Sarah Ebner \Times School Gate blog
“I just want to get to school”, one teenager wrote to me yesterday. via email. “I can’t believe that my school’s been closed the week before my GCSEs start, but it needs to be open now so I can take the exams. I’m not very happy. Maybe there shouldn’t be exams at this time of year?”It’s rare that teenagers are keen to get to school, but they’re not stupid. They know they need to take their exams, and they know they need good grades. So although this isn’t the best scenario for exam preparation, they need their schools open (they’re lucky the weather’s thawing). But is the teenager who emailed me right to suggest that there simply shouldn’t be exams at this time? I think many parents completely understand why schools were closed last week, although I have to say that I was pleased our school opened on Friday after two days of having the children at home. I also have sympathy with those who argue that some schools took the decision to close too quickly (although that argument can go both ways. The teachers also need to be able to get to school and many parents need time and notice to fix alternative arrangements for their children).Today most schools are open, and most of those who have GCSEs, AS levels and A levels will be able to take them, although there is little talk of those who don’t manage that. Schools Secretary Ed Balls told BBC Radio 5 live: “Schools should be opening if at all possible. We don’t want risk aversion to get in the way of getting the schools open. Even if the schools can’t open fully, we’ve been saying to schools for the last few days, open for exams, have the exam centre open.”
However, Margaret Morrissey, who runs education pressure group Parents Outloud is not impressed, and thinks that the exams should have been postponed. I have to say that, after nervously revising for a specific day, it would have driven me mad to have had my exam postponed. Margaret, however, disagrees!
“Why does he [Ed Balls] not have the ba**s to postpone the exams everywhere for one month?” she asked. “That way no one is disadvantaged and the results will be known in time for their next modules/exams in June. And what of the impact this potentially has on those students wishing to apply to start university in September. Don’t tell me, it will be decided on a case by case basis. “It’s not fair to make local authorities/head teachers the ones making the final decision as this will mean exams will go ahead for some and not others,” she added. “How dare Ofqual refuse to postpone the exams? Where do they get their overarching power from? Or is it just because it easier to blame a faceless organisation, ‘Ofqual’, rather than an individual ‘Ed Balls’. How would Mr Balls feel if his children were going to miss their exam time because the school could not open/heating broken? How wise the Scottish education system seems with no exams planned for this time of year.”What’s your experience? Please let us know if you or your child has managed to make it to their exams today and if you are happy with how the situation has been handled. What might you have done differently? Should the exams have been postponed

http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2009/02/how-secondary-s.html