AS, A-level and GCSE students in Wales to receive provisional results two months early

Final grades will not be given to learners until their respective results days, which are 10 August for AS and A-levels and 12 August for GCSEs. Credit: PA Images

Students in Wales studying for their AS-levels, A-levels or GCSEs will receive provisional results in June so that they can appeal, if they wish, before final grades are awarded in August.

Qualifications Wales confirmed that students will receive their centre determined grades two months early so that they can ask their school or college to review the mark before it is submitted to Wales' exam board, WJEC.

The Education Minister announced at the end of last year that 2021 exams would be cancelled and teachers would decide the grades of their students instead, because of the pandemic.

Teachers will use "evidence of learning" from work completed over the course, including things like mock exams, to decide students' grades.

It was confirmed that teachers would decide students' grades this year after 2020's algorithm approach was dubbed a 'fiasco'.

Final grades will not be given to learners until their respective results days, which are 10 August for AS and A-levels and 12 August for GCSEs.

When students receive their final results, they will still have other opportunities to appeal their grade as the process this year will have three stages.

  • Stage 1 – By June, schools and colleges will share provisional centre determined grades with their learners. Students can then ask their school or college to review the provisional grades and check for any errors before they are submitted to WJEC.

  • Stage 2 – After results day in August, a learner can appeal to WJEC that the grade their school or college has given is unreasonable or a procedural error has been made. 

  • Stage 3 - Following Stage 2, students can request an Exam Procedures Review Service (EPRS) review from Qualifications Wales to check whether WJEC has followed their procedures correctly.

Philip Blaker, Chief Executive of Qualifications Wales, said they have tried to assure the appeals process is "fair and workable", while taking on board recommendations from a review into last year's process.

He said: “As with all the decisions being taken for this summer, there are no easy answers.  We are committed to putting the needs of the learner at the heart of our work.”

It was announced that teachers would decide students' grade this year after the algorithm approach used for 2020 resulted in many learners being heavily downgraded and was dubbed 'a fiasco'.

Students who sat exams in 2020 were eventually awarded teacher-assessed grades.