We broadly welcome the proposals made in this consultation and believe that schools and colleges will find the changes are worthwhile, without undue impact on the overall validity of the assessment.

The mechanism of endorsement is already used in other GCSE subjects and hence will be familiar to centres. The increased flexibility this generates and the reporting mechanism for the assessment alongside a 9 to 1 grade will mean centres are spared the arrangements for speaking exams which would have proved extremely challenging to coordinate under current circumstances.

Full response to consultation