops on campus with our amazing course academics.

Upcoming Online Workshops

Available online workshops to book.

Being a Multi-Specialist in the Creative Industries
Tuesday 21 June | 4.30 - 5.30pm
Join Akin Akinsiku, BAFTA award-winning Creative Director, for this inspirational talk on why we should encourage our students to be ambitious multi-specialists, who can harness their creativity to create change in the world around us.

Akin will offer tips on how you can best prepare your students to widen their horizons beyond the course specific subject they study. Akin will look at how being a multi-specialist enabled his own success, as an NUA BA Graphic Design graduate with over twenty years of experience in television and advertising, working for organisations such as Nickelodeon and Sky.

Making Comics
Thursday 23 June | 4.30 - 5.30pm
In this workshop, we will explore what goes into making a comic book. You will try your hand at a bit of creative writing, create a dummy book, and adapt your writing into a visual narrative. If there is time you will have a chance to produce an idea for a cover design.

Led by BA Illustration Lecturer Christian Peterson.

Do / Make / Think
Saturday 25 June | 10.00 - 11.00am
Participants will undertake a number of quickfire activities to stimulate lateral or unorthodox creative thinking. Fundamentally you will be challenged to make art from low-tech materials and whatever is around you.

Led by BA Fine Art Senior Lecturer Desmond Brett.

Designing User Experiences
Monday 27 June | 4.30 - 5.30pm
Join Graphics courses Lecturer David Watson for an introduction to User Experience Design through an exploration of collaborative design and prototyping tools.

Visual Merchandising for Fashion
Wednesday 29 June | 4.30 - 5.30pm
Join Alexandra Hill, Course Leader for Fashion Communication and Promotion and Fashion Marketing and Business, as well as Lecturer Holly Farrar for an introduction to the fundamentals of visual merchandising and current industry trends.

You will have the opportunity to create a visual merchandising concept and receive tips on how you and your students can make a great digital mood board.

A Tool-kit for Creating a Stand-Out Graphics Portfolio
Saturday 2 July | 10.00 - 11.00am
Join Lecturers Jamie Johnstone and Chelsea Carter to hear all about the four different Graphics courses at Norwich University of the Arts, as well as receiving a toolkit of information on workshops and practical tasks to take back to the classroom.

This tool-kit will enable your students to create the work we're looking for in a stand-out Graphics portfolio and give you the context of why this type of work is important to us and the learning of our applicants.

Mindful slow-stitch Textile Practice
Tuesday 5 July | 4.30 - 5.30pm
This session is relevant for all of us in education where increasingly we are coping with students suffering from stress and anxiety, which can have a negative impact on academic practice. Slow Stitch is about adopting a less-is-more approach, valuing quality over quantity, and bringing a meaningful and thoughtful approach to making.

This workshop looks at a way of using simple techniques and reused and re-invented materials to help students slow down and spend time in conversation and reflection, enabling them to build a stronger sense of resilience.

On Campus Event
Friday 8 July | 10.00am - 4.15pm
Join us on campus for our 2022 Teacher, Technician and Adviser Day for an intro to our creative campus and the chance to get stuck-in with practical workshops.

*You will have the chance to select your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice for workshop attendance for the TT&A Day below. We will then allocate 2 workshops for your timetable based upon your preferences.

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Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series 2022

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Tuesday 21 June - Friday 8 July Creative teachers, technicians, heads of departments and career advisers, you are welcome to our 2022 Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series. Across three weeks, we will be hosting a range of creative and inspiring workshops that you can get involved with from the comfort of your own home.

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Published: 16th May 2022

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We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

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You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies

A review of research into factors that influence the quality of computing education in schools in England.

Details

This review explores the literature relating to the field of computing education. Its purpose is to identify factors that can contribute to high-quality school computing curriculums, assessment, pedagogy and systems. We will use this understanding of subject quality to examine how computing is taught in England's schools. We will then publish a subject report to share what we have learned.

The purpose of this research review is set out more fully in the 'Principles behind Ofsted's research reviews and subject reports'.

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A review of research into factors that influence the quality of computing education in schools in England.

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JCQ: An introduction to becoming an examiner or marker

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JCQ: An introduction to becoming an examiner or marker

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Exam boards are offering an opportunity to join examiner teams in several subjects for this summer’s exam season. Examining gives you a chance to network with other subject experts, gain insight into the latest approaches to how your subject is assessed and earn extra income for approximately three weeks of work.

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Join all the other teachers who help students receive recognition for their learning, and also enable them to progress to the next stage of their development, by becoming an examiner. You'll gain a better understanding of the subject specification and how the examination system works.

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JCQ: Guidance for centres managing exams - June 2022 Series

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JCQ: Guidance for centres managing exams - June 2022 Series

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Published: 29th April 2022

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ESA: T Level Transition Programme - Guide for Students

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ESA: T Level Transition Programme - Guide for Students

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NCCE: National Centre for Computing Education

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NCCE: National Centre for Computing Education

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Why use our Teach Computing Curriculum?

Resources include lesson plans, slides, activity sheets, homework, and assessments

Each key stage has a teacher guide and curriculum map to help you get started

Built around an innovative progression framework where computing content has been organised into interconnected networks we call learning graphs

Created by subject experts, using the latest pedagogical research and teacher feedback

All of the content is free for you to use, and in formats that make it easy for you to adapt it to meet the needs of your learners

Looking for A level resources?

Isaac Computer Science is our free online learning programme for A level & GCSE computer science teachers and students. Access our time-saving learning materials that cover the AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR and WJEC curriculums.

Discover Isaac Computer Science

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Curriculum resources contain everything you need to teach computing at key stages 1 to 4. Content is free to access, and has been created by subject experts.

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Resources & Support for Coding clubs for 9 to 13-year-olds

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Norfolk Computing Hub: Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection & iteration for OCR specification

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Norfolk Computing Hub: Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection & iteration for OCR specification

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Virtual
27th April 2022
09:00-15:00

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Linked to the OCR J277 specification, learn how to write code to input, process and output data, and how to manipulate data stored in variables. Using the building blocks of sequence, selection and iteration you'll begin to understand how programs are constructed to perform a multitude of simple and more complex tasks.

Summary

Take your first steps to becoming a competent teacher of Python programming; this CPD will develop your foundational knowledge around the Python language. This course references the OCR J277 9-1 GCSE Computer Science specification and their Exam Reference Language, allowing you to explore practical programming and OCR's assessment language.

You'll learn how to write code to input, process and output data, and how to manipulate data stored in variables. Using the building blocks of sequence, selection and iteration you'll begin to understand how programs are constructed to perform a multitude of simple and more complex tasks.

You'll gain confidence with lots of hands-on experience under the guidance of highly successful teachers of computer science.

Mapped closely to the specifications of GCSE computer science, the course will provide you with essential knowledge leading to expertise in teaching programming.

References of exam boards:

This course has been developed to reference the OCR J277 9-1 GCSE Computer Science specification, if you're not teaching the OCR specification you may wish to consider booking the equivalent AQA or Pearson version of the course. Alternatively, you may wish to book the agnostic remote or face-to-face version of the course.

Who is it for?

You'll benefit from having some experience of basic programming, perhaps using a block-based language, to access this GCSE-level subject knowledge enhancement. You should have some understanding of the OCR J277 GCSE 9-1 Computer Science specification.

If you are entirely new to computer science, we recommend first participating in our one-day course: An introduction to algorithms, programming and data in computer science.

What topics are covered?

* 01 | Inputs, outputs & variables - explore how to utilise inputs and outputs in Python, including the use of variables and efficient use of simple data types.

