GCSE and A-level pupils face having grades decided by their teachers again this summer after new lockdown
But Government dodged an outright ban on BTECs saying schools/colleges can choose to offer exams
Children due to sit them from as early as today - some told MailOnline their exams even brought FORWARD
Gavin Williamson will face the Commons today after losing his battle with teachers to keep schools open
Has your child been left in BTEC limbo or had their GCSEs or A-levels cancelled? Email martin.robinson@mailonline.co.uk
The programme of vaccinating people against Covid-19 will start early next week
- Credit: Getty Images/Istockphoto
Calls to extend the priority Covid-19 vaccination list to include police and teachers have been backed in Suffolk.
Police and teaching representatives said both should be given appropriate priority after the most vulnerable and frontline NHS workers.
Suffolk Police Federation said it was important for officers protecting communities to be properly screened from the virus.
Meanwhile, a teaching union also reiterated calls for increased testing capacity for staff and pupils.
Suffolk Police Federation Secretary, Ben Hudson said officers had put in a Herculean effort to keep the country safe and the pandemic under control while putting themselves and their families at increased risk of infection.
On September 21, the UK government’s Science Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) published a document calling for a national circuit-breaker lockdown to curb the steadily increasing cases of COVID. The Sage scientists warned that “not acting now to reduce cases will result in a very large epidemic with catastrophic consequences in terms of direct COVID-related deaths and the ability of the health service to meet needs”.
Instead of heeding the warnings of their own scientists, the government instead solicited the fringe views of “experts” who advocated for controlling the effects of the virus with less restrictive measures, while shielding society’s most vulnerable. The result being that the government tried to limit the impact of the disease with a series of light-touch restrictions, including the original three-tier system introduced in the middle of October.
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Police enforcing the lockdown laws will fine people the first time they are caught not wearing face coverings or being outside without a suitable reason.
Scotland Yard revealed officers will be told to stop civilians in the street and quiz them on why they are not shut away in their homes.
Anyone who cannot give a lawful excuse will be fined up to £6,400 and those caught without face coverings in necessary areas will also be slapped with an on the spot penalty notice.
Police chiefs are dishing out new instructions to officers in England and Wales to fine people more quickly when their breach is obvious.