25 Mar 2021
In this week’s update, you can find:
- our updated guidance on running exams in the June series
- a reminder of our extended withdrawal deadline
- a statement on university recognition
- updates to our support for teaching and learning during Covid-19.
Thank you for continuing to share your questions and suggestions with us. We are grateful for your input and continued support.
We will be in touch again next week.
Updated – guidance on running exams
We have published an updated version of the Guidance on running exams in the June series.
It outlines how your school can use multiple rooms or alternative venues, if due to social distancing you need more space to run your exams. It also explains how you can timetable your exams to take into account cleaning between sessions and how to keep candidates under Full Centre Supervision. The guidance on running exams also provides details on invigilation - for example, that invigilators do not need to be a member of staff if you need more invigilators than usual.
We hope this guidance and the Cambridge Handbook 2021 will help you to run our exams safely and smoothly.
Reminder of withdrawal deadline - 17 April 2021
You may need to withdraw candidates for Covid-specific reasons and, to support you, we have extended our withdrawal deadline until 17 April 2021. We recommend you keep your entries on Cambridge International Direct until as close to 17 April as possible, to reduce the administration work you may need to do if you withdraw candidates early and then re-enter them. Until 17 April you can withdraw candidates on Direct and still receive a credit.
If candidates miss every component of a syllabus for Covid-specific or medical reasons, you can still withdraw them up to seven days after the last timetabled exam in the syllabus has taken place and you will receive a credit. Please email us to let us know.
Some schools have asked whether they can switch individual candidates to school-assessed grades. We are only switching from exams to school-assessed grades in countries or regions within countries where government directives mean exams cannot take place. We anticipate that directives from national or local authorities apply to all schools within that country or region, so we are not switching to school-assessed grades at the school or candidate level.
University recognition
Now that we have finalised our approach to the June 2021 exam series, our recognition team is actively engaging with universities and overarching bodies around the world to explain our approach. Universities understand our approach and have assured us that they will be as fair as possible. They will continue to be flexible and responsive to Cambridge students so that they can progress to further study and succeed once at university.
Although it is early in the process, we have already received a selection of responses from universities. We will update this list weekly. It is not a definitive list, however, so we encourage students to contact their chosen university if unsure.
Support for teaching and learning during Covid-19
As Covid-19 continues to impact teaching across the world, we are committed to helping you and your learners. Whether you are returning to school, teaching from home or adopting a blended approach, we have tools and resources to help you maximise your impact. You can also find a range of guidance and support, including webinars, guides and podcasts for practical tips on teaching, learning, and wellbeing.
We have extended the free use of Test Maker and Resource Plus for Cambridge International schools, normally available by subscription only, until 1 June 2021. Test Maker is also now available for Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies.
Find out more by visiting Teaching and learning during Covid-19.
Staying in touch
You can find all our advice on our Covid-19 information page.
If you have any questions, you can review our frequently asked questions, or contact us via our Help website. For British Council Partner Schools, please contact your local British Council representative.
We wish everyone in the Cambridge International community well at this time.