A DECISION on whether GCSE and A-level exams will go ahead next summer will be announced later.

There have already been reports that GCSE exams will be replaced by grades based on coursework and assessments.

Two recent sets of recommendations to Education Minister Kirsty Williams said either all or most exams at A-level should also be cancelled.

It comes amid ongoing disruption to schools as a result of coronavirus.

Courses have already been modified because of the learning time lost over the summer term.

But since schools returned full-time in September, many pupils have had to self-isolate for a fortnight or more because of positive cases of Covid-19 in their "bubble".

Public Health Wales figures show 82 per cent of secondary schools have registered at least one case since September.

In its advice to Wales' education minister, regulator Qualifications Wales said there should be no GCSE exams this summer, with grades for both GCSE and AS-levels based on coursework and assessments set and marked by the exam board WJEC.

At A-level, it recommended one timetabled exam per subject, with a second opportunity for pupils to sit if they were self-isolating.

Coursework and set tasks would also be taken into account.

A separate report by an expert panel said all exams should be axed, with grades based on nationally agreed assessments done in schools and colleges.