This year’s grading process has been unfair and stores up problems for later – but it needn’t be that way next year, writes Emma White… Anyone involved in the run up to the Summer 2021 Centre/Teacher Assessed Grade debacle will remember this year for its confusion, chaos and voluminous workload. For my company Mark My Papers,
Using Centre Assessed Grades for GCSE and A-level will fail the most disadvantaged, writes Emma White in her latest article to be published in Independent School Management Plus. There is something almost comedic about this year’s Centre Assessed Grades. Comedic perhaps, if it were not for that fact that future lives, hopes and dreams of a
Emma White considers why schools often fail to nurture pupils’ love of learning Published in Independent School Management Plus Earlier this year, we received the news we had all been waiting for. My 18-year-old son had been offered a conditional place at Christ’s College, Cambridge to study history and modern languages. An immensely proud moment
Dr. Helen Wright MA(OXON), EDD, PGCE, Chair of the Mark My Papers Board of Advisors writes a fascinating piece considering if vicarious domination of a child’s aspiration leads to disappointment for school, parent and student. I could write at length – we all could – about any number of sub-groups of children and young people
By Yvonne Mason. Yvonne Mason is an historian and freelance English and History teacher and tutor. Having gained a B.A in English Language and Literature, she later gained an M.A in Medieval Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London. In 2001, she established her own practice as a tutor of English and History which has
Amid outcry over Covid-19, the digital divide and cancelled exams, Emma White advocates a tried and tested approach to remote learning; an article published recently in ‘Independent School Management Plus‘ The writing was on the wall from the beginning. Remote learning meant no learning. Not for everyone, of course, but for enough children for it
By Emma White……… When I came to home education six years ago I never considered that zero internet and one shared family laptop between four may be a barrier to success. And looking back – it made no difference. Our results – two boys, 18 GCSES, 15 Grade A*, three Grade A, one AS at
Schools faced with parents threatening to home educate need to know all the arguments against it, writes successful home educator Emma White Since schools returned this autumn, the media has been abuzz with talk of Covid-19 and how schools will create a safe normal for the new academic year. The angst that children and teachers
An article by a Guest Contributor who is one of our most senior examiners with 25 years experience of examining for the public exam boards; a consultant to schools under special measures with the task of improving English Language and Literature performance. The views of Guest Contributors are their own and not necessarily those of
An article by Emma White of MMP and published in ‘Independent School Management Plus’ ‘The demonic crunch of the algorithm’ has helped many see why exams are so vital, writes Emma White. The relentless lurching of this year’s 2020 A Level and GCSE results has done little to enhance the reputation of Ofqual or the
By Emma White, Founder and Managing Director of MMP Congratulations to our A Level and GCSE students who achieved excellent results this year. I started MMP to support my own sons through their GCSEs and A Levels, enabling them to have Examiner driven feedback during their home education. I am delighted to say that our
MMP are delighted that our Founder and Managing Director Emma White, has been invited to serve as a judge for this year’s Lead 50/50 Women In International Education Awards. The ceremony is usually held during November in Berlin. However the current health crisis means that this year the successful nominees will receive their awards virtually.
Covid-19 will be remembered by educationalists for the havoc it wreaked on the 2020 exam season. Without suggesting for a minute that there was a better solution to the predicament, in haste and unable to nail down the detail, Ofqual launched a plan that left submission rules and regulations open to interpretation and exam centres
My youngest son has recently completed his GCSES. He’s only just 15 but as is the way so often with home education, we have come to the end of nine subjects long before intended. In fact, having completed his science GCSEs in 2019 (all Grade 9) he’s already well on the way to completing his
If you were to scan many secondary school websites, state or independent, the single word that constantly catches the eye is ‘resilience’. It’s there, time and time again, shouting resolutely how strength over adversity is an integral part of childhood development, and yet as we face the gradual return to exam normality there is a
At MMP we continue to offer all our marking services by qualified examiners during this period of home learning. For schools, adapting your teaching to fit an online template will no doubt have come with its challenges with pressures from both parents and school. For teachers with their own children at home the whole experience
By Yvonne Mason. Yvonne Mason is an historian and freelance English and History teacher and tutor. Having gained a B.A in English Language and Literature, she later gained an M.A in Medieval Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London. In 2001, she established her own practice as a tutor of English and History which has
By DR HELEN WRIGHT MA(OXON), EDD, PGCE I felt uncomfortable reading the Ofqual consultation about school public examinations this week, and I wanted to explore this discomfort a bit further here. Specifically, what made me uneasy was the proposal that no appeals will be allowed for exam grades this year: “appeals should only be allowed on the
The government’s decision to opt for predicted grades in lieu of exams as a solution to the current Coronavirus crisis is an obvious one. There were few viable options, at least options that would offer a smooth and easy solution. From repeating a year to delaying this summer’s exams, all were deemed to come at
Don’t kid yourself. There are no shortcuts to marking. Teachers and home educators alike scratch their heads to find an easier way forward. In schools, many must search their souls in a bid to find a robust way to satisfy the needs of the school data drop and the performance levels aspired to. Like it