To ask the Minister of Education (i) for her assessment of how changing GCSE and A-Level grade boundaries in England, Scotland and Wales will impact pupils and pupils’ relative grades in Northern Ireland; and (ii) to detail any plans she has to make similar changes to assessments.

As has already been announced by CCEA, in November 2021, there will be a generous approach to standards and grading for CCEA qualifications in 2022. CCEA took the approaches adopted by the other exam regulators into account and confirmed that examiner judgement will be at the heart of the awarding process.

CCEA examiners will take account of the disruption to learning experienced by students, and as in England and Wales, the expectation is that this will result in outcomes that are higher than 2019, the last year when exams took place.