THE government is being advised to urgently consider implementing rigorous “backup” assessments of pupils’ work if next year’s exams are cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Think tank Education Policy Institute (EPI) recommended that exam board assessments should replace mock exams to provide “contingency grades” if GCSE and A-level exams are cancelled for the second year running.

After exams were cancelled in the summer thousands of A-level students had results downgraded from school estimates by an algorithm. Exams regulator Ofqual then announced a U-turn, allowing them to use teachers’ predictions.