Students left feeling 'at the mercy of the government' as A Level and GCSE exams go ahead as planned

• Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Raveena Ghattaura

Students say they feel nervous and "at the mercy of the government" after learning that A Level exams will go ahead as planned this summer.

After two years of disruption, the government has announced that this year's A-Levels and GCSE examinations will take place, but students will benefit from generous grading.

Year 13 pupils at St Benedicts Catholic School in Bury St Edmunds had mixed emotions to the news that they would be sitting exams for the first time since primary school.

Some thought it would be "nerve-wracking" while others thought it would ultimately be a good experience for the future.

Paula Radcliffe, 17, said she was feeling "pretty nervous" about the prospect of sitting exams after going through the pandemic.

She said: "I think we're all at the mercy of the government and the education system.

"We don't have any space to do what other years have done. We've had to compromise in this difficult situation."

She added: "I think, being in lockdown, I didn't have the same amount of contact hours with my teachers as other years had done so I think I'm a bit inexperienced in certain parts of my subjects. So yes, I'm very nervous".

Students are being given access to some information about what will be in their GCSE and A-level exams this summer, in a bid to maximise fairness following the disruption to learning caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some of the exam content, texts, topics and sub-topics, themes and skills due to be assessed have been made available for the majority of subjects, including maths, biology, chemistry and languages, in a bid to help focus pupils' revision for the summer.

Matthew Duke, 17, welcomed the extra information and felt doing the exams would be a good experience but he was not looking forward to it.

"The lockdowns definitely disadvantaged us. I personally struggled with topics that were covered in online lessons, so the content they've given us (today) will help us," he said.

Matthew was very happy when he did not have to sit GCSEs but with his A-Level exams looming he thought it would be good preparation for moving on to university.

Harlow MP and chair of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon, welcomed the announcement that GCSE and A-Level exams would go ahead this summer.

But he said he was also worried about the pressure it could put on some pupils.

"You've got to make sure that all pupils, if exams are going ahead, have a fair crack of the whip, have a level playing field and are able to do those exams because they've been able to be taught and able to learn everything that they need to learn," he said.