It became clear early during lockdown that it was not reasonable to expect young people to physically sit exams this summer and there was no easy method of finding a fair way to grade our students achievements or abilities once this became clear.
I can assure you that no individual set out to downgrade young people’s level of attainment but this was the outcome of the method adopted by Ofqual, the official regulator for qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. The Chairman of Ofqual, Roger Taylor, made a statement on Monday clarifying that ‘students be awarded their centre assessment for this summer - that is, the grade their school or college estimated was the grade they would most likely have achieved in their exam - or the moderated grade, whichever is higher.’ I’ve spoken to families who had contacted me following the results day on Thursday and it appears that, in most cases, the difficulties faced have been addressed and that most students have the university place they hoped for. If this is not the case you are welcome to contact me and I can take up the case directly with Ofqual.
Whilst Parliament is not sitting I’ve been taking the extra opportunity to visit businesses across the constituency to understand a little more about the experience of the past few months, how the business has fared as restrictions have eased and discussed what prospects owners feel they have as autumn and winter looms. There are some businesses that could not be busier and others who are still unable to operate due to Government restrictions. It is these businesses that need far greater detail about what help will be made available to them until they are fully operational and this is the message I continue to take to Government. In normal times businesses need to forward plan and this is just as important today!
Food for families Is a Penzance-based project that I have followed for about a year now. Along with Foodbank this group of volunteers have distributed quantities of food directly to people’s homes and aspire to supporting families towards gaining skills around food and family wellbeing. They now have collection points around the community including in my office and donations can include mobile phones, stamps, coins and jewellery.
Nearly 700,000 people signed up to take part in the Great British Spring Clean to have taken place in March. Like many other events we hold dear this was not to be so the Great British September Clean (for want of a better title) takes place from 11th - 27th September. This is a fantastic initiative to for us help clean up and improve West Cornwall. We have a proud history of tackling waste and protecting our environment for future generations, and this is our opportunity to directly support this work. You can find more details on the campaign and how to get involved here: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/support-our-campaigns/grea….
