Regulation

Extraordinary regulatory framework: General Qualifications, COVID-19 Conditions and Requirements

This document set out our regulatory requirements for awarding organisations offering general qualifications during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This publication was withdrawn on

Framework relates to specific context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and no longer relevant.

Applies to England

Documents

Notice under Condition GQCov1.1(b) - October 2020

Details

WITHDRAWN

These requirements and guidance have been withdrawn and are no longer in force.

About these documents

These documents set out our regulatory requirements and guidance for awarding organisations offering general qualifications during part of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The conditions came into effect at 09:00 on 11 June 2020 for GQ Qualifications as defined in Condition GQCov1.7:

  • advanced extension award qualifications
  • extended project qualifications
  • GCE (AS or A level) qualifications
  • GCSE qualifications

We published supporting guidance in August 2020.

Updates

We updated the documents on 30 September 2020 to include new conditions covering the autumn 2020 exam series. These put into effect the decisions we made following our earlier policy consultation.

We added a notice on 16 October 2020 to ensure:

  • non-exam assessment for the summer 2021 series can take place in all relevant GCSE, AS and A level subjects (this would otherwise be prohibited by Condition GQCov2)
  • awarding organisations can, but do not have to, offer assessment opportunities for Advanced Extension Awards and Extended Project Qualifications as part of the autumn 2020 series
  • transitional and saving provisions are in place – these ensure all appeals arising from the summer 2020 series will continue to be governed by the relevant parts of the GQ ERF - our normal requirements for appeals (specified in the relevant Qualification Level Conditions) will apply to assessments taken in autumn 2020

This document was updated on 29 October 2020 to correct an error in the previous version.

We added a further notice on 4 July 2023 which formally withdrew all remaining requirements.

Updates to this page

Published 11 June 2020
Last updated 10 July 2023 + show all updates
  1. Added a new notice which formally withdraws the remainder of these requirements

  2. We have added a notice on 16 October 2020 to ensure, non-exam assessment for the summer 2021 series can take place in all relevant GCSE, AS and A level subjects (this would otherwise be prohibited by Condition GQCov2), and awarding organisations can, but do not have to, offer assessment opportunities for Advanced Extension Awards and Extended Project Qualifications as part of the autumn 2020 series. Transitional and saving provisions are in place and these ensure all appeals arising from the summer 2020 series will continue to be governed by the relevant parts of the GQ ERF. Our normal requirements for appeals (specified in the relevant Qualification Level Conditions) will apply to assessments taken in autumn 2020.

  3. Extraordinary regulatory framework: General Qualifications, COVID-19 Conditions and Requirements document updated with the addition of Conditions GQCov7 and 8 – the existing Conditions have not changed.

  4. Conditions and regulations updated to reflect changes in awarding grades for summer 2020.

  5. Updated conditions and guidance.

  6. First published.

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