Examinations Policy
2014-15
Examinations Policy 2014-15
Abbey College Cambridge
Examinations Policy Abbey Cambridge and Alpha
Plus Group
The ACC Senior Leadership Team are responsible for this policy:
Julian Davies, Principal
Telephone:
01223 578280
Email:
Julian.davies@abbeycambridge.co.uk
Karen Lonsdale, Vice Principal (Pastoral)
Telephone:
01223 578280
Email:
Karen.Lonsdale@abbeycambridge.co.uk
Mike Corbett, Director of Operations
Telephone:
01223 578280
mike.corbett@abbeycambridge.co.uk
Email:
Mark Lassman, Director of International Admissions
Telephone:
01223 578280
Email:
mark.lassman@abbeycambridge.co.uk
This policy is reviewed on an annual basis
Annual Policy reviewed by:
Senior Leadership Team
Annual Review date:
September 2014
Next date of Annual Review:
August 2015
This policy has been adopted by the governors, is addressed to all members of staff and volunteers where
appropriate, is available to parents on request and is published on the school's website if appropriate.
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Examinations Policy 2014-15
Abbey College Cambridge
Examinations Policy 2014-15
Abbey College Cambridge
Responsibilities
The Principal of Abbey College Cambridge is responsible for the development of
examination policy and for the conduct of internal and external examinations.
The Exams Officer of Abbey College Cambridge has day-to-day responsibility for
examination policy and the conduct of internal and external examinations.
Examinations Officer
The Business Director is the College’s Examinations Officer.
The Examinations Officer is responsible for the day-to-day management of the
examinations process.
The Examinations Officer is responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of
internal and external examination systems.
Examination Notices
The Examinations Officer is to issue periodic Examination Notices that deal with the
fine detail of the examination process.
The Examinations Officer is to promulgate the provisional and final timetables for
public examinations published by the awarding bodies.
Public examinations
Joint Council for Qualifications
The Joint Council for Qualifications has published instructions for conducting public
examinations.
GCE and GCSE Examinations
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GCE and GCSE examinations are to be conducted in accordance with the regulations
and guidance notes issued by the awarding bodies and the Joint Council for General
Qualifications.
University Admission Tests
University Admission Tests are to be conducted in accordance with the regulations
and guidance notes issued by the testing authority.
Instructions for conducting examinations
The Examinations Officer is to make arrangements for GCE and GCSE examinations
to be conducted in accordance with the requirements set out in Joint Council for
Qualifications publications and the testing authorities for university admissions tests
during the academic year 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2014.
The arrangements are to include the training and supervision of invigilators.
The Examinations Officer is to maintain a record of the training provided to
invigilators.
General management of examinations
Entries
The Examinations Officer is to make entries to GCE and GCSE examinations, and
university admissions tests in accordance with the wishes of candidates.
Private candidates
Abbey College Cambridge does not accept private candidates for examinations.
External and transferred candidates
The Examination Officer will decide whether or not to accept examination entries
from external or transferred candidates.
Examinations database
The Examination Officer is responsible for the construction and maintenance of the
Examinations Database.
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Examinations management information system
The Examinations Officer is to make maximum use of the College’s examinations
management information system.
Communication with awarding bodies
The Examinations Officer is to maximise communication with the awarding bodies
by electronic data exchange and the awarding bodies’ web-based services.
Interface with other systems
The Examinations Officer is to ensure that:
The Examinations Database provides the financial data required by the
College’s Registrar.
The Examinations Database is consistent with the administrative records held
by the College’s Registrar.
Coursework
The Examinations Officer is to publish an appeals procedure for candidates who are
not content with the internal assessment of coursework. See Appendix 1.
Examination centre
The awarding bodies recognise the College as an examination centre. The College’s
Centre No is 22102.
Disruption of public examinations – with regard to entry
The Examination Officer is to ensure that the College’s Contingency Plan contains
the arrangements to be made to enter students in their public examinations in the
event of disruption of the College’s Network and communications systems in the
days leading up to the closing date for entry.
Disruption of public examinations – with regard to conduct
The Examination Officer is to ensure that the College’s Contingency Plan contains
the arrangements to be made with regard to the proper conduct of examinations in
the event of Fire or other Immediate Threat to Security in examination rooms.
Action to be taken in the event of Fire or other Immediate Threat to Security
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The Examinations Officer is to make arrangements for GCE and GCSE examinations
to be conducted in accordance with the requirements set out in Joint Council for
Qualifications publications and the testing authorities for university admissions
tests.
The invigilator(s) of the examinations must take the following action:
Stop the candidates from writing.
Collect the attendance register and evacuate the examination room in
accordance with the College’s Contingency Plan.
Advise candidates to leave all question papers and scripts in the examination
room.