* 02 | Building a working program - create a working Python program using inputs, outputs and variables based upon a set of user requirements.

* 03 | Selection - learn how to write branching programs using selection. Understand how to apply operators and use nested selection within a program.

* 04 | Working with selection - create a working Python program using selection and other programming techniques learnt.

* 05 | Iteration - this session will help you create code that repeats using count and condition controlled loops in Python

How will you learn?

Scheduled live, interactive online sessions led by an experienced practitioner. Flexible facilitator-supported, participant-led sessions, involving deep exploration of the subject content. The course will model teaching approaches that can be taken back to the classroom.

How long is this course?

This course is approximately 5 hours in duration, split across several days

Outcomes

● Create and control indefinite loop structures in programs

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Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection & iteration for OCR specification | STEM

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Linked to the OCR J277 specification, learn how to write code to input, process and output data, and how to manipulate data stored in variables. Using the building blocks of sequence, selection and iteration you'll begin to understand how programs are constructed to perform a multitude of simple and more complex tasks.

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Norfolk Computing Hub: Programming with Python

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Norfolk Computing Hub: Programming with Python

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Lintott Control Systems Ltd, Norwich
09:00-14:00
4th to 6th April

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Over this three day CPD package you'll learn how to program using Python, moving from the basics to working with data and advanced subject knowledge.

Summary

Take your first steps to becoming a competent teacher of Python programming; this CPD will develop your foundational knowledge around the Python language. During this three day pathway you'll learn about the three main programming concepts, sequencing, selection and iteration; sub-routines including functions and procedures; using arrays and external data files; advanced programming techniques including validation and using authentication.

This intensive CPD package will provide you with the opportunity to upskill your subject knowledge, up to GCSE level. Completing this pathway will contribute towards recognised certification. You'll be supported along the way by experienced teaching professionals, among a group of your peers.

You'll participate in live face-to-face CPD, with the opportunity to access on-demand online CPD. You'll take-away ready-to-use and successful teaching approaches from experienced teachers, supported by the latest research and evidence.

Across the three days you'll complete the following courses. You can find out which courses by selecting a course date:

*Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection & iteration

*Python programming: working with data

*Python programming: advanced subject knowledge, implementation and testing

Intensive CPD:

By attending this CPD pathway, you'll complete three CSA courses across consecutive dates. Bursaries are available for teachers in state-funded schools in England, bursaries could be used to cover travel expenses and overnight accommodation.

Who is it for?

This pathway is intended for teachers who have some basic knowledge of programming, either using block or text based languages. We recommend that you attend the 'Introduction to algorithms, programming and data in computer science' course if you're new to programming

What topics are covered?

Python programming constructs: sequencing, selection & iteration - during this course you learn how to program using the text based programming language, Python. You'll learn how to use programming constructs sequencing, selection and iteration.

Python programming: working with data - during this course you'll learn how to use subroutines; the differences between lists and arrays and how to use external data files in Python.

Python programming: advanced subject knowledge, implementation and testing - during this course you'll explore advanced knowledge, for example authentication, validation etc; you'll learn how to successfully implement a working solution and how to test effectively.

How will you learn?

Hands-on experiential learning with the collaborative support of your peers. Expert advice and instruction on the GCSE curriculum and the expectations of a computer science teacher, from experienced classroom practitioners

How long is this course?

You'll complete three courses from the Computer Science Accelerator programme, totalling approximately 15 hours, split across multiple days.

Online courses are also available free of charge, these are available to complete before, alongside or after the face to face courses.

Outcomes

●Develop some basic program constructs using variables, handling user input and output to the screen

●Follow the flow of a program, identifying values held in variables at different stages of execution

●Create and control indefinite loop structures in programs

●Understand the need for structured data, and manipulate simple data in Python lists

●Explain the differences between commonly used file formats, and manipulate their contents using Python code

●Understand the differences between iterative and final testing, including the different types of test data normal, boundary and erroneous

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Programming with Python - intensive CPD | STEM

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Over this three day CPD package you'll learn how to program using Python, moving from the basics to working with data and advanced subject knowledge. Take your first steps to becoming a competent teacher of Python programming; this CPD will develop your foundational knowledge around the Python language.

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Ofqual: Updated with additional information for teachers on collecting evidence for use in contingency arrangements

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Ofqual: Updated with additional information for teachers on collecting evidence for use in contingency arrangements

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Updated: 25th March 2022

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Recent updates regarding regulated qualifications.

Delivery of vocational and technical qualification results for 2024 and beyond

Ofqual has announced arrangements to ensure the timely delivery of results for students taking vocational and technical qualifications in 2024 and beyond.

Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Regulator, has also written to all schools and colleges in England to explain the arrangements in more detail, and how they differ from those implemented in 2023.

GCSE, Level 1, Level 1/2 and Level 2 vocational and technical qualifications results, summer 2023

Ofqual has published 2 guides to today's (24 August 2023) exam results:

These guides summarise the headline figures across England and reflect Ofqual's decision to return to pre-pandemic grading this summer.

You can explore the results in more depth - including breakdowns by centre type, subject and region - using Ofqual's interactive visualisations.

Ofqual has also summarised the key data in infographics for GCSE and Level 1, Level 1/2 and Level 2 VTQ.

AS, A level and Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications results, summer 2023

Ofqual has published 2 guides to today's (17 August 2023) exam results:

These guides summarise the headline figures across England and reflect Ofqual's decision to return to pre-pandemic grading this summer.

You can explore the results in more depth - including breakdowns by centre type, subject and region - using Ofqual's interactive visualisations.

Ofqual has also summarised the key data in infographics for AS and A level and Level 3 VTQ.

Industrial action

The Department for Education has issued guidance that recommends that schools should prioritise the running of examinations and assessments on any strike days, and should review their contingency plans to enable this to happen.

Schools, colleges and other exam centres should speak to the relevant awarding organisations if they are expecting any disruption that might affect the sitting of exams and assessments.

Replacement certificates

Ofqual does not hold copies of your certificates - we can't tell you your grade or provide replacements. Certificates are held by the exam board you sat your qualification with. If you don't know which exam board you took your qualification with, ask your school. If your school don't know you will need to ask each exam board to do a search for you - they will charge you for this.

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Updated: February 2022

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16 to 18 accountability headline measures

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Guide for schools, colleges and local authorities on how the 16 to 18 performance measures are calculated.

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Secondary accountability measures Guidance 2022

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Secondary accountability measures Guidance 2022

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Updated: February 2022

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Information for schools about secondary school accountability measures, including Progress 8 and Attainment 8.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This document explains how secondary accountability measures are calculated. It also gives more information about announced policies that apply to accountability measures for the 2022 to 2023 academic year.

This information is for:

senior leaders working in secondary schools and trusts, including maintained schools, academies, alternative provision, free schools and special schools

independent schools or colleges with 14 to 16 provision seeking information on secondary accountability measures

governors and trustees

local authorities

It applies to:

local-authority-maintained schools

academies

free schools

further education colleges with 14 to 16 provision

Find school and college performance data.

KS4 qualifications, discount codes and point scores for the school performance measures.

A short video explaining Progress 8 is also available:
Progress 8 video

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Secondary accountability measures (including Progress 8 and Attainment 8)

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Information for schools about secondary school accountability measures, including Progress 8 and Attainment 8.

