GCSE and A-level exams will go ahead next year but could be delayed, the Department for Education has indicated today.

According to Whitehall and education insiders, the A-level exam timetable will be extended by around three weeks to mid, reports the Daily Telegraph. 

However, the DfE refused to confirm that timeframe, and said education secretary Gavin Williamson would make an announcement “in the next couple of weeks”.

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A DfE spokesperson said: “We expect exams to take place next year and continue to work with Ofqual and the exam boards on our approach, recognising that students will have experienced considerable disruption to their education in the last academic year.

“There are a range of measures proposed by Ofqual following a public consultation, including a possible short delay to the exam timetable and subject-specific changes to reduce pressure on teaching time. We will continue to work with school and college stakeholders, Ofqual and the exam boards, to ensure that exams in 2021 are fair.”

On Wednesday this week, university vice-chancellors called for A-level exams in 2021 to be cancelled and instead for exam boards to develop a “robust” system to moderate teacher assessment. And former education secretary Lord Baker, who introduced GCSE, also called for GCSE and A levels to be scrapped next year.

When asked about the length of a possible delay to the exam timetable, exam regulator Ofqual said:

“It is government policy that exams in 2021 go ahead. We are working with government and exam boards on the basis that exams should run next summer, albeit with contingency arrangements in place, in line with appropriate public health advice.”