Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his Department's policy that examinations should take place at the end of academic year 2020-21 in schools.

The Department is clear that exams will take place in summer 2021. Exams are the best way of judging students’ performance. By sitting exams, students have a fair chance to show their knowledge and understanding of a subject.

We recognise that there will be challenges for students being assessed in summer 2021 and we are preparing for all eventualities. We have announced a wide range of contingency measures for pupils who are ill or have to self-isolate, including spacing out exam papers and introducing contingency papers.

There is broad consensus backing the decision to hold exams because they are a critical part of the education system, giving students the foundations that they need to move on to the next stage of their life.