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Ofqual: Regulating academic and technical qualifications at level 3 - Consultation

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Ofqual: Regulating academic and technical qualifications at level 3 - Consultation

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Deadline: 20th April 2022

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Applies to England

Summary

Proposed regulatory approach for alternative academic and alternative technical qualifications at level 3 in England

This consultation closes at

Consultation description

This consultation sets out Ofqual's proposed approach to regulating alternative academic qualifications and alternative technical qualifications, operating in conjunction with the Institute and the Department. These qualifications will be part of the future level 3 landscape, as part of the Department's 'Review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 in England', alongside A levels, T Levels and Apprenticeships. These groups of qualifications are explained in more detail later in this document, but in summary:

alternative academic qualifications are those which have the primary purpose of evidencing students' attainment in relation to their course of study, with a view to supporting informed decisions and choices about further study

alternative technical qualifications are those which have the primary purpose of identifying students that have attained the knowledge, skills and behaviours linked to competence in a given occupation.

This consultation is open to anyone who may wish to make representation but may be of most interest to:

awarding organisations and their representative bodies, particularly those that deliver (or want to deliver) alternative academic and alternative technical qualifications that would fit into the groups to be regulated by the proposed arrangements

schools, colleges and training providers, and their representative bodies - particularly those that deliver (or want to deliver) alternative academic and alternative technical qualifications that would fit into the groups to be regulated by the proposed arrangements

students

employers

Documents

Ref: Ofqual/22/6898/1 HTML

Ref: Ofqual/22/6898/1 PDF, 678 KB, 65 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Thank you for your feedback

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Regulating academic and technical qualifications at level 3

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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The Global Underwater Hub STEM Challenge

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The Global Underwater Hub STEM Challenge

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Year 9
The Space, Norwich
20th May 2022

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the global underwater hub stem challenge 2022

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the global underwater hub stem challenge 2022 tickets

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The Global Underwater Hub STEM Challenge 2022

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Eventbrite - The Smallpeice Trust presents The Global Underwater Hub STEM Challenge 2022 - - Find event and registration information.

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Norwich
09:00-15:00
31st March 2022

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Learn how computers of all shapes and sizes are connected physically, or wireless, and how this arrangement affects how data is shared

Summary

Computer networks exist all around us. During the course, you will demystify the hardware and network topologies used for data transfer between computers, and help you make topic learning relevant and engaging to students.

Learn how computers of all shapes and sizes are connected physically, or wireless, and how this arrangement affects how data is shared. Switches, routers and other network components will be fully explained, helping you understand how data is moved around in packets.

Mapped closely to the specifications of GCSE computer science, the course will provide you with deepened knowledge and confidence that your students are equipped for their exams.

Prior knowledge:

You'll need to know some basic concepts and terminology to access this GCSE-level subject knowledge enhancement. If you are entirely new to computer science, we recommend first participating in our one-day course: An introduction to computer systems, networking and security in GCSE computer science

Do you prefer to learn remotely? If so, take a look at: Fundamentals of computer networks

Recommended next steps:

This course forms part of the Computer Science Accelerator Programme. To more fully prepare you for teaching about networks at GCSE level, we also recommended the one-day course: The internet and cybersecurity delivered by your local Computing Hub or the online course: An introduction to computer networking for teachers

This course is delivered as part of the National Centre for Computing Education.

Who is it for?

This course is for current or prospective teachers of GCSE computer science with some understanding of computer science principles.

What topics are covered?

01 | Types of network - step into networking and explore the reasons networks exist including the benefits are of using networked computers. Consider the different types of networks and their characteristics including personal, local and wide-area networks.

02 | Hardware and topologies - the hardware that is required when building a network including routers, switches and hubs. You'll also examine the different topologies required at GCSE level including ring, bus, star and mesh networks.

03| Media types and Wi-Fi - explore how data is transferred using wired and wireless networks including understanding the use of data frequencies and Wi-Fi channels. Consider the importance of encryption when using Wi-Fi and the factors that can limit a Wi-Fi.

How will you learn?

Active learning in groups and expert teaching from an experienced subject specialist. Examination practice with guidance linked to the specific requirements of the main awarding bodies. The course will model teaching approaches that can be taken back to the classroom.

How long is this course?

This is a one-day course which consists of five hours of teaching time.

Outcomes

Understand the main reasons why computers are connected to share data.

Know the layout and key hardware devices in networks for GCSE computer science.

Understand the different transmission methods used when networking, including the characteristics of different wired methods and Wi-Fi.

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Fundamentals of computer networks - face to face | STEM

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Learn how computers of all shapes and sizes are connected physically, or wireless, and how this arrangement affects how data is shared Computer networks exist all around us. During the course, you will demystify the hardware and network topologies used for data transfer between computers, and help you make topic learning relevant and engaging to students.

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Ofqual: Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Ofqual: Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Published: 7th February 2022

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Overview of the support being provided for each qualification for students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

Applies to England

Additional support this year

A package of support has been put in place for students taking GCSE, AS and A level qualifications in summer 2022. It is intended to make sure that we are being as fair as possible to students given the disruption they have experienced, and many continue to face, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Part of the changes includes more generous grading this year to provide a safety net for students who may have been impacted by the pandemic.

Advance information might look different for different subjects because of how they are structured and assessed, but as far as possible the exam boards have made sure the approaches within a subject are the same.

These changes apply in England and to Ofqual regulated qualifications taken elsewhere.

Exam boards have published specific information about the changes for each qualification they offer, you should check their websites for more information:

GCSEs

Where we list changes for subjects in 2022, we only list what has changed, not what is remaining the same.

Ancient history, GCSE

Art and design, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Astronomy, GCSE

Biblical Hebrew, GCSE

Biology, GCSE

Business, GCSE

Chemistry, GCSE

Citizenship studies, GCSE

Classical civilisation, GCSE

Classical Greek, GCSE

Combined science, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. A revised equation sheet has been provided for teaching and learning.

3. A clean copy of the equation sheet will be provided for students in the exams.

4. Teachers can deliver practical work by demonstration.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Computer science, GCSE

Dance, GCSE

Design and technology, GCSE

Drama, GCSE

Economics, GCSE

Electronics, GCSE

Engineering, GCSE

English language, GCSE

English literature, GCSE

Film studies, GCSE

Food preparation and nutrition, GCSE

Geography, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Exams will cover less content than usual.

2. In the exams there will be a choice of content on which students must answer questions.

3. There will be no questions on the student's fieldwork experience.

4. Fieldwork requirements have been relaxed.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Geology, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

History, GCSE

Latin, GCSE

Maths, GCSE

Modern foreign languages, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Music, GCSE

Physical education, GCSE

Physical education (short course), GCSE

Physics, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. A revised equation sheet has been provided for teaching and learning.

3. A clean copy of the equation sheet will be provided for students in the exams.

4. Teachers can deliver practical work by demonstration.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Psychology, GCSE

Religious studies, GCSE

Religious studies (short course), GCSE

Sociology, GCSE

Statistics, GCSE

AS and A levels

Accounting, AS and A level

Ancient history, AS and A level

Art and design, AS and A level

Biblical Hebrew, A level

Biology, AS

Biology, A level

Business, AS and A level

Chemistry, AS

Chemistry, A level

Classical civilisation, AS and A level

Classical Greek, AS and A level

Computer science, AS and A level

Dance, A level

Design and technology, AS and A level

Drama and theatre, AS and A level

Economics, AS and A level

Electronics, AS and A level

English language, AS and A level

English language and literature, AS and A level

English literature, AS and A level

Environmental science, A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Film studies, AS and A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Further maths, AS and A level

Geography, AS

Geography, A level

Geology, AS

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Geology, A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

History, AS and A level

History of art, AS and A level

Latin, AS and A level

Law, AS and A level

Maths, AS and A level

Modern foreign languages, AS and A level

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

AQA - Bengali (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - French, A level

AQA - French, AS

AQA - German, A level

AQA - German, AS

AQA - Modern Hebrew (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Panjabi (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Polish (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Spanish, A level

AQA - Spanish, AS

Pearson Edexcel - Arabic (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Chinese (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - French (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - German (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Greek (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Gujarati (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Italian (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Japanese (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Persian (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Portuguese (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Russian (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Spanish (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Turkish (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Urdu (2018), A level

WJEC Eduqas - French, AS and A level

WJEC Eduqas - German, AS and A level

WJEC Eduqas - Spanish, AS and A level

Music, AS and A level

Music technology, AS and A level

Philosophy, AS and A level

Physical education, AS and A level

Physics, AS

Physics, A level

Politics, AS and A level

Psychology, AS and A level

Religious studies, AS and A level

Sociology, AS and A level

Statistics, AS and A level

Background to these changes

Full details of the changes we have made to our rules can be found in the decisions for the consultations ' Proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022' and ' Arrangements for non-exam assessment for qualifications in 2022 '.

