PUBLISHED: 16:58, Wed, Jan 6, 2021 | UPDATED: 16:58, Wed, Jan 6, 2021
Link copiedPrime Minister Boris Johnson announced all primary and secondary schools would close from January 5 on Monday, as he delivered the news of a third national lockdown. Schools have moved to remote learning for all students, with the timeline on the return to the classroom having been kept very vague by the Government. On the announcement of closing schools, Mr Johnson said: “I want to stress that the problem is not that schools are unsafe to children. The problem is that schools may nonetheless act as vectors for transmission, causing the virus to spread between households.”
The Government’s decision to close schools came with “the heaviest of hearts”, according to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove.
The decision was made after the UK’s Chief Medical Officers recommended a move to Covid alert level five.
All primary and secondary schools are closed to students for the foreseeable future, with exceptions made for children of key workers and vulnerable schoolchildren.
Insurance Loans Mortgage Attorney Credit LawyerBut in a move away from the lockdown rules of the past year, nurseries and other early years settings have been allowed to stay open.
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How will GCSEs and A-Levels be assessed? Exams explained (Image: Getty)
Exam assessments: Gavin Williamson said the Government had learnt its lesson (Image: Getty)
GCSEs and A-Levels will receive teacher assessment grades in 2021, meaning unlike last year’s fiasco, results won’t be dictated by an unfair algorithm.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed to the House of Commons that exams would not go ahead this year, adding the Government is “going to put our trust in teachers rather than algorithms”.
Mr Williamson said he wished “to use a
