Dear Parent / Carer,

You may have seen the national announcement about the way grades will be awarded to Year 11 and Year 13 students this year.  Please download below the letter from OFQUAL, who are in charge of the process.

I appreciate that this will probably raise as many questions as it answers. As a school, we will need some time to fully consider the guidance and adjust our internal processes. I will be working closely with the senior team and subject leaders over the next few days and weeks to make sure we get this absolutely right.

If you have any urgent questions, I will do my best to answer them as soon as possible but it would be helpful if you could please wait until Monday 6^th April to allow us some time to carefully consider the information we have received today. Please email any questions to headteacher@buxton.derbyshire.sch.uk and I or another member of the senior team will reply as soon as I can.

I have tried to pull together some key points as a summary but please do read the full letter. It explains that;

• The judgement of schoolteachers will be key in deciding the final grades
• We will take in to account the work carried out up to the date schools closed. Students cannot influence their final grade at this point and should not try and produce extra work for submission
• The work used to make decisions can come from a range of activities in school to reflect what your child is capable of (IT IS NOT JUST THE MOCK EXAM GRADES) so it will be a fair reflection of the ability of your child
• Teachers must make sure the grades are plausible and fair. If a subject or school inflates the grades sent to the exam boards, then the whole school results for every student are likely to be downgraded. There are checks and balances in place to make sure every school follows the guidance thoroughly
• We cannot discuss the grades that have been submitted or the reasons why. Your child will find out the final grades when they are awarded by the exam boards, this is likely to be in August 2020.

Please trust that we will work professionally and within the guidelines to ensure every student receives a plausible and fair grade for the work they have carried out over the whole time they have been studying their subjects. I can reassure you that as a headteacher, I feel that the system that has been presented feels fair, open and transparent and should provide a reflection of the outcomes for your children.

Thank you for your never-ending support through these exceptional times, I cannot tell you how much of a difference it makes.

Yours sincerely

Craig Yates