Latest news with #GCSE
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Coroner calls for shotgun law loophole to be closed after schoolboy's tragic death
Jairus Earl, 15, took his own life at his family's Dorset holiday home while experiencing stress and anxiety over his upcoming GCSE exams A coroner is calling on the Home Office to close a loophole in the law regarding shotguns kept at a licence holder's second home following the tragic death of a public schoolboy. Jairus Earl, 15, killed himself with his dad's shotgun at their Dorset holiday home in the midst of feeling stressed and anxious over his GCSE exams. Philip Earl had taken his guns from the family home in London for the break in the countryside for clay pigeon shooting. The Dorset coroner, Rachael Griffin, has now written a prevention of future deaths report over concerns that licence holders are not required to inform the authorities when taking shotguns from one property to another. This is far less stringent than the regulations surrounding firearms where possession of every gun must satisfy 'individual good reason'. The inquest heard during the Easter half term break a distressed Jairus went missing from the family's cottage near Sherborne. When police officers visited the property on March 28, 2024 they were unaware that shotguns were being kept inside. Mrs Griffin said that had they known the shotguns may have been removed from the property which could have prevented the tragedy. On April 14, as the family prepared to return to London where Jairus was to take his exams, he went into his father's office. He shot himself with one of the guns while Mr Earl, 56, was outside packing the car. In her report Mrs Griffin said: 'I have concerns in relation to gaps in the regulation of shotgun licences especially when a licence holder has more than one property where the guns may be used or stored. There seems to be a great deal of difference in the regulation of firearms and the regulation of shotguns, however both can equally cause death. There is no obligation on a licence holder of a shotgun to notify the approving force they are moving to or visiting another property. 'I therefore have concerns there is a lack of a system of sharing and flagging information between police forces and the location of shotguns, which could lead to future deaths. Accordingly, emergency services may attend an address where shotguns are held without knowledge of that fact due to the lack of a marker being placed on the address. 'This causes a risk to all those attending unmarked addresses as they would potentially be ill prepared for what they could face which could lead to future deaths.' She has now written to the Home Office and Health Department who have 56 days to respond to her concerns.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Exam watchdog admits a decade of data on extra time was wrong
The exams regulator has admitted that a decade of data on the number of pupils receiving extra time was wrong. Ofqual said on Thursday it was pulling 10 years of data from 2014 onwards after revealing it had accidentally doubled the number of GCSE and A-level students receiving special arrangements, such as extra time or a laptop. Nearly a third of all pupils in England, or around 420,000, were recorded as getting extra time last year, with the figure quadrupling over the past decade. Private schools have also been accused of gaming the system in recent years after official data showed an eye-watering four in 10 pupils received extra time in 2024. But the watchdog has now admitted those statistics were 'significantly overstated' and that the true figure is almost half of that, including for private schools. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) said private schools were owed 'an apology' for the botched data which it said had seen their 'integrity questioned' for years. Pupils are usually only eligible for extra support in exams if they have special educational needs and disabilities (Send) or a temporary injury such as a broken arm. Ofqual said on Thursday that the real level of students receiving extra time in exams was broadly equivalent to the proportion of Send pupils across the school population. This would mean around 19.5 per cent of pupils across all schools in England actually received extra time in their exams last year, not the 30 per cent recorded on official statistics. It also slashes the proportion of private school pupils thought to have received extra time by around half. In total, 41.8 per cent of fee-paying pupils were recorded as getting extra time in last summer's formal exams, but Department for Education (DfE) shows just 22.4 per cent currently receive Send support. Critics had jumped on the disparity between private school pupils receiving extra time and those in the state sector, with 26 per cent of children in non-selective state schools granted it last summer. Julie Robinson, the chief executive of the ISC, said: 'Ofqual is supposed to be the trusted source for exam statistics and as a result of these significant errors, independent schools have wrongly seen their results undermined and their integrity questioned. 