GCSE and A-level exams have been cancelled for 2021 and are being replaced with teacher assessment. We look at how this impacts your application for medicine.

GCSE and A-Levels cancelled for 2021

At the time of writing, GCSE and A-level exams have been scrapped for summer 2021. This is part of the government’s response to the COVID19 pandemic. Schools have been closed and learning has been moved online.

What Will Teacher Assessed Grades Look Like?

Although we cannot say for sure how teachers will work out assessed grades, we can make an educated guess as well as use the experience from last year. Teachers will need to have evidence of your current ability and they will likely use results from tests, homework and other assessments done on a regular basis in the school term. You may be required to sit some form of standard assessment. Bear in mind the situation can change at any time.

In addition, last year there was an element of ‘ranking’ students in the class. Students tend to improve their performance as the sixth form year moves on, so your teachers may be able to take this into account.

What should I do if I am planning to apply to medical school?

Keep studying and keep revising. Log in to all your lessons on time and make sure you submit any coursework and any assessments. When you are in your virtual class, engage with the teacher (if this is possible) as you would in a face-to-face traditional class. Do your best on any assessments and coursework as if these were final exams. I would still look at past papers and past questions as these would help you in your preparation.

It was in fact much more common in the past to have ‘modular’ A-levels where you sat final exams after each term in the past rather than one final exam at the end.

What happened with medical school places last year when exams were cancelled?

When it comes to A-level results day we have some experience of how medical schools responded to teacher assessed grades from last year. We have come across students who have been able to keep their offer for the following year if they did not meet the offer grades and allow an opportunity for the student to ‘resit’ exams. As there was uncertainty over the validity of A-level predicted grades, some universities permitted students entry with lower grades.