Universities in the UK are working with UCAS, the exam boards and the UK government to explore the implications of cancelling the 2020 exam session. It is anticipated that A level results will be released in July and confirmation of places will then take place. This is presently a provisional plan which may be open to change in the weeks and months ahead. It is anticipated that other exam systems such as BTEC and IBDP etc will adopt a similar scheduling. 

UK university offers - The UK government has told UK universities not to amend any offers which students are holding until 6th April (full statement here). this is to allow the exam boards to publish how they will be awarding grades for 2020.

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Since the long-term impact on education and daily life is still unknown universities are beginning to comment on university entrance exams which run from august.

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UCAT - the specialist medical school exam - "Candidates will appreciate that we cannot predict when test centres in the UK and internationally will open, and the impact that social distancing measures may have on testing capacity.  We remain committed to delivering the UCAT in 2020 and are working with Pearson VUE to explore a number of test delivery scenarios, with the wellbeing of our candidates at the forefront of our decision making.

Registration will not open on the 4th May and it is likely that testing will begin later than our usual July start.

We continue to liaise closely with our Consortium medical and dental schools and decisions regarding 2020 delivery will be made in consultation with these Universities."

 
For the full statement by www.ucat.as.uk

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BMAT, TSA, NAT and ELAT - "We do not expect the COVID-19 outbreak to disrupt the running of these tests." For the full statement by www.admissionstesting.org

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Current advice from UCAS - "We have made the decision to extend May’s decision and reply deadlines to 18th June. We will be emailing applicants to let them know, and will share new dates this week.

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This extension will give students and their chosen universities and colleges the extra time they need to fully consider any decisions and offers, and ensure fairness in admissions is maintained. It also gives more time for further information to be shared on the awarding of grades for examinations and assessments which have been cancelled.

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At this time, we are still looking to run Confirmation and Clearing in summer, similarly to previous years, giving applicants the flexibility to make choices throughout the remainder of the cycle."

For their full statement see www.ucas.com

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UCAS has released information about a development to the clearing process called Clearing Plus. It seeks to match students who find themselves in clearing with courses still available and so sends you a list in track of potentially suitable options to explore. this will also be available to students who self release into clearing on results day.

 

For their full statement see www.ucas.com

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Current advice from UK universities - The heads of a range of university networks: the Russell Group, GuildHE, MillionPlus and University Alliance today put out a joint statement confirming that universities will do all they can to support students and ensure they can progress to university.

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• "We know many students are anxious about what the cancellation of exams and assessments might mean. Our message to students is: we understand and universities are here for you. 

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• Universities are committed to doing all they can to support students and applicants and ensure they can progress to university. This will involve being flexible and responsive in their admissions processes.  

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• We want to reassure students who have applied to university, or are thinking of doing so through clearing, that every effort will be made to ensure they are not disadvantaged in any way by the decision not to go ahead with exams this summer."

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For the full statement see www.russellgroup.ac.uk

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English Language Exams -  

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IELTS - In locations where it is permitted and safe to do so, IELTS testing is going ahead, with additional precautions in place to help protect the health of test takers and staff.

In some locations, we have had to suspend IELTS testing in line with official requirements of healthcare authorities. In these locations, we are putting detailed plans in place to ensure that test takers are able to take their tests as soon as possible once the official restrictions are removed. For the full statement see www.ielts.org

 

Cambridge Assessment English - Our absolute priority is to help to protect the health and safety of our candidates, their families and the staff in our exam centres and prep centres. We are closely following the advice of national and regional governments and healthcare providers, and taking additional measures. Unfortunately, this means that many exams and tests will not take place on the scheduled dates. We are putting in place detailed plans to allow candidates to take their exams as soon as possible once restrictions are lifted and it is safe to do so. For the full statement see www.cambridgeenglish.org

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Pearson Test for English - "The status of our global test delivery is changing rapidly due to the spread of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor the situation and make decisions about test center operations in accordance with government and local authorities."Testing is currently suspended in most countries. For the full statement see www.pearsonview.com

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TOEFL - "Due to the health and safety concerns for both our test takers and test center staff stemming from the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak... testing has been affected in many countries.See their website for details on each country, www.ets.org

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TOEFL (ETS) is temporarily offering the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition test in selected areas. The test is identical in content, format and on-screen experience to the TOEFL iBT test taken at a test center. As of March 23, 2020, the test is available in the United States, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong (China) and Macau (China). CHECK UNIVERSITIES / VISA REQUIREMENTS ARE MET BY THIS. For further information on the exam see www.ets.org

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I will try and keep this information as up to date as possible. If you have any questions then please email me: richard@judduniversityguidance.com.

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