Vocational and technical qualifications

Where needed, [awarding organisations are allowed to make adaptations to assessments and qualifications due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Schools and colleges have already been told what these changes will be, and you should speak to your school or college for further details about your specific qualification.

Accessible version of diagram

Generous grading

Exams will be graded more generously this year providing a safety net for students.

Changes to coursework

Non-exam assessment and fieldwork requirements adjusted, with flexibility in some subjects.

Optional content

There will be less content or fewer topics for students to learn in some GCSEs.

Support materials

Students will get formulae and equation sheets in some exams and won't have to memorise as much.

Advance information

Exam boards will give information on the focus of exams for most subjects to help students revise.

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Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Overview of the support being provided for each qualification for students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

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JCQ:  Summer 2022 Exams and Advance Information 

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JCQ:  Summer 2022 Exams and Advance Information 

# data[].attributes.body
Updated: 7th February 2022

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Ofqual: Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

# data[].attributes.subject
Ofqual: Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

# data[].attributes.body
Published: 7th February 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Overview of the support being provided for each qualification for students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

Applies to England

Additional support this year

A package of support has been put in place for students taking GCSE, AS and A level qualifications in summer 2022. It is intended to make sure that we are being as fair as possible to students given the disruption they have experienced, and many continue to face, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Part of the changes includes more generous grading this year to provide a safety net for students who may have been impacted by the pandemic.

Advance information might look different for different subjects because of how they are structured and assessed, but as far as possible the exam boards have made sure the approaches within a subject are the same.

These changes apply in England and to Ofqual regulated qualifications taken elsewhere.

Exam boards have published specific information about the changes for each qualification they offer, you should check their websites for more information:

GCSEs

Where we list changes for subjects in 2022, we only list what has changed, not what is remaining the same.

Ancient history, GCSE

Art and design, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Astronomy, GCSE

Biblical Hebrew, GCSE

Biology, GCSE

Business, GCSE

Chemistry, GCSE

Citizenship studies, GCSE

Classical civilisation, GCSE

Classical Greek, GCSE

Combined science, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. A revised equation sheet has been provided for teaching and learning.

3. A clean copy of the equation sheet will be provided for students in the exams.

4. Teachers can deliver practical work by demonstration.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Computer science, GCSE

Dance, GCSE

Design and technology, GCSE

Drama, GCSE

Economics, GCSE

Electronics, GCSE

Engineering, GCSE

English language, GCSE

English literature, GCSE

Film studies, GCSE

Food preparation and nutrition, GCSE

Geography, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Exams will cover less content than usual.

2. In the exams there will be a choice of content on which students must answer questions.

3. There will be no questions on the student's fieldwork experience.

4. Fieldwork requirements have been relaxed.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Geology, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

History, GCSE

Latin, GCSE

Maths, GCSE

Modern foreign languages, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Music, GCSE

Physical education, GCSE

Physical education (short course), GCSE

Physics, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. A revised equation sheet has been provided for teaching and learning.

3. A clean copy of the equation sheet will be provided for students in the exams.

4. Teachers can deliver practical work by demonstration.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Psychology, GCSE

Religious studies, GCSE

Religious studies (short course), GCSE

Sociology, GCSE

Statistics, GCSE

AS and A levels

Accounting, AS and A level

Ancient history, AS and A level

Art and design, AS and A level

Biblical Hebrew, A level

Biology, AS

Biology, A level

Business, AS and A level

Chemistry, AS

Chemistry, A level

Classical civilisation, AS and A level

Classical Greek, AS and A level

Computer science, AS and A level

Dance, A level

Design and technology, AS and A level

Drama and theatre, AS and A level

Economics, AS and A level

Electronics, AS and A level

English language, AS and A level

English language and literature, AS and A level

English literature, AS and A level

Environmental science, A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Film studies, AS and A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Further maths, AS and A level

Geography, AS

Geography, A level

Geology, AS

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Geology, A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

History, AS and A level

History of art, AS and A level

Latin, AS and A level

Law, AS and A level

Maths, AS and A level

Modern foreign languages, AS and A level

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

AQA - Bengali (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - French, A level

AQA - French, AS

AQA - German, A level

AQA - German, AS

AQA - Modern Hebrew (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Panjabi (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Polish (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Spanish, A level

AQA - Spanish, AS

Pearson Edexcel - Arabic (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Chinese (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - French (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - German (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Greek (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Gujarati (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Italian (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Japanese (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Persian (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Portuguese (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Russian (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Spanish (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Turkish (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Urdu (2018), A level

WJEC Eduqas - French, AS and A level

WJEC Eduqas - German, AS and A level

WJEC Eduqas - Spanish, AS and A level

Music, AS and A level

Music technology, AS and A level

Philosophy, AS and A level

Physical education, AS and A level

Physics, AS

Physics, A level

Politics, AS and A level

Psychology, AS and A level

Religious studies, AS and A level

Sociology, AS and A level

Statistics, AS and A level

Background to these changes

Full details of the changes we have made to our rules can be found in the decisions for the consultations ' Proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022' and ' Arrangements for non-exam assessment for qualifications in 2022 '.

Vocational and technical qualifications

Where needed, [awarding organisations are allowed to make adaptations to assessments and qualifications due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Schools and colleges have already been told what these changes will be, and you should speak to your school or college for further details about your specific qualification.

Accessible version of diagram

Generous grading

Exams will be graded more generously this year providing a safety net for students.

Changes to coursework

Non-exam assessment and fieldwork requirements adjusted, with flexibility in some subjects.

Optional content

There will be less content or fewer topics for students to learn in some GCSEs.

Support materials

Students will get formulae and equation sheets in some exams and won't have to memorise as much.

Advance information

Exam boards will give information on the focus of exams for most subjects to help students revise.

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Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Overview of the support being provided for each qualification for students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

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JCQ:  Summer 2022 Exams and Advance Information 

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JCQ:  Summer 2022 Exams and Advance Information 

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Updated: 7th February 2022

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Published: 7th February 2022

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DfE: Special consideration policies for technical qualifications in 2022

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DfE: Special consideration policies for technical qualifications in 2022

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A summary of special consideration policies for awarding organisations offering Applied Generals, Tech Awards, Tech Certs and Tech Levels in England.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

Special consideration may apply where a student has temporarily experienced an illness or injury, or other event outside their control, which is likely to have affected their ability to show their true abilities in an assessment. It allows the student to receive an assessment outcome despite the disadvantage.

This document gives a summary of the special consideration policies for each awarding organisation offering Applied Generals, Tech Awards, Tech Certs and Tech Levels in England.

