November GCSE exams will go ahead in Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed.
All this summer's exams were cancelled thanks to COVID-19 and students will get grades awarded based on teacher assessment and previous work.
First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed November exams will take place in answer to questions from members of Welsh Youth Parliament during a virtual session today (Tuesday, July 14).
Qualifications Wales, the independent regulator, confirmed that English and Welsh language and maths and maths numeracy GCSEs will take place in November.
No details were given on how they will be held in relation to guidance around Covid-10 precautions.
Asked if exams would be deferred "to give pupils a fair chance" with education disrupted and schools shut, Mark Drakeford told the meeting with the Welsh Youth Parliament:
"The intention is to proceed with the exams in November. But, as we have done over the past years, just to focus on those pupils re-sitting, not to just draw others in.
"We have not yet made a decision on January yet but Qualifications Wales is still working with the Education Minister to prepare for January and they will be taking decisions on what they intend to do about January."
The First Minister added that he recognised young people have been doing school work in"very difficult circumstances" during school closures and are concerned about exams and what happens next.
Exam board the WJEC now lists GCSE exams as taking place from November 2 to 11. The first exam listed is English language GCSE unit 2 on November 2.
The WJEC also lists Welsh literature and English literature exams as taking place between January 4 and 8 2021.
It also lists a provisional exam timetable for AS, A level, GCSEs and vocational awards in summer 2021.
These do not appear to be later than normal, although that is being considered by Qualifications Wales in light of disruption to learning.
But the First Minister told today's meeting with members of the Welsh Youth Parliament that a final decision is yet to be reached on whether January exams will go ahead. Those exams are Welsh and English literature GCSEs.
November GCSEs are now usually sat by pupils as re-sits if they aren't happy with summer grades.
In the past schools often entered larger numbers of pupils for early entry in November, rather than re-sits.
The Welsh Government discouraged this by ruling that the first grade awarded was the one used to judge school performance.
From summer 2019, schools have only be judged on the result of a pupil’s first entry to a GCSE exam , even if they re-take it and gain a better grade at a later date. Pupils can take whichever is the best grade.
Some heads have privately predicted large numbers of appeals after result day this year. As exams were cancelled grades will be awarded based on assessments and rankings from teachers, including marks from mock exams and previous work.
Individual students dissatisfied with their grade this summer will not be able to appeal to exam board the WJEC but the WJEC can consider appeals made by exam centres on certain grounds
Schools will re-open full-time on September 1 in Wales but Welsh Government guidance on how they should do that, published on July 13, does not mention exams or how to hold them in the light of COVID-19.
This summer's GCSE, AS and A level exams and all other exams were cancelled in March when schools were ordered to close as part of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Qualifications Wales and the WJEC were approached for comment.
