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Worthing High School

Worthing High School

Year 11 GCSE Results Day - 12 August 2021

I hope that our class of 2021 is enjoying a productive summer break, ahead of the next phase of their learning.

As you will be aware results day is on 12 August 2021, and we will be welcoming students between 10-11am on this day.

Please can we ask that students arrive via the doors at the back of the Millennium Hall, where they will collect their results.

Once they have received these, students may go through to the Sports Hall, where we will provide some refreshments, have the opportunity for photos and some time to socialise with their friends and speak to teachers.

Unfortunately, we do not have capacity to invite parents/carers into the school building, but they are welcome to wait outside the Millennium Hall in our car park.

If students are unable to pick up results, they will be sent in the post later that day - please email lfuller@worthinghigh.net .

I also wanted to take this opportunity to update parents and carers with some important information on GCSE, Btec and Cambridge National Teacher Assessed Grades (TAG) and the appeals process.

How were my / my child’s grades arrived at this year?

Grades this summer were based on Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs). TAGs were submitted to the exam boards by us as a holistic assessment of students’ performance in a subject, following a rigorous process of assessment, moderation and quality assurance.

These grades were then approved by the relevant exam board, following external quality assurance checks.

In some cases, the TAGs we submitted may have been reviewed by the exam board, who may have asked us to submit an alternative grade. However, any changes to the grades we submitted were done by professional teachers or reviewers; this year no grades have been changed as a result of an algorithm.

What do I do if I’m not happy with my / my child’s grade?

All students have the opportunity to appeal their grade if they meet the eligibility criteria (see below). It is important to note that an appeal may result in a grade being lowered, staying the same, or going up. So if a student puts in an appeal and their grade is lowered, they will receive the lower mark.

There is also the option to re-sit GCSEs in the autumn, which may be preferable to some students. The design, content and assessment of these papers will be the same as in a normal year.

What are the grounds for appeal?

There are four main grounds for appeal, as dictated by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). They are:

·         You think we have made an administrative error: an example of this would be putting the wrong information into a spreadsheet.

·         You think we have made a procedural error: this means we haven’t properly followed our own process, as approved by the exam board. An example of this would be where you’ve been told you should have received extra time for assessments but this wasn’t given in a certain subject.

·         You think the academic judgement on the selection of evidence was unreasonable: you think the evidence used to grade you was not reasonable.

·         You think the academic judgement on the grade you were given was unreasonable.

What does ‘unreasonable’ mean?

‘Unreasonable’ is a technical term in this context and means that no educational professional acting reasonably could have selected the same evidence or come up with the same grade.

This means that just because other forms of evidence may have been equally valid to use, the selection of evidence is not unreasonable. Because of the flexibility of the approach this year, every school and college will have used different forms of evidence.

It also means that the independent reviewers will not remark or grade students’ evidence. Instead, they will look to see whether any teacher acting reasonably could have arrived at the same grade.

What will be the outcome of an appeal?

At either stage of the appeals process (see ‘What are the two stages of an appeal?’ below), a student’s grade may go up, stay the same, or go down. When placing an appeal the student will have to sign a declaration saying that they accept the fact their grade may go down and they may get a lower grade than their original TAG.

What should I do before appealing?

Students must read the JCQ Student and Parent guide before appealing, which will be available on the JCQ website by results days.

We may not be able to offer as much advice and guidance on the likely success of an appeal this summer as we would in normal years, as we have already moderated and quality assured all the grades ourselves.

What are the two stages of an appeal?

All appeals, on any of the grounds above, must first go through a centre review. At this stage, we will check for any administrative errors, and check that our policies and procedures were followed correctly. Our policy has already been approved by the exam boards, so we are only ensuring that we followed this properly.

The outcome of the centre review will be communicated to students when made.

At the centre review stage, if we find that a grade should go up or down, we will ask the exam board to change it. They will then consider this request.

Following the outcome of a centre review, students may still choose to pursue an awarding organisation appeal. They must fill in the form below, which we will then send on their behalf to the exam boards. Students and parents cannot send appeals directly to the exam board themselves – it must come from us.

The outcome of the awarding organisation appeal will be communicated to students when made.

How do I make an appeal?

We encourage students, parents and carers to think carefully before requesting an appeal and understand that the outcome could result in grades being lowered. If it is felt an appeal is appropriate, forms will be available on results day, or later from school reception. You can also request this form by contacting examinfo@worthinghigh.net

What are the deadlines appeals?

The deadline for submitting a centre review is 3 September; and the deadline for submitting an awarding organisation appeal is 10 September.

If you have any questions or enquiries, please contact examinfo@worthinghigh.net

Kind regards,

Mr A Cook

Deputy Headteacher