Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to ensure examinations for pupils who are currently in Years 10 and 12 will be able to go ahead in 2022.

The Government remains clear that exams are the fairest method to assess students. We know that students and teachers will be working hard in preparation for exams or assessments in 2022, and we will make sure that the interests of students are at the centre of our considerations. It is important that students in this cohort are able to get a grade safely and fairly. We will continue to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 on all students to ensure that those due to take exams in 2022 are supported to move to the next stage of their lives fairly.

To support students to catch up with their education, the Government has announced a catch-up package worth £1 billion to support children and young people. This includes a catch-up premium worth £650 million and a £350 million National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils. We have also announced that we will provide a further programme of catch-up over the next financial year. This will involve a further £300 million for early years, schools and providers of 16-19 further education for tutoring. We will work in collaboration with the education sector to develop, as appropriate, specific initiatives for summer schools and a COVID-19 Premium to support catch up.