Thank you for your feedback

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Special consideration policies for technical qualifications

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Ofqual Dr Jo Saxton: Speech at Sixth Form Colleges Association Conference

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Ofqual Dr Jo Saxton: Speech at Sixth Form Colleges Association Conference

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19th January 2022
Sets out the support for students taking exams and assessments this year, including advance information and a fair approach to grading

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Good morning, everyone. Bill: thank you so much for inviting me. I'm thrilled to be with you, in spirit if not in person.

I first met Bill in something like 2008. I went to see him in his office somewhere high up in Millbank tower. It had the most stunning view across south Westminster. Bill deployed me as a literacy consultant, and not long after, I found myself in a particularly tough new academy in the East Midlands. At that time, challenging educational circumstances on the ground did not include providing and complying with public health measures, and it did not include devising and determining high stakes assessments on top of everything else. Your response to the scale and pace of the change required by the pandemic in the last 2 years is simply breath-taking-more so than any view.

Let me give a sense of scale. Thanks to your commitment and efforts, and those of many thousands of other sector colleagues, despite exams being cancelled, last year 1.2 million students received grades for GCSE, AS and A levels. You, and staff at schools and exam centres, submitted 5.7 million Teacher Assessed Grades for students in England last summer. That includes over 750,000 A level TAGs.

And, in the spring and summer of 2021 alone, thanks again to your efforts, awarding organisations were able to issue over 1 million qualification results to students taking Functional Skills qualifications, Core Maths, International Baccalaureate diplomas, Cambridge Pre-Us, Applied Generals, Tech Levels and others.

2022 is still very young, yet as at today, over 500 regulated assessments and exams have taken place, that's 480,000 entries, or 89% of the January series will have been undertaken, which is extraordinary, given the pressures of the Omicron variant. Once again, in very large part because you have adapted staffing, prioritisation and invigilation, and many of you will have even reorganised your facilities to enable COVID-safe exam sittings to go ahead.

None of us would have chosen this turn of events, and whilst media commentators are right that it has shown the extraordinary purpose, commitment, drive and dedication of those who work in colleges, sixth forms and schools - for which I, and Ofqual of course applaud you - I think there is a bigger point here, and it is about adaptation.

As Darwin and Wallace posited in the 1890s, it is the ability of a species to adapt to its environment that determines its success. The versatility you have all shown over the past 2 years - and the scale of change to qualification and assessment policy and practice that you have realised - must surely exceed that of any generation of educators, certainly in recent history.

And as you know, there are more novel and important adaptations to come, in the form of advance information next month, together with a measured approach to ensure fair grading in the summer. I want to talk to you now about both of these; how they were conceived; why I believe they will help your students, and why they will mark an important staging post in our move back towards normality.

Advance Information

The first point I want to make about advance information is that it's not something we would have contemplated in 'normal times'. In fact, we have gone to great lengths - the whole qualification system has gone to great lengths traditionally - through Ofqual's regulations to reduce the risk of any student or teacher knowing in advance the focus of any exam paper. But we wanted a way to make the exam experience less daunting for students, while also preserving the integrity of the content coverage, as well as preserving the integrity of the assessments themselves.

The whole point is to provide as universal as possible a revision aid for students. And this, combined with the anticipation of a difficult winter, is how policymakers arrived at the 7 February publication date. Any earlier, and content coverage would have been affected; any later and it comes too late in the day for revision to be effective, too late to allow you to recap and review where necessary.

Obviously this is the first time this innovative approach has been taken, and 2022 exam papers were not designed with the publication of advance information in mind. I've no doubt that some people will feel we haven't gone far enough, and others will feel we have gone too far. But the people who matter to me the most are the students - and my sincere hope is that - with guidance from you - they will be able to benefit from the information being shared.

Advance Information is novel for everyone in the exam system. Exam boards have developed it for almost every subject. They've worked at pace to do so in the interests of students. They have done their absolute level best to deliver focused aids, without revealing the questions, and you can imagine that's definitely an art rather than a science. If they'd gone too close to revealing the questions it would have undermined exams and turned them into short-term memory tests rather than true measures of what students have learned, know, understand and can do.

There has been some commentary already about whether advance information will mainly benefit more able students because it might support them to revise for the higher tariff questions.

Of course, much of the advance information gives a steer on how to revise for higher tariff questions, although not all of it.

Bluntly, to focus advance information on low tariff questions would be nonsensical. It would be silly to publish a document that says something like; you will be asked to identify the year in which the Versailles Treaty was signed, or the year in which Magna Carta was signed. Clearly, at that point, the exam would stop being an exam.

But supporting students to revise for higher tariff questions does not mean that advance information will only support the most able students. Higher tariff doesn't necessarily mean harder content. We know that candidates from across all abilities and demographics gain marks across an exam paper and not only in the low tariff questions. And we hope that the benefit of advance information will mean that students who suffered the most disruption, or those who are less able, may gain confidence to tackle elements of a paper that they might previously not have felt confident to try.

And just as much as advance information is a new phenomenon for the boards and for colleges and schools, so is it new for us at Ofqual. It presents us, as the regulator, with a novel and interesting challenge. We have created a regulatory framework for exceptional measures that would, quite simply, have been unthinkable in a normal exam context. The pandemic has required a range of regulatory reprioritisation and adaptation in the same way that you have had to reprioritise and adapt your normal practice. I am clear that our regulations must align to the interests of students - given the impact on their education experience these past 2 years. So, what does this novel situation look like from the regulator's point of view?

First, the tenet must hold true that Ofqual does not see exams before they are sat. That doesn't change this year. Each year the number of people that know the content of live papers before they are sat is very tightly controlled by exam boards, and that's right. That's key to fairness for students, and important to minimise the risk of any leaks. The exam boards are accountable to Ofqual for the quality and security of their papers. And this year they are also accountable to us for the accurate and careful introduction of advance information.

So, our approach has been about putting in place principles to ensure that advance information secures the interests of students and we've set the right regulations to enable that.

In practical terms, that means that we have worked with subject specialists and our assessment design team, and the boards to agree over 300 specifications how the advance information will work. You get a sense of what a dramatic innovation that is for us to have adapted our rules to allow this is, if you recall the outrage some years ago when a broadsheet newspaper sent a journalist to attend an exam board event, at which hints about the focus of certain questions were allegedly provided in this meeting. The scale of that shock really puts this year's innovation into perspective.

I see it as a really exciting adaptation. We will, of course, be monitoring its effect closely. Shortly after publication, we will be reaching out to hear your - and your students' - views on how it delivers the intentions. We will do so again once exams have been sat. There is much to learn from what will happen in the coming months and so we will expand a wide-ranging research programme to evaluate the impact of advance information to inform thinking for future years. But I ask that when you receive the advance information, please do remember the positive intentions behind it - it represents a unique coming together of everybody across the qualification system to act in the interests of students, to provide them with support whilst also enabling the re-instatement of the tried, tested - and trusted - approaches to the awarding of qualifications.

Grading

Our approach to advance information was informed and driven by the views of you and of your students - we heard from teachers who were anxious about their students' ability to cover the full range of subject content. We heard from students about their varied experiences of the pandemic.

This same listening approach was applied to how we've tackled grading too.

It was clear talking to students and their parents, that they wanted to get back to normal, but not to do so in one single leap.

At the end of September, we announced our resulting approach to grading next summer, one intended to be as fair as possible to 2022 students. Fair, because it will provide a safety net to students who have been so affected by the pandemic. Fair, because it will iron out some of the anomalies that have come into play through the non-examined years. Fair because it will secure consistency between subjects and between exam boards. Let's remember too that this year marks the return to exams - the way the qualifications have been designed - with all students assessed in the same way, marked, and graded consistently and externally to the same standard. That, along with advance information which itself provides unprecedented support, represents an unprecedented package of aid.

