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Education Secretary confirms GCSE and A-Level exams in England will go ahead next year

The Manc The Manc - 12th October 2020
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Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has today announced that GCSE and A-Level exams in England will go ahead next summer.

Mr Williamson said “exams are the fairest way of judging performance.”

While they will be taking place, it has however been confirmed that most of these exams will be delayed by three weeks as a result of the impact due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This means that the summer exam series will start on 7th June and end on 2 July for almost all AS/A levels and GCSEs.

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It has not been revealed though at this stage which exams will not be subject to delay.

In a formal announcement via the gov.uk website this afternoon, Mr Williamson said: “Fairness to pupils is my priority, and will continue to be at the forefront of every decision we take in the lead up to exams next summer. Exams are the fairest way of judging a student’s performance so they will go ahead, underpinned by contingency measures developed in partnership with the sector.

“Students have experienced considerable disruption and it’s right we give them, and their teachers, the certainty that exams will go ahead and more time to prepare.”

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He continued: “Combined with our £1 billion catch-up programme and the changes proposed by Ofqual to free up teaching time, the changes I am announcing today give young people the best chance of being ready for their exams without undermining the value of the qualifications they receive.

“I will continue to work closely with stakeholders and I’m grateful for the commitment and willingness that’s been shown in delivering this additional time to ensure young people have the best opportunity to succeed.”

It has also been confirmed that results days next year will be Tuesday 24th August for A/AS levels, and Friday 27th August for GCSEs.

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This is so students will start the following academic year as normal.

Government ministers will now “engage widely with the sector over the next six weeks to identify any risks to exams at a national, local, and individual student level, and consider measures needed to address any potential disruption.”

According to the statement given, this could be a student unable to sit exams due to illness or self-isolation, or schools affected by a local outbreak during the examination season meaning centres cannot open.

More detail will be published later in the Autumn, to ensure students have confidence that they will be fairly treated in terms of assessment in 2021.

You can find more information via the gov.uk website here.

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Warning after terrifying video shows party decorations catching fire in a Manchester bar – again

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

Fire crews in Greater Manchester are warning bars and restaurants to be careful after footage emerged of party decorations catching fire above customers’ heads.

In a similar incident to the New Year’s Eve blaze at One Eight Six in Manchester city centre, the CCTV shows a celebratory sparkler in a cake setting the decorations alight.

In just seconds, the entire ceiling is ablaze, with terrified customers scrambling for the exit.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue service released the video in a bid to raise awareness and prevent any similar incidents at hospitality venues in the city-region.

The shocking incident occurred in a shisha bar in Rusholme, in May this year.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but several people were taken to hospital with suspected burns.

In both this instance and in the One Eight Six incident, the cause of the blaze was determined as being ‘indoor fireworks igniting decorations, which then burned rapidly allowing the fire to spread’.

GMFRS is now working with licensing teams from the 10 councils in Greater Manchester to offer free information and advice sessions to owners and managers of cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants in advance of the Halloween, World Cup and the Christmas party season.

The fire tore through the bar in Rusholme in seconds. Credit: GMFRS

Leon Parkes, GMFRS’s director of prevention and protection, said: “Hospitality venues have a responsibility to keep their customers and staff safe and at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service we want to help businesses to understand their legal responsibilities and take action to protect their property, staff and customers from fire.

“We have seen a couple of instances in the past year in Manchester where fires have broken out in venues caused by indoor fireworks setting light to decorations.

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“While fortunately fires don’t occur very often, the impact of a fire can be devastating and many businesses don’t recover.

“Pubs, bars and other venues will be very, very busy during October, November and December. It’s important that staff prepare by getting trained in what they need to do and that they don’t inadvertently create a fire risk.

“We know that the last two years have been really difficult for hospitality businesses and hopefully the forthcoming World Cup and Christmas period will be a boost for them. We gave out fire safety advice in May last year as Covid-19 restrictions eased and we are now working with our partners to help hospitality businesses be safe and stay safe.”

Bar and restaurant operators are encourage to sign up for free fire safety sessions here.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter here.

Featured image: GMFRS

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‘Significant risk’ of UK gas shortages this winter, regulator warns

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Energy regulator Ofgem has warned that the UK faces a ‘significant risk’ of gas shortages this winter.

According to reports in The Times, the regulator has unveiled concerns that the country could face blackouts over the coming months thanks to an undersupply of gas to Europe caused by Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Warning that a “gas supply emergency” could be looming ahead, the energy regulator has said that some gas-fired power plants could see their supplies cut off, which in turn would stop generators from producing electricity.

The alert comes just days before an expected update from the National Grid on the likelihood of countrywide power cuts this winter.

Responsing to arequest from SSE, which owns several gas power stations, Ofgem outlined what is set to be a huge issue of concern given that the UK relies on large gas plants to produce the biggest share of its electricity supply.

The regulator also pointed to rules that could see power plants penalised as a result of shortages, warning of a worst-case scenario that would see the “potential insolvency of gas-fired generators” caused by rules that require plants to pay huge charges if they fail to deliver on promised quotas.

Adding that the issue must be addressed to prevent a “significant impact on the safety and security of the electricity and/or gas systems”, the regulator echoed concerns now widespread in Europe as its comments followed a similar statement made by the International Energy Agency (IEA) this morning.

Europeans are already being told they must lower their thermostats and boilers in preparation in case gas supplies are cut off, with Paris-based agency IEA warning today that the EU must focus on getting underground gas reserve levels to 90% of capacity in case of a complete Russian supply shut-off.

Preparation are already being made in Europe with the German government having approved a set of energy-saving measures for the winter to limit use in public buildings. In France, meanwhile, companies have already been warned they may face energy rationing this winter. 

Whilst the UK government is yet to announce any energey saving measures, Ofgem has said that it expect s“this winter to be more challenging than last year” and that it is taking “reasonable regulatory steps to mitigate and reduce the risks”.

Read more: 11 arrests after mass brawl breaks out before Oldham vs Wrexham game

However, there are concerns that if gas-fired power plants incur costs these could, in turn, lead to energy bills rising for consumers once again.

SSE estimated that it could be fined as much as £276 million for every day it is unable to generate power, rising to £475 million for its largest plants.

This risk, it said, will force generators to reduce their advance sales and could end up “raising costs for electricity consumers” in the long run.

Feature image – Wikimedia Commons

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