Guidance from awarding bodies on examination disruption in the Middle East

In light of the situation in the Middle East, governments in impacted nations have taken the decision to cancel formal examinations in their respective countries, with awarding bodies invoking measures to determine students’ final grades.

Ofqual has stated that teacher‑assessed grades will not be invoked. Instead, awarding bodies will follow their special consideration policies. This means that final grades will be determined by the awarding body.

Some students will be undertaking qualifications that are unregulated and therefore outside Ofqual’s jurisdiction. However, UCAS’ understanding is that similar approaches are being undertaken in many cases.

To support admissions teams in understanding how these grades have been determined, UCAS has collated a range of announcements from awarding bodies for ease of reference – these can be found below. This guidance is subject to change, and information will be updated as the situation develops.

UCAS will be hosting a drop-in session at its forthcoming Annual Conference with representatives from relevant awarding bodies, where these arrangements will be detailed further. In addition to this, UCAS will be organising a webinar with the awarding bodies for universities and colleges – this will be advertised via the weekly provider bulletin.

Individual awarding body announcements

AQA and Oxford AQA

AQA has confirmed that if a student is unable to sit an exam, they will be able to apply for special consideration. Read further information.

Cambridge International

Cambridge International will use the Portfolio of Evidence route to enable students to receive grades if examinations cannot proceed as planned. Read the dedicated guidance for providers.

College Board

College Board has published a Middle East microsite detailing their arrangements for students sitting AP and SAT tests this session. Decisions about whether AP and SAT testing should proceed will remain with individual schools and local Ministries of Education, which are best placed to assess local conditions.

International Baccalaureate Organization

Pearson

Pearson has published guidance on examination arrangements and contingency measures for centres affected by the conflict in the Middle East. This covers both Ofqual regulated and non-regulated provision.