IGCSE/GCSE/PRE U/ GCE Public Examinations Guide for Parents and Students
This guide is to inform you and your parents of the examination process and procedures
which apply to you. Please read the guide carefully. There are a number of rules and
regulations set by the examination boards of which you need to be aware.
We are here to support you; if there is anything you need advice or clarification on please
contact the Examinations Team – Mr Buckingham and Mr Swann exams@walthamstowhall.kent.sch.uk or 01732 451334.
Good luck!
What information should I have received about my examinations?
You will have received during the Easter Term a Statement of Entry from each of the exam
boards (OCR, AQA etc.) which shows your individual timetable of what subjects you are
taking and the dates and times of when these examinations are taking place. These
Statements of Entry are very important and must be looked after. It might be helpful if
parents make copies of these Statements of Entry or carefully put the dates on the calendar
and double check that this has been done correctly.
Any errors on these statements of entry such as spelling of names, date of birth, unit codes,
subjects must be referred to the Examinations Team as soon as possible –
exams@walthamstowhall.kent.sch.uk
You will have also received and read a set of rules and regulations about your conduct
before and during public examinations.
How can parents best help their daughter during the examination period?
Examinations are inevitably a demanding time for some candidates and support from both
school and parents can be helpful. The school will have provided advice about revision
programmes and examination techniques and how to pace preparation to avoid stress.
It is probably beneficial to discuss with your daughter how she intends to organise revision
and to talk through any concerns. Testing knowledge of factual material can help if such
assistance is requested, but more often than not all that is needed is a quiet place to study
and lots of encouragement. Students need plenty of sleep and some opportunities for
relaxation and exercise. It is more than likely counter-productive to expect your daughter to
work unrealistically long hours.
Several examination boards have provided the following information to help parents and
students during exams.
http://www.aqa.org.uk/student-support/for-parents
http://www.aqa.org.uk/student-support/for-students
http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/16206-a-parent-s-guide-to-understanding-exam-techniques.pdf
http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/16205-supporting-your-child-at-exam-time.pdf
What is study leave?
Study leave begins in May and the school will provide you with precise dates. As its name
might suggest, you are not expected to be at school during this period unless you have an
examination but should be using this time to study and prepare for your forthcoming
examinations.
During study leave, you may come into school to study or to seek extra help from your
teachers. Year 11 will have indicated on a form the days they expect to be in school
studying and all students would be advised not to arrive unannounced if they are seeking
extra help.
How do I know the date when examinations take place?
Your Statement of Entry will tell you the day of your examination and whether it is morning or
afternoon. All morning examinations start at 9.00am and afternoon examinations begin
at 1.30pm. Candidates are asked to register no later than 8.45 am for morning examinations
and 1.15 pm for afternoon examinations – Year 11 in form rooms, Years 12 and 13 in the
Careers Room.
It is your responsibility to know when each examination starts, but parents should be warned
there is a tendency for students to confuse AM and PM sessions! Please ensure your
daughter checks her exam commitments for each day on the previous evening.
Where will the examinations be held?
The bulk of the examinations will take place in the Mulberry Hall though the classrooms in
the main building might be used instead.
What happens if I have more than one examination at the same time?
This is what is known as a ‘clash’. You should have been notified of this in a separate letter
from the Examinations Team detailing the order in which you will take the examinations. If
you think you have a clash which has not been resolved, please contact the Examinations
Team as soon as possible.
Often to resolve the clash, it will be necessary to delay one of the examinations until the
afternoon. You should bring in some revision and lunch (unless you have requested a
school dinner).
At all times you must remain under supervision and must not attempt to communicate with
anyone who has already taken the examination you are about to take.
What should I do if I am late for an examination?
If you are going to be late for whatever reason, tell the school immediately (01732 451334)
and ask for this message to be put through to the Examinations Team.
Normally, if you manage to arrive within the first hour of the start time of the examination,
you will sit the examination with the rest of the group and finish at a later point.