So, 2022 is a transition year to reflect the realities of the pandemic and that students' education does continue to be disrupted. Remember the package as a whole - it works together as a complete aid and support. You need to not try to pick apart individual elements of it.

The results in 2020 and 2021, when exams were cancelled, were clearly out of line with the results of previous exam years. As we ourselves learn to adapt to living with COVID-19, it is right that we take steps to resume arrangements that are coherent with those from pre-pandemic years. We must do it gradually; and this underpins our so-called midpoint approach.

Let me be clear, there is no single statistical midpoint. There will be no standardisation model to determine students' grades. Grade boundaries for each specification will be set by senior examiners, critically, only after they have reviewed the work produced by students. As a check and balance, of course exam boards will use other evidence, including statistical evidence of how students were graded when exams were last taken, so that grade boundaries do, indeed, deliver this generous midpoint approach. That means you can assure your students and their families that, as regulator, we are doing everything we can to secure approaches to standards which are fair, whichever exam board a student is working with, whichever subject. As regulator, one of the key things that we do is review the results. I started to experience this process for the autumn series. Results across every subject in every board are reviewed in great detail and Ofqual checks the appropriate processes have been followed; considers anomalies with exam boards, before results are issued.

Because the process of determining grade boundaries must follow the act of script marking, which of course follows candidates sitting papers, what we can't tell you is precisely what these arrangements mean for results. But I can assure you that our grading requirements will provide a safety-net for this cohort and it is likely to mean that results overall are higher than in normal years.

Talking to UCAS, and to employers, they wanted to see grades that were closer to the currency they were used to. They also recognised it was not right to implement this in one go. We've heard concerns that repeating 2021 outcomes would likely lead to universities devising alternative entry arrangements and raising the grades on which offers are based. Contributing to a system where that might happen would not actually increase opportunity for students in practice.

Vocational and Technical Qualifications grading

Coherence, parity if you will, between vocational and technical qualifications and general qualifications is really important - and something that the regulatory framework devised during the pandemic better supports than pre-pandemic arrangements.

Ofqual's specific regulatory framework for awarding vocational qualifications in the pandemic requires awarding organisations to secure, as far as possible, that VTQ students are neither disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their GCSE and A level peers. That principle has not existed in legal regulatory terms before.

Boards will take account, therefore, of the approach for GCSEs and A levels when setting standards in their own vocational and technical qualifications. We, as regulator, will closely monitor the arrangements and look at what awarding organisations are putting in place for their qualifications to ensure they are delivered fairly and are appropriately adapted in the interests of students.

Contingencies

I am really aware that some of you, and your students, would dearly like us to switch off contingencies given the government's confidence and commitment to exams going ahead. But I'm afraid that the need to collect evidence of student performance in case exams don't take place is important. It won't surprise you that I can't agree to turn off those arrangements. Not, of course, that it's entirely in my gift.

As well as showing us your incredible resilience and ability to adapt, the pandemic has also been unpredictable. That's the one predictable thing about the pandemic; it's continually surprised us and caught us off guard. It wouldn't be doing justice to you and your students to stand down contingencies at this time.

I am, nonetheless, hugely sympathetic to how challenging operationally and emotionally for you and your students it is to ride both these horses, but there are no plans to turn off Plan B.

Ofqual: expert and human, regulating in the interests of students

I promised Bill to leave time to take your questions, but before doing that, please allow me to share a little bit about myself, given this is my first chance to speak to you.

I am here today as Chief Regulator, but I am above everything else, like you, an educator.

I thrive in challenging environments - and actually anyone who knows me will tell you that I actively seek them out. Whether that is leading schools in disadvantaged communities, working in central government in the eye of a pandemic, or coming to Ofqual as we move further through the demands and opportunities the pandemic has forced.

For me, there is nothing more important in education than young people getting the qualifications they need to unlock their future. This is something I live and breathe.

I live and breathe it because that was precisely my own experience.

My qualifications opened all sorts of doors for me - including studying and working in six different countries around the world, and I want everyone to have those same opportunities - but especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

That's why I am here. Every day I think about those students - those with caring responsibilities at home; those who have a fractured or chaotic home life; those whose families are working second, or even third jobs, to keep their homes warm and food on the table - I want qualifications to work for them in the best way possible, to open doors for them.

These are the students who I've started to talk about as being my compass. Their interests are my true north. And this true north breathes life into Ofqual's statutory objectives.

What flows from that, is an Ofqual which is expert, absolutely, but an Ofqual that must also be human. That means listening - to students of all ages, but also to you, those who teach and lead them. You who make the longlist of qualification choices for them, you who support them as they work towards securing qualifications that have the potential to change their lives.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be spending time with colleges, sixth forms, schools, different education and training providers in every region of England, so that I can listen to you, to students, to governors and to parents. I want to hear directly about the challenges faced in the qualification system. It's only by hearing and responding to these challenges that I and we at Ofqual can improve how assessment and qualifications work. Some of these things that we'll hear about, Ofqual can do something about. There are others that won't be in our gift, but we can do our best to play our active part in the system which we regulate on behalf of students.

I've so far been lucky enough to visit some colleges in the West Midlands and some schools in the south west. Some of this listening work will happen virtually so that the pandemic doesn't slow us down, nor interrupt your day too much.

What's important is that the insights we gain from you, your students and their families, inform our decisions. To those who think accessible qualifications are dumbing down, I say there is no better illustration of the importance of the power of the functional skills curriculum and those qualifications that enable entry into employment, than what I saw at Hereward College. There I met Sophie and Akram who were developing and practising functional skills in the college's hospitality training centre. Graduates of the college dramatically exceed national averages of employability for those with SEND, and those 2 were well on their way to being able to be employed by a national hotel chain. I am proud that one of the first decisions taken during my tenure as Chief Regulator was to publish a consultation on improving the accessibility of assessments, and another decision on the regulation of reformed digital functional skills. These are live examples of acting in the interest of students.

From visiting Walsall College, I gained real insight into how working with a range of awarding organisations can really meet a college's needs. The Walsall team shared how, while the larger AOs (awarding organisations) have the breadth and can deliver at scale, it is often the smaller ones - many of whom offer the end-point assessments for apprentices - who offer a personal and flexible approach to assessment bookings, which is really useful to help provide confidence and support, and take an element of stress out of the system as apprentices get closer to being ready to take their end point assessment. Accordingly, we will continue to be nuanced in our consideration of applications by organisations seeking entry to this sector and to our recognition. Assessment and organisational capacity must be balanced with a student-centric culture.

Conclusion

Listening to and acting in the interests of students is the true north for everything I will do as Chief Regulator. The context we must navigate together is one of adaptation and innovation, crystalised by the pandemic. But it also a time of reform, already in train pre-pandemic - T Levels, apprenticeship expansion, among others.

I have not even touched on the possibilities afforded by technology and other innovations. I am convinced of the opportunities they present to improve assessments for students and apprentices - to make them more accessible, more valid, more reliable. We will work together on these in the coming years. We need to ensure that both what we assess and how we assess it stays relevant to needs of employers and society at large.

We share, I have no doubt, a commitment to ensuring that qualification evolution is squarely in the interests of students and apprentices. I am hugely grateful to teachers in colleges, schools and training providers across the country, for the vital part they will play as we navigate the way forward together.

Thank you.

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Dr Jo Saxton at Sixth Form Colleges Association conference

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The Chief Regulator sets out the support for students taking exams and assessments this year, including advance information and a fair approach to grading.

