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GAVIN Williamson has revealed how students will be assessed and awarded their GCSE, AS and A levels this summer.

In a U-turn following 2020's algorithm botch-up, the Education Secretary will allow teachers to assess and grade their pupils.

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Gavin Williamson says schools will be given wide flexibility when assessing pupilsCredit: Reuters

What did Gavin Williamson announce?

Mr Williamson confirmed that students will receive grades decided by their teachers - not an algorithm.

The Education Secretary said: "This year's students will receive grades determined by their teachers."

He added: "Our priority is always to ensure every student has the best possible chance to show what they know and can do.

"The most important thing is to make sure the system is fair to every student.

"It is vital they have confidence they will get a grade that is a true and just reflection of their work."

GCSE and A-level results will be decided by the teachers - using a combination of mock exams, course work and essays.

Exam boards will release grade descriptions to help them award the correct mark.

But, there are concerns this will lead to extremely high grade inflation.

Students will only be assessed on what they have been taught.

Plus, schools will be given wide flexibility in deciding how teachers assess and grade their pupils, based on those parts of the curriculum they have learnt.

This includes:

Essays
In-class tests
Coursework

No algorithm will be used.

Results will be published earlier than usual, with A-level grades published on August 10 and GCSE students receiving their results two days later on August 12.

GMG grilled Nick Gibb about grades for this summer

Mr Williamson also revealed that there will be a £302million recovery premium in place to support struggling students.

And he stated that an extra £200million will be used to fund summer schools to make up for lost time.

Prior to Williamson's speech, Schools Minister Nick Gibb told Good Morning Britain today: "We've put in place measures to make sure the grades awarded are fair and consistent.

"We took the decision to cancel the exams in January because it would have been unfair to proceed with exams this year because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

"The disruption is different for different pupils across the country, so the fairest system is to have those grades assessed by the teachers.

"The teachers are people who know their students best, they are professionals and on top of that we have quality assurance processes in place at the school level.