Concerns have been expressed by some colleagues that Maths and English (Literature not Language) GCSEs in 2021 are to be on the same day and that many deaf/VI/MSI candidates take English Literature and of course have to do Maths as well – as everyone does.
One QTVI colleague pointed out that increasingly Maths is becoming more about reading the question; even the Foundation paper now has a high proportion of problems that need reading and understanding. She did not think that Maths, English and Science exams should be on the same day at all – it being just too much for fully sighted students, let alone those who have to deal with extra time and visual fatigue. The way Maths exams are today is very different from before requiring a huge amount of language comprehension – which is often more difficult for VI students, and quite exhausting. This of course applies equally to deaf candidates.
I wrote to JCQ who replied that these dates are not set in stone and that they would flag up this issue. There is currently a consultation about these dates and it would be helpful to add to this with contributions from colleagues in the sector if they are also concerned.
Here is the consultation: https://www.jcq.org.uk/provisional-gce,-as,-a-level-and-gcse-summer-2021-timetable/
As usual there is a very short timescale to this consultation – it ends on October 30th. However, I expect it is only this one point which will need a response.
