Cancel GCSE and A-levels in 2021 replace with Course Work and Teacher Assessment
157,810 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 29 December 2020; it closed on 29 June 2021. The Government responded on 26 January 2021. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 15 March 2021.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Cancel GCSE and A-levels in 2021 replace with Course Work and Teacher Assessment
Cancel all standardise testing for year 11 and year 12 students in 2021. By replacing tests with smaller amounts of course work and teacher assessment, students would have a fair chance at achieving their target grades and it would relieve stress for teachers and students.
As a student I know I don't have a fair opportunity to reach the grades predicted for myself or the grades predicted for my peers. Not all schools are equal, for example lack of funding when comparing private and public schools. This means not all students had equal learning opportunities over lockdown if they didn't have access to a computer or learning materials. Course work and teacher assessment ensures that all students are given an equal chance to get their rightful grades.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 26 January 2021; the petitions site lists the Department for Education as responsible. Its summary:
Students will not be asked to sit GCSE, AS and A level exams this summer as planned in light of the ongoing impact of the covid-19 pandemic.
The opening 373 words of the 564-word response:
Instead, it is the Government’s policy (which it is consulting on jointly with Ofqual) that a form of teacher assessment should be used.
The Government has announced that, from 5 January 2021, schools and colleges should move to remote provision, except for vulnerable children and children of critical workers. We recognise that Year 11 and 13 students who were due to take exams in 2021, and their parents, carers and teachers, are concerned about the disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
While the Department continues to believe that exams are the best way of judging students’ performance, we cannot guarantee all students will be in a position to fairly sit their exams this summer. We have therefore confirmed that GCSEs, A and AS level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned, and we are consulting on options to enable candidates to receive a grade.
The Government has confirmed that a form of teacher-assessed grades should be used, with training and support provided to teachers to ensure these are awarded fairly and consistently. Working with Ofqual, we are consulting on how to fairly award all pupils, including students taking vocational qualifications, with a grade that ensures they can progress to the next stage of their lives.
We will build on the joint stakeholder engagement that Ofqual and DfE undertook last year and engage with as many people as possible in an open and transparent way to consider the main options and their implications, including, seeking the views of the students and their parents.
Further details of alternative arrangements to exams will be confirmed following the conclusion of the consultation process , providing clarity to the sector and ensuring that students have the confidence that they will be fairly treated in terms of assessment in 2021.
To help support students and schools during school closures, we have updated the remote education guidance for schools and FE providers to clarify and strengthen expectations while on-site attendance is restricted, drawing on our evolving understanding of best practice in remote education. A comprehensive package of support continues to be available to schools to help them meet these expectations. Schools can find further support via the Get Help with Remote Education page on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education).
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 649 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 1,042, came from Foyle.
156,798 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,012 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Foyle | 1,042 |
| Taunton Deane | 857 |
| West Tyrone | 729 |
| Hemel Hempstead | 719 |
| Belfast North | 631 |
| Mid Ulster | 583 |
| Somerton and Frome | 568 |
| Yeovil | 567 |
| Thurrock | 535 |
| North Down | 534 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 25,978 |
| East of England | 18,702 |
| South West | 18,451 |
| London | 17,305 |
| North West | 16,605 |
| West Midlands | 11,988 |
| East Midlands | 11,985 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 10,995 |
| Northern Ireland | 9,143 |
| North East | 8,409 |
| Wales | 2,462 |
| Scotland | 330 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 15 March 2021. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/564696.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
eefe2674914b4eff… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.