'We are pleased that the investigation instigated by the DfE [Department for Education] will lead to a correction of the record and we hope an apology will be forthcoming.' Ofqual blamed the data blunder on duplicate applications for the same student that were accidentally included in official statistics. It also said the inflated data wrongly counted pupils who obtained special access arrangements but did not go on to sit their exams. The watchdog said in a statement: 'Ofqual's detailed analysis of underlying data from the boards has established that the published figures significantly overstated the number of students receiving access arrangements.' Tom Bramley, executive director of research and analysis at Ofqual, said: 'We are correcting the record as soon as possible. 'The access arrangements process has not changed, and students who received support did so appropriately. 'This issue is limited to our access arrangements dataset and our other statistics are not affected.' It will raise serious questions over the regulator's official data collection, as pupils await their GCSE and A-level results next month. The exams watchdog said it will publish revised statistics later this year covering special exam arrangements for 2021 onwards, but warned they 'won't be perfect'. It will leave a seven-year black hole in official data in England, since Ofqual will not replace the figures between 2014 and 2021. Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, voiced concerns with Ofqual last year about the significant jump in pupils receiving extra time and urged them to examine 'the range of reasons that might be driving this and whether any policy response is required'. She told the Financial Times in November that it was 'a real concern to me there is such a big divide between the state and private system'. Torsten Bell, the Labour MP for Swansea West, also said on X last November: 'A far greater proportion of private than state school pupils get extra time in exams… which is even odder when you consider the wider context this is happening within: we know special educational needs are more prevalent in poorer areas.' Unions had also jumped at the rise in extra time figures to claim that exams are too stressful for pupils and called for a rethink of high-stakes assessments. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'While it is regrettable that problems have been identified with these statistics, Ofqual has done the right thing in withdrawing them and working to correct and republish them. 'School leaders have certainly seen more requests for access arrangements in recent years in the aftermath of Covid, increased reports of anxiety and mental ill-health, and significant rises in numbers of children with additional needs.'
Western Telegraph
6 days ago
- General
- Western Telegraph
Ofqual data ‘significantly overstated' number of pupils given extra exam time
Ofqual has announced it is withdrawing a decade's worth of statistics on pupils being granted special access arrangements in their GCSEs, AS and A-level exams after identifying issues with the data. It comes after data from the exams regulator last year suggested that nearly a third (30.1%) of pupils in England were given 25% extra time to complete their GCSEs, AS and A-level exams in 2023/24. The original figures, published by Ofqual in November, suggested that 41.8% of all candidates in independent centres – of which the majority are private schools – were granted 25% extra time in their exams in 2023/24, compared with 26.5% in non-selective state schools. But with just weeks to go until A-level results day, Ofqual has admitted that its published figures led to a 'significant overstatement' of access arrangements. A new analysis from Ofqual suggests that the proportion of students receiving access arrangements is 'much more closely aligned' with the proportion of students with special educational needs (Sen) in the school population. Figures released by the Department for Education (DfE) last month suggest that 14.2% of pupils in England had Sen support in 2024/25. Ofqual said the 'problem' has been with the way the data was recorded and reported rather than how the access arrangements system has been used. For example it included arrangements for students who did not sit exams that year, and duplicate applications for the same student were not filtered out. Schools and colleges apply to exam boards for access arrangements to ensure that those students can sit their exams without being unfairly disadvantaged. Education leaders have suggested that more pupils are seeking support due to a rise in young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) and mental health issues since the pandemic. Requests for 25% extra time in exams is the most common exam board-approved access arrangement for pupils. Tom Bramley, executive director of research and analysis at Ofqual, said there are no issues with the access arrangements system itself and no student should be affected. In a blog on Thursday, he said: 'The approach to access arrangements remains unchanged.' Ofqual is withdrawing its official statistics on access arrangements for GCSE, AS and A-levels from 2014 to 2024. Revised statistics will be published later this year, covering the academic years from 2020/21 onwards, and they will be 'official statistics in development'. Mr Bramley said: 'In 2023 we started considering trends in access arrangements data and began research into how the arrangements were used and perceived in the education sector. 