19 March 2020

Dear Year 13 Students, Parents and Carers

Following the announcement yesterday regarding school closures, partial opening and exams this summer, I want to update you on the situation at Braintree Sixth Form for Year 13 students in particular.

I appreciate this is a potentially worrying and unsettling time for Year 13 students and their families regarding the uncertainty of A Level and vocational examinations and grades.

We have been told the examinations have been cancelled but students will be issued with grades.

Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, said that the Government would not be running exams as normal this year but that further details on how students would get their results would be released on Friday.

He stated students would get their grades as planned and that there would be a "mechanism" for students unhappy with those grades to seek redress.

"We will be putting details out tomorrow but children are not going to be sitting exams this year, and we’ll be doing everything we can do to make sure they get results in August as they would be hoping to," he said.

"But we can’t predict as to how things are going to totally unfold, and so the impact it has on all those organisations that are doing this work  – but it’s so vital for me and for those children  who’ve put so much work into all their learning over these years, in terms of working up to their GCSEs and A Levels, to get their result, but also make sure we have a proper and fair system if they dispute that, if they’re not content with it, some mechanism for them to have redress."

As a result of this decision, Year 13 will not be required to attend school from Friday 20 March 2020 and they will not be set any further work to complete once the school is partially closed from Monday 23 March 2020.

I know the Year 13 students and their families will have many questions about the award of their grades and how this will affect them in relation to offers they are holding. We will provide regular updates, information and support as soon as possible on all of these issues. We will endeavour to arrange an event later in the year to celebrate the year group as they leave.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to the students receiving their results as anticipated on Thursday 13 August 2020.

Yours faithfully

Mrs M Townsend, Assistant Headteacher – KS5