If you arrive more than an hour after the start of the examination, you may sit the
examination BUT it is entirely up to the relevant examination board as to whether they will
accept your paper. Often a candidate who is more than an hour late will receive zero marks
because it is impossible to prove that they have not been cheating or trying to find out what
is in the examinations.
If you realise that your daughter is going to be late, please supervise her at all times until she
arrives at school and ensure that she has not had access to the internet or tried to contact
anyone else. You will be asked to sign an appropriate statement to confirm that appropriate
supervision arrangements were put into place. This will help to provide some evidence that
there has not been any possible breach of security of the examination. It is not, however, a
guarantee that the examination board will accept the paper.
What do I do if I am feeling unwell at the time of one of the examinations or going
through a situation which might affect my performance in the examination?
If you are feeling unwell or are experiencing a situation where you feel that your performance
in the examination is going to be affected, you should make this known. The Examinations
Team will try to make a ‘Special Consideration’ to the relevant examination board about your
situation and they will decide whether to make special allowance in the awarding of marks
for the relevant paper(s). Parents should be aware that any adjustment is likely to be small
and that no feedback is ever provided by the examination boards.
To help in putting together a special consideration appeal, it is very useful to have evidence,
for instance, that you were unwell. This means that even if you would not normally visit your
doctor’s surgery for minor illnesses it is important that you do so at examination time. Your
doctor will advise as to whether you are fit to sit the examination. If you do so, your doctor
should give you a letter, which we can send to the examination board asking for special
consideration on the grounds of illness.
If you are too ill to sit the examination the board may, after examining the doctor’s letter and
any evidence of performance on other papers within the same subject, decide to award a
grade.
You must see your doctor on the day of the examination or previously. Any doctors’ notes
need to be given to the Examinations Team, as special considerations as close as possible
to when the examinations was sat.
Please telephone school if your daughter will not be attending an examination or if she will
be present but is unwell. It might be possible to adjust the seating plans to accommodate
this.
What happens if you fail to turn up for an examination?
If you miss any examination without having a note from a doctor or a satisfactory reason for
a request for special consideration, you will not score any marks in the paper you missed.
The overall grade will also reflect the zero achieved in the unit you missed.
What do you need to bring for an examination?
You need to remember to include writing equipment, erasers etc. in a transparent plastic
bag or pencil case. Pens for writing your answers should be black. Highlighters can only be
used on the question paper and should not be used in your answer. The use of tippex or
correction pens is not permitted. You should cross through work you do not wish to be
marked.
You may also bring water in a small transparent bottle with the label removed.
Should your examination allow the use of a calculator, you may also bring one. Your
teacher will have already made it clear whether use of a calculator is allowed in their exam.
If you are using a calculator, it cannot have a case/cover or any of the following:
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Data banks
Dictionaries
Language translators
Retrieval of text or formulae
QWERTY keyboards
Built-in symbolic algebra manipulations
Symbolic differentiation or integration
Capability of remote communication with other machines
Calculators with graphic displays and programmable calculators are permitted if information
and/or programs stored in the calculator’s memory are cleared before the examination.
Retrieval of information and/or programs during the examination is an infringement of the
regulations. Candidates are responsible for clearing any information and/or program before
the examination.
What should you NOT bring with you into the examination room?
Some items are strictly forbidden and not allowed to be brought into the examination room
under any circumstance. The mere possession of these items might lead you to be
disqualified in not only the examination in question, but also your other subjects. You must
not have on you:
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Mobile phones, iPods, MP3/4 players
Products with an electronic communication/storage device/digital facility/access to
the internet
Notes, papers and text books
Should you remember that you have left your mobile (even if it is switched off) or some
revision notes in your pocket you must hand them to the invigilator before the start of the
examination. If not, you will be breaking the rules and liable to be disqualified.
You should not bring lucky mascots or food into the examination room.
What standards of behaviour are expected during examinations?
Your code of dress must be the same as on any other school day. Examinations are not an
excuse to wear home clothes!
You must enter and leave the exam room in silence. This avoids disturbing other
students who might not have finished their paper.
You sit at the desk with your candidate number on it.
