Editorial 20/8/2020

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Dear Parents,

It has been an incredibly unsettling and distressing time for all students who are expecting GCSE, BTEC or A Level results this year. However, we are pleased that most of the uncertainty surrounding the results has now come to an end and students can finally focus on the next stages of their lives.

We would like to congratulate each and every student for working hard throughout their courses to attain the very best results possible. They should feel very, very proud of their achievements. We are conscious that this year’s students have had a much more demanding examination season than would ordinarily have been the case.

GCSE and BTEC Grades
The GCSE grades which students now have access to on Bromcom are their final grades (either their Centre Assessed Grades or their Moderated grades, whichever is higher). However, this may not be the case for BTEC grades as Ofqual announced only last night that the BTEC grades are now being re-graded. BTEC grades, we have been assured, may go up or stay the same but will not go down. When we receive the final BTEC grades from Ofqual, we will let students know.

Details about how we will be managing enrolment onto A Level and BTEC courses was sent out to you yesterday.

Students who queries about their examination grades should contact the examinations officers at each school:
Hasmonean High School for Girls Exams Officer: Ms Nancy James n.james@hasmonean.co.uk
Hasmonean High School for Boys Exams Officer: Mrs Jane Leigh j.leigh@hasmonean.co.uk

Queries about entry onto A Level and BTEC courses in the sixth form should be directed to the relevant Head of Sixth Form:
Mrs Valencia: c.valencia@hasmonean.co.uk
Rabbi Cohen: m.cohen@hasmonean.co.uk

A Level and BTEC Grades
The A Level grades which students have now have access to on Bromcom are their final grades (either their Centre Assessed Grades or their Moderated grades, whichever is higher). However, this may not be the case for BTEC grades as Ofqual also announced only last night that the BTEC grades are now being re-graded. BTEC grades, we have been assured, may go up or stay the same but will not go down. When we receive the final BTEC grades from Ofqual, we will let students know.

Students should be aware that UCAS are planning to share their final A Level and BTEC grades with universities on Friday this week.

Students who have queries about their examination grades should contact the examinations officers at each school:
Hasmonean High School for Girls Exams Officer: Ms Nancy James n.james@hasmonean.co.uk
Hasmonean High School for Boys Exams Officer: Mrs Jane Leigh j.leigh@hasmonean.co.uk

Queries about entry onto university courses should be directed to the relevant Head of Sixth Form (see contact details above).
Information about re-sits and appeals can be found in the examinations sections of the schools’ websites:
https://hasmoneanboys.org.uk/exams-information/
https://hasmoneangirls.org.uk/exams-information/

With kind regards,

Mrs Debbie Lebrett – Headeacher, Hasmonean High School for Boys
Mrs Katherine Brice – Headteacher, Hasmonean High School for Girls
Andrew McClusky – CEO Hasmonean MAT

Editorial 13/8/20

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Dear Parents,

We write to you in regard to this year’s A Level and BTEC results.

We are pleased to report that the vast majority of students have attained grades to enter university or embark on the next stage of their life and we will be supporting students who have not been awarded the grades that they were hoping to achieve.

You will have seen headlines in the media that a student’s mock exam results may be able to be used instead of the calculated exam results if the former are higher than the latter.

We will be seeking to appeal all A Level and BTEC grades that are lower than mock grades wherever possible. However, Ofqual have announced that they will not be able to give any details on what counts as a ‘valid mock’ until next week, meaning that we cannot yet tell students if they have a grounds for appeal based on their mock results. This delay and uncertainty will obviously be extremely difficult and challenging for students and it is regrettable that the guidance on this important matter has yet to be produced. As soon as we have that guidance from Ofqual, we will share it with you and advise students accordingly.

Students who wish to know their centre assessed grades or who have any other queries about examination grades should contact the examinations officers at each school:
Hasmonean High School for Girls Exams Officer: Ms Nancy James n.james@hasmonean.co.uk
Hasmonean High School for Boys Exams Officer: Mrs Jane Leigh j.leigh@hasmonean.co.uk

Queries about university places should be directed to the relevant Head of Sixth Form.

Information about re-sits can be found in the examinations sections of the school’s websites.

Please bear in mind that there will be many, many more queries to deal with this year due to the way in which examinations grades have been calculated and the late announcement about how appeals can take place. We will deal with students as soon as we are able to do so.

With kind regards,

Mrs Debbie Lebrett – Headeacher, Hasmonean High School for Boys
Mrs Katherine Brice – Headteacher, Hasmonean High School for Girls