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Online
10th-14th February 2022

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Inspiring science, technology, engineering, computing and mathematics CPD. STEM Learning Ltd is a UK provider of subject-specific Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers and technicians.

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This was requested by a teacher, so may be useful to more colleagues

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Year 9

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Explore our developing network of Computer Science Masterclasses throughout the UK.

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Six Tech Inventions That Changed The World (gresham.ac.uk)

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The modern world is full of information technology that we use everyday, that has enormous impact and yet is barely understood or even acknowledged.

This series uncovers the history of these inventions, explains the computer science principles and shows how society has become critically dependent on their function.

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Six Tech Inventions That Changed The World

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The modern world is full of information technology that we use everyday, that has enormous impact and yet is barely understood or even acknowledged. This series uncovers the history of these inventions, explains the computer science principles and shows how society has become critically dependent on their function.

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OCR: Cambridge Nationals and Technicals - January 2022 exams update

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OCR: Cambridge Nationals and Technicals - January 2022 exams update

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Published: 7th January 2022

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January 2022 exams update

The start of this new term is a very busy and uncertain one for everyone in schools and colleges. Here's a summary of key information to support you and your students taking Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals exams which start on Monday 10 January.

As a reminder, here are the communications about running exams in January 2022 that we sent to schools and colleges in December:

On 2 January 2022, the Education Secretary repeated his message about exams and assessments going ahead in the new year, ' so that students, who have worked so hard to prepare for them, have the chance to demonstrate what they know'. On the same day, the DfE issued updated public health guidance for centres preparing for and running exams on 1) wearing face coverings and 2) self-isolation arrangements.

The DfE stated the following on wearing face marks for exams: 'We would not ordinarily expect candidates and invigilators to wear face coverings during exams but they may wear them if they wish to and settings should be sensitive to the needs of individuals.' The DfE confirmed that candidates who have symptoms, test positive or are self-isolating due to Covid, cannot attend exams. The DfE stated: 'Schools and colleges should contact awarding bodies on the candidate's behalf to determine the next available assessment opportunity.'

Arrangements for your students who are not able to take a Cambridge National or Cambridge Technical exam in January 2022 due to temporary issues

We hope as many of your students as possible are prepared and able to take exams this month. However, if your students have or are in self isolation due to Covid for example, they cannot attend exams.

For students who are due to complete their qualification in June 2022 and who are not able to take exams in January 2022 due to temporary issues including Covid, the first option to consider is to reschedule their exams in the June 2022 series instead. However, if rescheduling exams in the June 2022 series instead is not possible and your students would be disadvantaged by this, an alternative option for students planning to complete the qualification in June 2022 is to submit a request for a special consideration absence. Students who are eligible will be given an assessed grade for exams they were planning to take in the January series. See below for more details.

For students who were due to complete their qualification in January 2022 and who are not able to take exams this month due to temporary issues such as Covid, please submit a request for special consideration absence in the normal way. See below.

For students who are not due to complete their qualification until 2022/23 and who are not able to take the exams in January 2022, please reschedule their exams for June 2022 or for a series in 2022/23.

If you decide to request special consideration absence for a student affected by a temporary issue at the time of assessment, and leading to an assessed grade ( see below), our Special Consideration Online will be open until 31 January 2022. This applies to any student who is in a position to certificate in January 2022 or June 2022, and misses their timetabled exam due to illness, injury, bereavement or self-isolation. If you have any queries, please get in touch with our Special Requirements Team.

Assessed grades for students who are not able to take an exam in January 2022 due to temporary issues

A student may receive an assessed grade if they are unable to take an assessment due to circumstances outside their control. To produce an assessed grade, we estimate how a student would have performed on a missing unit by looking at their performance on other units they have completed. We will use the proportional method that calculates an average grade based on the other grades a student has achieved. We will estimate an externally assessed unit based on other externally assessed units. If your qualification only has one externally assessed unit, then we will calculate the assessed grade on the other units in the qualification.

Greater flexibility in running January 2022 exams

To give you more support at this uncertain time, we can confirm that:

Exam start times: Schools and colleges are currently allowed to vary the start of exams (ie 9.00am and 1.30pm) by up to 30 mins from the published time without informing OCR. However, if you experience disruption relating to Covid during January 2022, we will allow you to start the exam later than that, provided a member of staff supervises your students from no later than 30 minutes after the published start time until the exam starts. Please email gqcompliance@ocr.org.uk to explain the arrangements on the day of the exam itself.

Minimum invigilator requirements: We will permit an invigilator/student ratio of 1 to 40 rather than 1 to 30 in the January 2022 exams. In exceptional circumstances, exams can continue if the Head of Centre is confident it can be done with integrity if a number of invigilators aren't present at short notice and your school or college has exhausted other options. We will also permit the use of subject teachers to invigilate January 2022 exams, providing they aren't the sole one for a group of students they have taught. Please email gqcompliance@ocr.org.uk to confirm any exceptional invigilation arrangements that are made on the day.

Remote invigilation: We are not able to offer this for your students in January 2022 unfortunately. If your students are not able to be invigilated, you can apply for special consideration if they are certificating in January 2022 or June 2022. Please contact our Special Requirements Team as above.

Alternative exam accommodation: To help you manage January 2022 exams, you will be allowed to relocate an exam to an alternative venue at short notice if it's due to a medical condition. Please inform the JCQ Centre Inspection Service via an alternative site form using the Centre Admin Portal.

Withdrawals and refunds

If you decide a student is not sufficiently prepared to take an exam in January, and you wish to withdraw an entry at short notice, we will offer a refund. If your students are not able to take the January exam due to illness or injury and you intend to reschedule the exam for June 2022 instead, we will also refund you. If you decide to take the option of requesting special consideration for those eligible students taking January 2022 exams, which will lead to an assessed grade, this is not refundable because your student receives a grade. For this option, your entry for the January 2022 series needs to remain in place otherwise we will not be able to award an assessed grade for a student. Please see our FAQ for more details.

Extra support for exams officers from OCR; our emergency exams officer contingency service

We know exams officers are essential to the running of exams. With this in mind, we want to provide an additional support service for schools and colleges who find themselves unexpectedly without an exams officer. Call our Customer Support Centre and let us know you have an 'emergency exams officer'. We'll answer any initial queries you have and then put in you touch with a customer support manager who will make sure you have everything you need to manage the exam series.

If you, or anyone in your school or college, has any questions about running our January exams, please get in touch with us. We're here to support you on 01223 553998 or support@ocr.org.uk.

We wish your students all the best for their exams.

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January 2022 exams update The start of this new term is a very busy and uncertain one for everyone in schools and colleges. Here's a summary of key information to support you and your students taking Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals exams which start on Monday 10 January.

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IBM SkillsBuild: Engage pupils in computer science and win £500 for your school

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IBM SkillsBuild: Engage pupils in computer science and win £500 for your school

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Deadline: 27 March 2022 and 24 July 2022

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Engage pupils in computer science and win £500 for your school

Opening 24 November 2021, the IBM SkillsBuild prize draw is open to teachers engaging groups of 10+ students in computer science. STEM Learning has worked with IBM to increase the accessibility of its SkillsBuild e-learning resources. We have created guides to show which SkillsBuild content supports the specific learning objectives within a range of computing qualification specifications to help save teachers time when planning their programmes of study.

IBM SkillsBuild for Students and Educators is a suite of online e-learning developed by IBM experts and other tech leaders. It is highly flexible, supporting the computing curriculum, a range of qualifications, and learning for application in the workplace. It's available for free to all, and teachers can register their organisation for full access to administrative tools.

