Gavin Williamson has said school exams will go ahead this year even in the areas with extra restrictions imposed on them.
The Education Secretary appeared on Good Morning Britain, where he stated priority will be given to pupils in years 11 and 13.
It comes after GCSE and A-Level exams were cancelled this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Millions of students lost out on education as schools closed for a number of months.
Students had to make do with results and grades based on teacher assessments determined by an algorithm.
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This system was heavily criticised, forcing the government into a U-turn.
Mr Williamson was quizzed on whether he could guarantee exams would go ahead in Summer 2021.
The MP said: “That’s why we took the move to keep those children who are in those exam years, so years 11 and years 13 are still coming into schools from January 11.
“Making sure they’re the first ones back into school, even in those areas that have those extra restrictions posed on them.
“Those children will still be going into school, will still be studying, they’ll be getting remote education from June 4 but they’ll be going into face to face teaching on January 11.”