This year’s Cambridge Checkpoint examinations are expected to go ahead as scheduled in March and June, the education department confirmed today.

The Royal Gazette reported last Wednesday that Bermuda’s schoolchildren would be able to sit most of the exams this summer despite tests being cancelled in the UK because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The education ministry said school principals were notified last week.

Public and private school pupils on the island sit exams set by UK examination boards.

GCSEs for Year 11 pupils have been scrapped for a second year in England, but Bermuda’s schoolchildren sit an international version of the qualification – the IGCSE.

Cambridge Assessment International Education, the exam board that sets the IGCSE paper, pulled the plug on exams last year – but insisted that they will go ahead this year.

It said in a e-mail to overseas schools who sit the exams: “As an international organisation based in the UK, we want to update our global community of schools on our position on the 2021 exam series following this announcement.

“A number of schools have asked if there will be any change in our policy.

“We work with schools in 160 countries and most of our schools are telling us they want to run exams in June 2021 and expect to be able to do so, in line with guidance from their national and regional authorities.

“We continue to prepare for the March and June series to go ahead.”

The e-mail added: “We believe that schools in most countries outside the UK will want to proceed with exams as planned.

“We will continue to monitor the situation for the March and June 2021 series very closely and keep our schools informed but we expect exams to continue as planned where it is permitted and safe.

“Our priority continues to be to keep students safe and to make sure they can progress with their education.”