This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition To continue on with SQA exams
To not cancel the exams. An alternative could be to make students sit in separate rooms or be very spaced out. There will be plenty rooms to do this as schools are closed anyway. Suggestion that parents and other young adults could volunteer to be invigilators as older people won’t be able to.
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Many students will be stripped from their opportunity to a good future. Many pupils do not necessarily get the same results in their final exam that is shown through their work throughout the year. Many students also don’t see prelims as very important as they are not the real exam so they don’t achieve their best in it. Many have had difficult circumstances and issues that may have caused them to not produce their best work throughout the year, but exam allows them to make a comeback almost.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
Decisions about exams are a matter for exam boards and individual schools, not the UK Government or Parliament. You can read the decision made by exam boards on what will happen to exams here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-details-on-exams-and-grades-announced
If you want the Government to review the decision to use previous data to calculate exam grades, you may wish to sign this petition:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/306773
As a result of the large numbers of petitions people have tried to start on this issue, and following a large number of questions it received from petitioners about exams, the Petitions Committee asked the Government about the impact of coronavirus on schools and exams.
Watch all the questions and responses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmHWDlzlxfA&feature=youtu.be&t=3771
Watch the responses to the following questions:
What was the reasoning behind the timing of school closures?
https://youtu.be/MmHWDlzlxfA#t=1h3m16s
What is happening with exams including GCSEs, A-levels, and SATs?
https://youtu.be/MmHWDlzlxfA#t=1h4m35s
What measures are in place to protect vulnerable children, those on free school meals, and the teachers and other staff who are still working in schools?
https://youtu.be/MmHWDlzlxfA#t=1h7m09s
When might schools re-open?
https://youtu.be/MmHWDlzlxfA#t=1hm12s
Exam cancellations and the current coronavirus pandemic can cause worry and stress. You can find information on how to deal with stress here:
Young Minds:
https://youngminds.org.uk/
Children’s Society:
https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/mental-health-advice-for-children-and-young-people/issues-affecting-young-people
Childline:
https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/your-feelings/anxiety-stress-panic/coping-with-stress/
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
NHS website:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.