Wonderful, we love the Mertens singing spirit and I hope you can keep singing together through the period of isolation

Fantastic from Catering, although not sure loo roll cake will catch on

Superb!

Prep school version of the Global Citizen concert, fantastic to see the joy of performing through the lockdown. Thank you everyone who contributed.

Thank you Mark Petrov for 3D printing a model of the flat pack supplied car.

Back to the future...on a normal day not a very exciting picture but great to see our first L6 students back in school today. Long way still to go but it’s a start at least.

Among the chorus of disapproval of govt handling of results, DfE is right to correct misreporting. Eg 40% were corrected versus over-inflated CAGs not downgraded. Media also responsible for reporting this accurately.

Vital that Department for Education and Ofqual enable schools to provide wide range of academic data to support appeals. Not limited to mocks but include eg milestone assessments and ALPS. Schools also have to apply discipline to appeals and be more realistic than they were with CAGs.

Shows how today’s decision will spike AL grade inflation but still in line with pre 2010 trend. Govt evidently placed holding grade inflation above fair outcomes for candidates and in effect have ended up with neither.

Reassuring to hear

Thank you Tes magazine for your recognition of ⁦⁦Ardingly Ifield Solar⁩, a great example of the positive impact of genuine independent-state partnership ⁦Independent Schools Council⁩ ⁦SchoolsTogether⁩ ⁦HMC (The Heads' Conference)⁩ tes.com/news/tes-award…

Important to say on the new variant: latest Imperial study plus Sage have NOT concluded that children are more susceptible to the NV, or that it's more dangerous for them. But it is the case that the NV is more transmissible anyway, leading to more cases in schools/community

4000 LFA tests arrived this morning from Department for Education. Thank you. If all schools receive similar and teachers can be priorised for vaccination there is a chance of keeping schools open in January. Please take it Sir Gavin Williamson CBE MP Independent Schools Council HMC (The Heads' Conference) #keepschoolsopensafely

Ardingly College works hard with staff and student COVID-19 LFA testing on INSET day. Well done and thanks to our superb medical team.

Looks like DfE/Ofqual/boards are preparing to withdraw from the battlefield and leave it to teachers/schools to sort out exam grades alone. Would result in massive grade inflation + stress. Boards must hold the ring and not pass the buck. Independent Schools Council HMC (The Heads' Conference) Geoff Barton

Externally set tasks for this year's GCSEs and A levels will not make teachers' marking burden 'much greater' and will help with any appeals over grades, says Ofqual chief tes.com/news/gcses-202…

Possibly I’m being thick but hard to justify Ofsted claim that 2021 exam proposals will ‘make teachers’ and schools’ lives easier’ by landing them with responsibility for devising, marking and managing appeals for exams this summer. Tes magazine misreporting or a parallel universe?

How students think revision works:

In which Alex O’Connor Alex O'Connor considers the theology of whether, as so many have been saying this week, God spared the life of Donald Trump… unherd.com/newsroom/god-d…