GCSEs 2020: From an ice-cream van to bbq breakfast, Jan Hetherington reveals plans in place for a socially distant results day at Wykham Park

This article, written by Grainne Hallahan, was originally published in the Tes.

What plans do schools have in place to handle the practicalities of giving students their grades on GCSE results day?

GCSE results day 2020 will be a results day like no other, as students collect their centre-assessed grades having never sat an exam.

We spoke to two schools about their different approaches to the day.

 

Coronavirus: GCSE results day 2020

School one: socially distant celebrations

Jan Hetherington, vice-principal of Wykham Park Academy in Banbury, says she wanted to make sure that her students didn’t feel that the way their results were generated lessened their significance.

“At Wykham Park, we want to ensure that, in these exceptional circumstances, our Year 11 students are defined by us as more than their results; that while results are important, they are important to us as individuals, too,” she explains.

So on the day, every Year 11 student will receive a handwritten note from either a senior member of staff or a curriculum leader.

“At Wykham Park, we want to ensure that, in these exceptional circumstances, our Year 11 students are defined by us as more than their results; that while results are important, they are important to us as individuals, too,” she explains.

So on the day, every Year 11 student will receive a handwritten note from either a senior member of staff or a curriculum leader.

“We want every young person to feel that we know them and care about them,” she says. “We have planned banners celebrating them as our most resilient year group and how proud we are of them.”

The celebrations don’t stop there. The school has also organised a barbecue breakfast and ice-cream van to help them celebrate on results day morning.

Of course, there will also be meticulous organisation of the collection of results to ensure that the day happens safely.

“Students will be split into five alphabetical groups, with each group receiving their result envelope (and positive message) from a station,” Hetherington explains. “The stations will be placed outside.”

Sunny skies and calm winds will be hoped for, but cannot be guaranteed. In the event of inclement weather, the school leaders will switch tactics.

“There is a plan B where students will [collect from] an indoor station with its own entrance and exit. There will be no hugs or grouping for selfies this year,” she says.

As well as ensuring that students and their families understand the plan for the day itself, the school has also been careful to explain how these grades have been generated.

“A letter is being sent home before the end of term outlining the practicalities, and with links to an Ofqual video [below] and infographic relating the process that has happened to produce the grades that they will receive on results day,” Hetherington says.

Not all students will be able to move on to their planned post-GCSE destination, and the school has made preparations to assist in this.

“Once students have got their results, they will be guided to their registration for our sixth-form provision or will go to a careers adviser for support, or a senior member of staff – it will all depend on what their needs are,” says Hetherington.

But what about those students who feel upset and confused by their results? Hetherington has planned for those students to be able to request appointments, as socially distanced “walk-ups” will be harder to manage.

“We are also setting up a process whereby parents and students can request an appointment with a senior member of staff if they are particularly disappointed with a result,” she says. “This will allow them to discuss ways forward in relation to autumn resits, etc.’’

School two: Virtual pick-ups

Robert Russell is vice-principal at All Saints CofE Academy in Weymouth, Dorset. He has been planning with his team how a collection of results can happen with the minimum risk to students, and maximum support to those who will need it.

First off, they decided to email out all results, rather than arranging for in-person collections.

Although guidance might change closer to the time, Russell wanted to be able to tell his students for certain what their plans for collection were.

“We felt, in the midst of all that is happening to them, we needed to give our Year 11 students some certainty around how they would receive their GCSE results,” he explains. “The decisions were based on the government guidance that said we could not bring more than 25 per cent of the cohort into school on any one day and we were also not to encourage large meetings of students.”

Russell feared students would put themselves at risk, not just when they failed to resist the natural urge to embrace in celebration or commiseration, but also simply on their journeys to and from the collection.

So what will the day look like?

“On 20 August each student will receive an email at 8am with an attachment containing their GCSE results,” he explains. “[We will also] provide details of key staff who will be available to support and offer advice and guidance throughout the day, online via Microsoft Teams or face-to-face in school, depending on individual circumstance and need.”

These key staff will cover a range of people from local post-16 providers to the pastoral team, as well as a careers adviser and the Sendco. This support network of people will be there to make sure every student has a plan for their next step.

But what about those with more complicated problems? 

“We will [also] be inviting select groups of students into school on 20 August to ensure they receive the support necessary when receiving their results,” says Russell. “This will include students who do not gain the qualifications required to automatically start their chosen post-16 route, as well as students we know to be vulnerable or who we would want to ensure have some additional support when receiving their grades.”

As well as these essential practical steps, the school leadership team have made plans to celebrate the successes, too.

“We will also invite in a few who have done exceptionally well (at all levels) for a press release,” he says. “We are also working with our local radio station, AIR FM, who are running a town-wide broadcast in July to help Year 11 celebrate the end of school.”