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Manchester incident: advice for schools and students

Ofqual statement on Manchester incident: advice for schools and students.

Many students and teachers are likely to have been affected by the tragic events in Manchester last night. Head teachers are best placed to decide whether exams should go ahead as planned.

We will consider with the exam boards how the provisions that are normally made for students who are unable to sit their exams when planned, or who take their exams but whose performance might be affected, will be applied.

Students and their parents should seek advice and information from their schools. Our thoughts are with everyone affected.

Update

We have met with exam boards today to discuss our collective response to the tragic events in Manchester last night.

We know some students from schools and colleges sitting GCSEs, AS and A levels as well as other vocational and technical qualifications are likely to have been affected. Today’s exams have gone ahead as planned and there are no plans to cancel or postpone others.

We recognise that the impact of these events may not be just short term. We will continue to work closely with exam boards over coming days to gauge the impact on individual schools and colleges, and to make sure that special consideration options are considered and applied appropriately and fairly if students have been affected.

Published 23 May 2017
Last updated 23 May 2017 + show all updates
  1. Updated statement.

  2. Added link to exam contingency plan.

  3. First published.