Dear students, parents and carers,
As you are aware, exams this year were cancelled by the government in January and replaced by a process of Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) in order to grade students. The TAGs we submitted were in line with our Centre Policy, which was approved by the exam boards and we also had to send a sample of our evidence and grading to the exam boards as part of quality assurance check.
Your child will receive their results in school on Thursday 12th August. We ask that pupils collect their results in the following order:
Registration groups
C & A between 8:30am and 9:00am
R & M between 9:00am and 9:30am
E & L between 9:30am and 10:00am
Appealing a Grade
If you feel a grade awarded is incorrect, you can appeal it. Please note that a grade could be lowered as well as raised in an appeal. There is also an option to resit the examination in the autumn.
The criteria for an appeal are:
- Administrative error. For example, putting the wrong information into a spreadsheet.
- Procedural error. This means we have not properly followed our own process, as approved by the exam board. An example of this is not being offered extra time for assessments when you are entitled.
- Academic judgement on the selection of evidence was unreasonable. This means the evidence used to grade you was not reasonable.
- Academic judgement on the grade you were given was unreasonable. This means the grade given was not based on the evidence used was not reasonable.
Alternatively, all GCSE qualifications can be resat in the autumn term
How do I make an appeal?
- Firstly, read the JCQ Student and Parent guide which will be available on the school website.
- Students should then email Miss Takacs at: exams@mountcarmelhigh.lancs.sch.uk to inform her that they want to appeal a final grade. They should fill in the stage 1 section of the JCQ form, sign it and return it to school. They will have to sign a declaration accepting that their grade may go down as well as up.
- We then hold a centre review. At this stage, we will check for administrative errors, and check that our policies and procedures were followed correctly. If there has been an error, we will inform the examination board. The examination board will then inform you of the outcome.
- Following the outcome of a centre review, you may still choose to pursue an awarding organisation appeal. To do this, the student must fill in the stage 2 of the JCQ form and return it to school. We then send it to the examination boards. Students and parents cannot send appeals directly to the exam board themselves – it must come from us. The outcome of the awarding organisation appeal will be communicated to students when made.
- What are the deadlines for appeals?
- The deadline for submitting a centre review is 1st September.
- The deadline for submitting an awarding organisation appeal is 8th September.
Appeals received after these dates may still be considered.
I hope the results your child receives are a fair reflection of their effort and understanding of the courses studied and I wish them every success in the next stage of their education.
Yours sincerely,
Mr K Georgy
Assistant Headteacher
Examination Appeals 2021
Appeals for Summer Exams 2021
Full details of the appeals process have been published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). The steps students must take if they wish to appeal are outlined below with all key documentation linked at the bottom of this page.
Appeals Process
All students have the opportunity to appeal their grade if they meet the eligibility criteria (see below).
It is important to note that an appeal may result in a grade being lowered, staying the same, or going up. So, if a student puts in an appeal and their grade is lowered, they will receive the lower grade and this cannot be reverted.
There is also the option to resit GCSEs in the autumn, which may be preferable for some students. The design, content and assessment of these papers will be the same as in a normal year.
Following their results, students are able to appeal if they believe there has been an error in the grading process. The appeals process for exams in the Summer 2021 exam series has two stages:
• Stage 1 – Centre Review
• Stage 2 – Appeal to the Awarding Organisation
STAGE 1 – Centre Review
A Stage 1 - Centre Review for a TAG can be requested by a student if they suspect there was either:
- An administrative error by the centre e.g. the wrong grade/mark was recorded against the evidence or the wrong grade was sent to the awarding body.
And/or
2. A procedural error by the centre e.g. a reasonable adjustment or access arrangement was not provided for an eligible student.
Stage 2 – Appeal to the Awarding Organisation
Students can only request an appeal to the awarding organisation following receipt of the outcome of their Stage 1 – Centre Review.
Following the outcome of their Stage 1 – Centre Review, a Stage 2 – Appeal to the Awarding Organisation can be made if the student suspects there was:
- An administrative error by the centre e.g. the wrong grade/mark was recorded against the evidence or the wrong grade was sent to the awarding body.
- A procedural error by the centre e.g. a reasonable adjustment or access arrangement was not provided for an eligible student.
- Their grade reflects an unreasonable exercise of academic judgement e.g. the evidence selected to determine the grade was inappropriate or the evidence was incorrectly used to determine the grade.
How to submit an appeal
To submit an appeal, please read the school’s full appeals linked below.
In this document you will find a link to download the appeals form. Students must send the completed form to exams@mountcarmelhigh.lancs.sch.uk (from their school email address). Please provide a contact phone number in the email as we will call to check that the student has submitted the appeal before proceeding.
WE WILL NOT PROCESS YOUR APPEAL UNTIL WE HAVE CONFIRMED YOU HAVE MADE THE APPEAL SO IT IS VITAL YOU INCLUDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER.
Appeals Deadlines
Deadlines to submit a Stage 1 – Centre Review Wednesday 1st September
Deadlines to submit a Stage 2 – Appeal to the Awarding Organisation Wednesday 8th September
Additional Information
You are strongly advised to speak to a member of staff before you make an appeal. Please email exams@mountcarmelhigh.lancs.sch.uk with a contact number and a member of our exams team will be in touch as soon as possible to discuss your case.
JCQ full guidance document on Summer Appeals 2021