To celebrate the release of these handy teacher resources, we are encouraging teachers to sign up their class to take advantage of this free online skills-based learning and support. On top of that, IBM is giving two lucky schools the chance to win £500 worth of STEM resources for their classrooms.*

Sign up to SkillsBuild

STEM Ambassadors:

Support students and teachers in GCSE and A-Level computer science by introducing them to the IBM SkillsBuild e-learning platform while undertaking STEM Ambassador activities with their school. STEM Ambassadors can sign up here and should use 'STEM Learning' as their organisation name.

How to enter?

Teachers or STEM Ambassadors can nominate any school in the UK to be entered into the prize draw by filling in this short application form once one Teacher and at least 10 students have signed up to the IBM SkillsBuild platform.

Winners

The competition is open from 24 November 2021 to 24 July 2022., with two prize draws taking place. The first has a closing date of 27 March 2022 and the second has a closing date of 24 July 2022. Each draw will take place within 7 days of the closing date. and winners will be contacted within 7 days of the prize draw once the entry is verified. Full terms and conditions for the competition can be found on the application form.

*The promotional period is open from 9:00 on 24 November 2021 to 23:59 on 24 July 2022. There will be two prize draws within this time, one with a closing date of 23:59 on 27 March 2022 and the second with the closing date of 23:59 on 24 July 2022. All entrants from the beginning of the promotional period will be entered into the prize draws. Winners will be contacted shortly after the prize draw once the entry is verified so that purchase of their chosen STEM resources can be coordinated.

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Engage pupils in computer science and win £500 for your school Opening 24 November 2021, the IBM SkillsBuild prize draw is open to teachers engaging groups of 10+ students in computer science. STEM Learning has worked with IBM to increase the accessibility of its SkillsBuild e-learning resources.

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Getting Started: Ways to Teach and Assess BTEC Tech Award Digital Information Technology 2022

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Getting Started: Ways to Teach and Assess BTEC Tech Award Digital Information Technology 2022

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16:00-18:00, 11 January 2022

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Getting Started: Ways to Teach and Assess BTEC Tech Award Digital Information Technology 2022

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Ofqual: Letter to schools - Advance information

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Ofqual: Letter to schools - Advance information

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Published: 9th December 2021

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I write to update you about the nature of the advance information, on the content of some GCSE, AS and A level exams, which the exam boards will be publishing by 7 February 2022.

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New subject leaders of secondary computing -remote | STEM

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STEM Learning: New subject leaders of secondary computing

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STEM Learning: New subject leaders of secondary computing

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Online
Starts 4.30-5.30pm 1st February 2022

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Develop the leadership skills and management practices to confidently coordinate an effective computing department.

Summary

Moving into curriculum leadership can feel like be a big step. Whether you are new to the role, or looking to progress in the future, this course will build confidence and clarity allowing you to succeed. Written by experienced department leaders, and based in the most recent evidence of 'what works', you'll come away with a clear plan and the tools to make it happen.

Do you prefer to learn in a classroom? If so, take a look at: New subject leaders of secondary computing

Who is it for?

New and aspiring curriculum leaders of computing in secondary schools.

What topics are covered?

01 | You and your department - understand aspects of your role, and how these may differ between schools. Develop strategies for developing courage and resilience.

02 | Developing, refining and implementing your vision for computing - understand what a successful computing department looks like. Develop a positive and viable vision for the computing department. Plan how to engage the teaching team and other stakeholders with the vision. Learn effective techniques for evaluating the impact of teaching and learning in the computing department. Plan evidence-based development plans and targets for the computing department that align with individual, and whole-school, priorities.

03 | Know and develop the capability of the teaching team - accurately evaluate the computing skills and knowledge of the teaching team. Understand how to create a highly effective team, and to be able to plan effective support for individuals to improve their teaching capability and achieve shared objectives.

04 | A successful curriculum - consider the intent of computing curriculum design and implementation. Improve knowledge of qualification routes in computing and associated subjects. Plan how to promote computing careers and further study and generate a passion for the subject among students and teachers.

05 | Impact on students - consider the range of data that can be drawn upon or generated to inform improvement in the computing department. Recognise the roles of teachers and middle leaders in regards to strategic use of data. Plan interventions that are effective and efficient in terms of teacher workload.

06 | Leadership and management - Recognise and develop different aspects of leadership and management skill in relation to curriculum leaders. Be prepared to hold challenging conversations with colleagues. Plan how to work effectively with line managers and school leaders to evidence improvement efforts

How will you learn?

Scheduled live, interactive online sessions led by an experienced curriculum leader. Flexible facilitator-supported, participant-led tasks supporting implementation and reflection on impact in your own school.

How long is this course?

9.5 hours total

Outcomes

Participants will:

Improve their understanding of the role of a computing subject leader

Adopt evidence-based practise to improve effectiveness and manage workload

Develop a vision and lead the development of the department, confidently engaging with school leaders and inspectors

Understand the capability of the teaching team and how to help individual teachers to develop, utilising a range of support

Be confident in establishing the curriculum intent and monitoring its implementation and impact

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New subject leaders of secondary computing -remote | STEM

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Y7-11

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Registration for the 2022-23 SUPERPOWERED season is now open!

At a FIRST ® LEGO® League Challenge tournament, you will have a day packed with lots of fun and we promise that you'll come away inspired.

Teams come together to showcase their amazing work they've produced over the course of the programme.

There will be a 30-minute Judging Session where the team will meet with a panel of friendly judges and present to them their Innovation Project, as well as their Robot Design and coding.

At the Robot Game table, you will get three opportunities to score points. Each robot game is 2.5 minutes long, and only the best score will be counted so be sure to come up with a great team strategy.

At the end of the tournament, there will be an awards ceremony. There'll be lots of LEGO trophies and special awards to be given out, and the ultimate winner will be the team who scored the highest across the four elements of FIRST ® LEGO® League Challenge.

Whichever tournament you attend, we're sure you'll have lots of fun. You'll come away having learnt so much from other teams and feel incredibly proud of what you've achieved.

Check out our list of tournaments below to find your nearest one, can't wait to see you there.

Register

Register for a regional event or Class Pack

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Registration for the 2022-23 SUPERPOWERED season is now open! At a FIRST ® LEGO® League Challenge tournament, you will have a day packed with lots of fun and we promise that you'll come away inspired. Teams come together to showcase their amazing work they've produced over the course of the programme.

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JCQ: Advance Information for Qualifications in 2022

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JCQ: Advance Information for Qualifications in 2022

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Because of the ongoing impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there are some changes to GCSE Computer Science in 2022.

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AQA Update - Using November Papers as Mocks

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AQA Update - Using November Papers as Mocks

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Ofsted: Marc White, HMI, Subject Lead for Computing 

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Ofsted: Marc White, HMI, Subject Lead for Computing 

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26th October 2021

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Computing curriculum | Webinar from the East of England region

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Published: 25th October 2021

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STEM Learning: OFSTED Deep Dive into Computer Science (Secondary) 

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STEM Learning: OFSTED Deep Dive into Computer Science (Secondary) 

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Online
4-5.30pm, 1st December 2021

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Online, self-paced course. Participants can join and start this course at any time after the advertised date. Discover the key components of a strong secondary school science curriculum in this introductory course. You'll explore the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches, as...

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OFSTED Deep Dive into CS (Secondary) | STEM

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Delivered by Subject Matter Expert Carmine De Grandis, you will be led through the process of preparing for and being the recipient of an OFSETD deep dive into the computing curriculum within your school.

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The free online learning platform for GCSE and A level Computer Science students and teachers. Discover our computer science revision and homework questions today.