The MML faculty announced the cancellation of MML/HML Oral B examinations, in an email sent to students earlier today (18/4).

The announcement comes after the UCU served notice to employers (17/04), that members will start a marking and assessment boycott (MAB) from Thursday 20th April, as the latest escalation in the industrial dispute on pay and conditions.

The email, seen by Varsity, was sent to all Part Ia and Ib students, and stated that after “careful consultation and consideration”, the faculty has decided that it would not be possible to run the exams in a way that “ensures that all students are examined in an equitable manner across all languages”.

The faculty stressed that the decision to cancel all exams was taken because the alternative - some exams taking place and others not - would have been “unfair, inequitable and highly stressful to all concerned”.

The faculty co-chairs expressed their disappointment with the decision on behalf of faculty staff. They also extended reassurances to students that their spoken competency would be assessed and examined at a later date during their University career.

In regards to results, the email informed students that, subject to approval from the chair of examiners, they believed the number of marks represented by the Oral (33) would be ‘removed from the total number of marks for the respective Part’, and that the weightings of other papers will remain unchanged.

The email stated that the future of the Oral A (ab initio) examinations, scheduled for later this term, was subject to future developments in the industrial dispute.

One second-year MML student was “pretty happy” with the cancellation. They told Varsity that their “language skills are weaker than [their] literature ones” and that a cancelled exam on Monday meant they could attend the first Lola’s of term! The student expressed sympathy for students who “hope language can pull up their grades”, but ultimately agreed that the UCU should do “whatever they can” to improve their working conditions.