THOUSANDS of students across north and mid Essex will collect their GCSE and A Level results this week.

The results, which are usually published a week apart, will be released in the same week for the first time.

A Level results will be released on Tuesday, August 10, with GCSE results issued on Thursday, August 12.

Teachers in England have been required to consider a range of evidence, including mock exams, coursework, and in-class assessments using questions from exam boards, to make decisions on pupils’ grades.

Headteachers had to submit a personal declaration that they believed grades to be accurate.

Schools and colleges were asked to provide samples of student work to exam boards, as well as evidence used to determine the grades for the students selected, as part of quality assurance (QA) checks.

Last summer, the fiasco around grading led to thousands of A-level students having their results downgraded from school estimates by what Mr Johnson dubbed a “mutant algorithm”, before Ofqual announced a U-turn.

This year there will not be an algorithm used to moderate grades.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “We recognise the unprecedented challenges pupils and students have faced over the last year and a half, and have been working with Ofqual, universities and other providers for months to ensure as many students as possible can progress.

“This includes putting in place a rigorous system to ensure grades are fair, and this week we have adjusted the cap on medical and dentistry places so that more students than ever will have the opportunity to study on these courses in 2021.

“A record number of students have applied to university this year and are taking the next steps in their lives towards securing exciting and rewarding careers – after an extraordinary and challenging period. Ucas, the admissions service, is predicting that over 80% of people will get into their first choice of university.

“Exams are the best form of assessment but in the absence of those this year there is no-one better placed to judge young people’s abilities than their teachers, who see them day in, day out.

“Teachers have assessed multiple pieces of work, in turn giving students multiple opportunities to show what they know and perform to their best.”

We will be running blogs on both days giving updates on school results and also sharing pictures of pupils.

Schools can get in touch with details on results and pictures by emailing gazette.newsdesk@newsquest.co.uk.

We’re also inviting parents to share their pictures of their children with us.

You can do so by clicking the button below.

We’ll upload the pictures to a gallery and include them in our online coverage.