THE exams watchdog has confirmed that GCSEs and A-Levels cancelled in England will be replaced by grades decided by teachers.

The move has been welcomed locally following the chaos last year when the grades of pupils were decided by an algorithm that left many with significantly lower grades than predicted.

Louise Atkinson, a Carlisle teacher and city councillor who is also a national executive member for the National Education Union, said: "I'm over the moon that the announcement has come out and we're not in the same situation as last year.

"We've been asking for this since the start of the academic year and Government have been pursuing the line that exams will take place.

"For kids and young people that has put massive amounts of stress and anxiety on them, that they didn't need to have.

"Teachers are on their knees - the Government needs to give us some support to make sure we engage with this properly."