Centre Assessed Grades - A Fact Sheet for Parents and Students who would have sat GCSEs, A levels, BTECs and CTECs this summer

Sep 5, 2026

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Centre assessed grades explain how students who cannot sit GCSE, A level or BTEC/CTEC exams in summer due to the national Covid-19 emergency will receive final results. It outlines a six-stage internal process: teachers use evidence and professional judgement, Heads of Department verify against predictions and prior attainment, senior staff apply consistency checks, and the Head of Centre scrutinizes moderation. After submission to exam boards, Ofqual standardizes nationally, so submitted grades may differ. It also covers appeals, autumn exam options, release rules, and vocational qualification assessment guidance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Appeals and the Chance to Sit Examinations in the Autumn

Grade Release by Examination Boards

BTEC and CTECs

Centre Assessed Grades A Fact Sheet for Parents and Students who would have sat GCSEs, A levels, BTECs and CTECs this summer Due to the current national Covid-19 emergency students are not able to sit GCSE, A level or BTEC/CTEC exams as their main method of final assessment this summer. Instead schools have been asked to supply examination boards with centre assessed grades. Our system for submitting these grades has been designed with the information provided in Ofqual's guidance as its basis. Please do start by reading this if you haven’t already and you would like to understand how your child’s grades will be calculated. You may find this 5 minute video informative too [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK2T7wcPmvU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK2T7wcPmvU). Over coming weeks teachers at both of the Robert Carre Trust schools are expected to follow some very precise and clear guidance about how they should arrive at grades. These grades will then go through several rigorous checks. Heads of Department have been involved in the process from the start ensuring that a range of evidence is being taken into account by teachers. Stage 1 Teachers will consider all the evidence for each student suggested in the Ofqual guidance , as well using their professional judgement, based on knowledge of specifications and experience of the examination system, so that they can make a fair and objective judgement of the grade they believe a student would have achieved had they sat their exams this year. Stage 2 Heads of Department will then check these grades ensuring that processes have been followed to arrive at them, checking them against: • internal and external grade predictions • indicative grade reports • previous outcomes at school, Trust and national level • data records we hold on your child’s previous attainment and progress • knowledge of your child as a learner they have been made aware of throughout the course where relevant Stage 3 Once these checks and any necessary adjustments have been undertaken by Heads of Department, Senior staff will then scrutinize the information supplied by each subject ensuring the process has been fairly and consistently applied. Stage 4 The Executive Headteacher and/or Head of Centre will conduct their own scrutiny of the results ensuring that students have been allocated grades that are fair, based on a range of evidence and ensure that moderated professional judgement has been used to arrive at a fair and objective judgement of the grade the school believes a student would have achieved had they sat their exams this year. Stage 5 Only after all these steps have been taken will grades be supplied to the examination boards. We await instructions from these organisations about when the grades must be submitted. Stage 6 Once centre assessed grades have been submitted to exam boards Ofqual’s process to produce the final grades will start. Ofqual will undertake a national standardizing process and for this reason the grade submitted by the school may not be the final grade a student is awarded. A level students will get their results on 13 August and GCSE students will get theirs on 20 August as previously published. Appeals and the Chance to sit Examinations in the Autumn More information will be made available to centres, students, parents and carers at the time final results are issued, to facilitate any appeals against the process. Students who feel that their grades do not reflect their ability will have the opportunity to take their exams in the Autumn series or in the Summer of 2021. If they choose to do this, both grades will stand. Grade Release by Examination Boards Ofqual has made it clear that Centres must not, under any circumstances, share the centre assessment grades nor the rank order of students with students, or their parents/carers or anyother individuals outside the centre, before final results have been issued. This is to protect

FAQs

Why are students unable to sit GCSE, A level or BTEC/CTEC exams this summer?

Due to the national Covid-19 emergency, students are not able to sit these exams as their main method of final assessment this summer. Schools are instead asked to supply examination boards with centre assessed grades.

How are centre assessed grades determined at each school stage?

Teachers consider evidence and apply professional judgement to predict the grade a student would likely have achieved. Heads of Department check the process against internal and external predictions, indicative reports, previous outcomes, and relevant learner knowledge, followed by scrutiny by senior staff and the Head of Centre.

Will the grade submitted by the school be the final grade a student receives?

Not necessarily. After submission, Ofqual runs a national standardizing process, and the grade submitted by the school may not match the final grade awarded.

What rules apply to releasing centre assessment grades before results are issued?

Centres must not share centre assessment grades or student rank order with students, parents/carers, or others outside the centre before final results are issued. The policy aims to protect the integrity of teachers’ judgements and manage expectations.

Sep 5, 2026

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