You must not communicate with or disturb other candidates inside the exam room; you will
be asked to leave, and the circumstances will be reported to the examination board. It may
mean that you do not receive a grade for the whole of that examination.
You are not allowed to ask for help from another candidate or invigilator during the
examination.
You will also have received Information to Candidates and Warning Notices produced by the
JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications), which give general guidelines for conduct, which must
be observed. You have already signed to say that you have read and understood them –
please make sure that you stick to these regulations.
What happens during an examination?
At the start of the examination a member of staff will remind you of the regulations which you
need to be following. You will be asked to check you have the correct examination paper and
to complete your details (name, candidate number (on your statement of entry), centre
number – 61919) on your answer booklet. If you are unsure of anything, please put your
hand up and ask.
The examination will then be started. The finishing times (including those of you with extra
time) will be put up on the board at the front of the room. Make sure that you can see it and
know how much time you have before your exam finishes. You might want to put a watch on
your desk to help you keep a track of time.
Should you run out of space for an answer, there are extra pages in your answer booklet for
you to write more. These can also be used for rough work. If these pages are all used up,
put up your hand to ask for extra paper.
You should use all of the available time on your answers and spend any time at the end
checking your work.
Once the invigilator has told you to stop writing, you must put your pen down unless you
have extra time. Check that you have entered your details correctly on the front of your
answer booklet. If you have used any extra paper, this must have your details on each
page, be securely attached to your answer booklet and given in when your paper is
collected.
When you are told you may leave the room, you must exit in silence. You must also not take
the question paper out of the room or any other examination stationery.
What do you do if the fire alarm goes off?
In the unlikely event of the fire alarm going off, you must stop writing, remain in silence and
follow the invigilator’s instructions.
You are to remain in silence at all times (even when outside the building) and leave the
question paper and answer booklet in the room. These must not be removed.
When and how are the results distributed?
Candidates will be able to collect their results from school on results day. This is an
important day in the school calendar, and for some of you, your last commitment. Try to
make sure you are present, especially Year 13. If you are unlucky enough to miss an offer,
it is far easier to sort out something at school than from some beach in Majorca!
Year 13 –
Thursday August 13th 2015 from 8am – 10.30am
Year 12 Thursday August 13th 2015 from 9.30am-10.30am
Years 10 and 11 – Thursday August 20th 2015 from 8am-9.30am
Students wishing for a relative or friend to collect their results must send an email to the
Exams Team before results day giving permission or provide a signed letter of authorisation
with the collector.
The school will not issue results via email or over the phone.
Any uncollected results will be posted at the end of results day.
What can you do if results are substantially different from what you expected/need for
university?
If on receiving your examination results you are particularly unhappy with the Grade or Mark
it may be worth pursuing a result enquiry (have your paper remarked). Before you go ahead
with this, talk to a relevant member of staff. If the results have serious implications for your
future plans then consult the Head of Sixth Form
Even though the vast majority of result enquiries lead to the mark remaining the same, you
must be aware that an enquiry can result in subject grades being raised or lowered.
Unless the total marks indicate that the next grade up was only narrowly missed it may not
be advisable to proceed with an enquiry. Result enquiries are not cheap and you only get the
money refunded if the overall grade goes up.
Details of the procedures and the fees involved will be available from the Examinations
Team on results day. The process should be started as soon as possible. If a university
place is at stake, then it is highly recommended that you apply for a priority remark. It costs
more but the exam board are obliged to turn the enquiry around within a much shorter
duration of time.
When do I receive my certificates?
Results certificates are generally sent to the school in October/November well after the
examinations have taken place.
All I/GCSE certificates are usually awarded in a special ceremony early in Year 12. A2/PreU
certificates are kept securely in the school office for you to collect or can be collected by a
sibling at the school.
These are highly important documents which you will need in later life – look after them.
Should you lose them, replacements can be sought from the relevant examination boards.
You will require proof of identity such as an original birth certificate and a substantial sum of
money per certificate from each examination board.
If you have any questions about the forthcoming examinations or need further advice,
always see your form tutor or ask the Examinations Team.