During his address on Monday to announce a national lockdown in England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that “We recognise that this will mean it is not possible or fair for all exams to go ahead this summer as normal. The Education Secretary will work with Ofqual to put in place alternative arrangements.”

Gibraltar Government schools are centres for public examinations administered by the UK examination boards. The announcement made on 4th January 2020 will therefore have an impact on the examinations due to be sat this summer by pupils sitting exams at Bayside, Westside and the Gibraltar College. Once Ofqual provides clarity as to what alternative arrangements will be put into place for the summer examination series, the Department of Education and its schools will be able to understand the full impact on the examinations and how this affects our students, parents and teachers.

The Department of Education would like to stress to students and parents the need to continue following the curriculum provided in and by our schools until further clarity on the summer examinations is provided by Ofqual and the examination bodies. The Department of Education and the schools have said they will provide updates to students and teachers as and when further information is made available.