Allowing teachers to award grades to pupils this summer is “as good as compromise as we can come to” following the cancellation of formal exams, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister described this year’s system for awarding A-level and GCSE grades in England – as well as some vocational and technical qualifications – as
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A-level and GCSE students in England will get their teacher-assessed grades earlier in August to give them more time to appeal. Gavin Williamson announced in January that exams would be scrapped this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils will return to the classroom from 8 March as lockdown is eased, with the government on
The prime minister has announced an extra £400m to help children in England catch up on lost learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which will include asking secondary schools to run classes in the summer holidays. Boris Johnson said the “extensive programme”, backed by a total of £700m in funding, will give teachers the “tools
Scotland’s route out of lockdown will come in stages, with the country’s stay-at-home order set to end on 5 April, followed weeks later by a return to a system of levels. Unveiling the plan, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs that at present there is “limited scope” to ease restrictions. She said the Scottish government
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “very optimistic” that he will be able to remove all coronavirus restrictions in England by 21 June under his four-stage plan for lifting lockdown. Under his roadmap for easing COVID measures, the prime minister hopes “all legal limits on social contact can be removed” under the last of those four
England is set to remove all legal limits on people’s social contact by 21 June, the prime minister has announced. After schools reopen on 8 March, with some outdoor restrictions lifted by 29 March, Boris Johnson said the next step will be to reopen beer gardens and hairdressers in England from 12 April at the
The UK’s vaccination programme is “beginning to really bear fruit” and has allowed the government to unveil its plans for lifting lockdown, the vaccines minister has said. Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News the “evidence looks good” on COVID vaccines, which have now been given to one in three adults in the UK. Later, Prime Minister Boris
All schools in England will reopen to all pupils on 8 March under the prime minister’s roadmap out of lockdown to be announced tomorrow, with outdoor after-school sports and activities also allowed to restart. And on the same date, outdoor recreation with one other person will also be permitted, meaning people will be allowed to
The number of cases of South African and Brazilian COVID variants in the UK appears to be falling, the health secretary has told Sky News. Matt Hancock said there was evidence that enhanced contact-tracing and stricter border measures were helping to control the number of people being infected by those new variants first discovered abroad.
Boris Johnson has pledged that every adult in the UK should be offered a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July. The accelerated vaccine rollout would help protect the most vulnerable sooner and also enable the easing of some lockdown restrictions, the prime minister said. People aged 50 and over and those with underlying health
The prime minister is still aiming to reopen all schools in England next month despite concerns from teachers and scientists. Ahead of an announcement about easing coronavirus lockdown on Monday, Downing Street refused to be drawn on specific reports that more extensive outdoor socialising could be allowed by Easter, including suggestions that two households will
The government unlawfully failed to publish details of coronavirus-related contracts worth billions, the High Court has ruled. The Good Law Project launched a judicial review against the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) over its “wholesale failure” to disclose details of the COVID-19-related contracts. Under law, the government has to publish a “contract award
Sadiq Khan has received his first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and urged members of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities to follow suit, declaring: “I wouldn’t be taking the jab if I didn’t think it was safe.” The London mayor received a COVID-19 jab on Friday morning at a vaccine centre located inside
The UK will share the majority of any future surplus COVID vaccines to help developing nations, Boris Johnson will confirm – as he urges world leaders to slash the time taken to create new jabs to 100 days. The prime minister will chair a meeting of G7 leaders via videolink on Friday, during which he
Face-to-face visits in care homes could resume within weeks as England’s lockdown is eased, a minister has suggested. Care minister Helen Whately told Sky News she wants to see a return to more “normal” visits as COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed. Latest coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world People would not have to
Internal plans in Whitehall suggest a rapid reopening of the economy in the weeks after pupils return to classrooms on 8 March, Sky News understands. Whitehall officials have drawn up a timetable to help work out internal plans to roll out the government’s planned mass COVID testing regime. This suggests a desire to reopen rapidly