'As part of this work we requested more detailed data from exam boards, which we received at the end of 2024. 'We have always recognised that there are limitations to these figures. 'Our analysis has now revealed that they have led to a significant overstatement of approved access arrangements in place for the exam cohort in each year.' Earlier this year, Ofqual said it would 'take action' if it found that the higher proportion of private school pupils being given extra time in exams was due to unfairness. In February, Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator at Ofqual, told Tes magazine that the regulator was doing 'extra work' as he was 'concerned' by the gap between private school and state school candidates being granted special exam access arrangements. It came after the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson asked the exams regulator to look into the access arrangement data. Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said: 'Ofqual is supposed to be the trusted source for exam statistics and as a result of these significant errors, independent schools have wrongly seen their results undermined and their integrity questioned. 'We are pleased that the investigation instigated by the DfE will lead to a correction of the record and we hope an apology will be forthcoming.' Tom Middlehurst, deputy director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'We're pleased that Ofqual has conducted a thorough review of this data to understand why there have been very significant increases in access arrangements. 'Clearly, having identified issues which indicate that this is in fact overstated in the statistics it is the right thing to do to withdraw and correct the data. 'This will lead to a more accurate understanding of trends around access arrangements. 'It is, however, frustrating that the data was apparently incorrect in the first place.' Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'While it is regrettable that problems have been identified with these statistics, Ofqual has done the right thing in withdrawing them and working to correct and republish them. 'Having correct datasets on access arrangements is vital to identify trends and changes across the system. 'School leaders have certainly seen more requests for access arrangements in recent years in the aftermath of Covid, increased reports of anxiety and mental ill-health, and significant rises in numbers of children with additional needs.'
South Wales Argus
15-07-2025
- General
- South Wales Argus
Proportion of elective home-educated students at Lliswerry
Freedom of Information data obtained by the Argus indicated that the proportion of EHE pupils at Lliswerry is three times the authority average, based on limited figures provided. The council stressed its commitment to supporting all pupils, regardless of their educational arrangements. A spokesman said: "Elective home education figures fluctuate throughout each academic year across all schools. The decision to electively home educate a pupil rests solely with parents. "Newport City Council provides support to EHE families in line with Welsh Government guidance. This includes engagement and activity sessions, assistance in accessing GCSE exams, and the provision of learning resources. Home visits are offered to all EHE learners." 'Good' childcare service praised for supportive environment and happy children School praised for 'nurturing, safe, and inclusive environment' in Estyn report New £70m net-zero carbon school officially opens It should be noted that the figures released to the Argus were not complete and may be updated if further data becomes available. The spokesman added: "The percentage of EHE learners who previously attended Lliswerry High School is just over five percent. While this is slightly above the average for Newport's secondary schools, it still represents a small proportion of the total number of learners. Other schools may also have proportions exceeding the authority average."
Times
14-07-2025
- General
- Times
Think GCSEs are hard? Try a hot teen summer
That old adage about parenting — that the challenges get bigger as our kids age — it's true. If you thought the baby stage was tough, just wait until they finish Year 11. Because although we parents are well versed in GCSE stress, few of us are prepared for what comes next. Trust me when I say GCSEs are the easy bit. During exams I was bowled over as my son and his peers demonstrated deep wells of resilience, motivation and hard work. Alas, this new-found maturity evaporated the moment the invigilator called time on the final GCSE. After all that effort, there's a feeling among his circle that they're owed the best summer of their lives. This translates as two and a half months of unbridled hedonism, where my parental control is limited to tracking him on the Find My app. Like the feisty neighbourhood ginger tom, he has covered a surprising amount of territory in our corner of London, and at all hours too. But at least knowing where he is gives me a degree of security.
