Dear UK education advisers and agents
Dear colleagues
I hope you are well.
This is a short note to let you know that school examination boards have now cancelled iGCSE/iAS-A-Level exams worldwide.
As a result of the announcement you might get questions from students who are still waiting to hear back from universities they’ve applied to or who have received conditional offers. Students might also have been contacted by universities directly some of which were switching existing conditional to unconditional offers.
Please reassure all students that the Department for Education is working with UK universities to ensure equal and fair admission criteria for all. The Department has condemned the shift from conditional to unconditional offers, and institutions that do change offers have now been threatened with action by sector regulator the Office for Students (OfS). Universities minister Michelle Donelan told universities that there now needs to be a two-week pause while her department works with the sector on changes to this year’s admissions process.
The following open letter from UCAS and Universities UK can also help with some of the questions you might get: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/news/Pages/Update-from-UCAS-and-Universities-UK-.aspx
We are aware of the latest announcements by our global partners, the UK school examination boards not to run international examinations in the May/June 2020 series worldwide in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.
We recognise what a challenging time this is for students and teachers, and how hard students have been working towards these exams. We are working closely with the Examination boards and will share more information with our schools and candidates as soon we are able. As ever, our number one priority is the safety and welfare of our candidates.
We are expecting further information from the examination boards and will provide an update as soon as we receive it. Meanwhile, for the latest information and guidance we recommend you visit the examination board websites:
Cambridge International: www.cambridgeinternational.org/
Oxford AQA: https://www.oxfordaqaexams.org.uk/support/news
Pearson Edexcel: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/campaigns/rest-of-world-covid-19-coronavirus-update.html
If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Best wishes. Stay safe
Katerina
Katerina Fegarou | Education Marketing Manager | Education Services
British Council Ι 17 Kolonaki square Ι 106 73 Athens Ι Greece
katerina.fegarou@britishcouncil.gr | www.britishcouncil.gr www.facebook.com/BritishCouncilGreece
The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). This message is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete it. The British Council accepts no liability for loss or damage caused by viruses and other malware and you are advised to carry out a virus and malware check on any attachments contained in this message.