Make sure that the candidates leave the room in silence and do not discuss
the examination.
Make a note of the time of the interruption and how long it lasted.
Allow the candidates the full working time set for the examination.
If there are only a few candidates, consider the possibility of taking the
candidates to Regent Terrace to finish the examination.
The Examinations Officer will send the relevant awarding body a full report of the
incident and of the action taken.
Division of responsibility
Policy
Security of examination material and conduct of
examinations
Issue of examination notices and examination timetables
Construction and maintenance of examinations database
Applications for special arrangements and considerations
Entries and amendment of entries
Promulgation of statements of entry
Conduct of examinations
Arrangements for the submission of coursework
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Promulgation of results and distribution of certificates
Handling Post-Result Enquiries
Improvement of the examination process
Appointment of invigilators
Training and supervision of invigilators
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Other Public Examinations
Heads of the Departments are responsible for entering candidates for other public
examinations.
Heads of Department should encourage selected students to enter the competitions
provided for secondary school students under the aegis of the national and
international science Olympiads. Examples of recent entries are:
The British Biology Olympiad
The British Chemistry Olympiad
The British Informatics Olympiad
The British Mathematical Olympiad
The British Physics Olympiad
Heads of Department are responsible for entering students.
Heads of Department should provide the Examinations Officer with the details of
each examination and a list of candidates.
The Examinations Officer is to publish the timetable and co-ordinate the
administrative arrangements for the examinations.
The Examinations Officer is responsible for the safe custody of examination papers
and the despatch of scripts.
The examinations are to be conducted in accordance with the regulations by the
testing authorities.
Abbey College Cambridge
ACC International Foundation Programme Examinations
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Heads of Department are to set Foundation Examinations in accordance with the
International Foundation Programme syllabi.
The Foundation Examinations are to be conducted in accordance with the guidelines
laid down in the Foundation Handbook for 2013-2014.
The Foundation Examinations are to be conducted entirely separate from all other
examinations. The separation is absolute.
The Examinations Officer is to maintain a log of Foundation Examinations.
The Examinations Officer is to assemble and publish the results of the Foundation
Examinations.
Internal Examinations
Class tests and stage tests
Class Tests and Stage Tests are set and marked by tutors; the Stage Tests take place
at a frequency of not fewer than 2 tests in each of the half terms during the
Christmas and Easter terms.
Class Tests and Stage Tests are sat in classrooms under the supervision of personal
tutors.
Tutors are to use the marks to inform the periodic reports they make on their
students’ progress.
Mock examinations
Mock Examinations are set and marked by tutors; they take place in the weeks set
aside for the purpose.
Tutors should set Mock Examinations for each of the GCE and GCSE units their
classes have been entered for.
Mock Examinations are of equal length to the GCE and GCSE units; they are sat
under examination conditions.
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The Examinations Officer is to publish a timetable for the weeks in which Mock
Examinations are to be held. The Examinations Officer is to publish the schedule of
Mock Examinations.
The weeks set aside for Mock Examination will provide the following examinations
sessions:
09.00am
01.30pm
session No 1
session No 2
Tutors should set their classes Mock Examinations as follows:
Foundation students
One x examination paper per subject
One x practical examination for IT
Students entered in GCE examinations
One x mock examination per entry
U6 and OY students brigaded in L6 classes to sit mock examinations
Students not entered in GCE examinations
Further Mathematics – 3 x end-of-term tests
All other subjects – 2 x end-of-term tests per subject
IELTS tests
IELTS students sit one x reading test and one x writing test
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Appendix A
Abbey College Cambridge
Appeal Against Internal Assessment of Work
Appeals against internal assessment of work for external qualifications
Abbey College Cambridge is committed to ensuring that the work of students for an
external qualification is marked fairly, consistently and in accordance with the
specification for the qualification concerned.
All assessments will be conducted by staff who have appropriate knowledge,
understanding and skills, and who have been trained in this activity. Where a piece
of work is divided between staff, consistency should be assured by internal
moderation and standardisation.
Students’ work should be produced and authenticated according to the
requirements of the examination boards.
If a student considers that this may not have happened in relation to his or her work,
he or she may make use of this appeals procedure. Note that appeals may only be
made against the process that led to the assessment and not against the mark or
grade.
The existence of this procedure is made known by an Examinations Notice
published by the Examinations Officer. The relevant form is available from the
Business Director, and is posted on the notice board outside the Study and in
Norman House Library.
Procedure for appeals
1
2
3
4
Appeals Procedure
Appeals should be made as soon as possible, and must be made at least two
weeks before the end of the last externally assessed paper in the examinations
series.
Appeals should be made using the form available from reception, and should be
submitted to the Business Director, who will begin an investigation. If the
Business Director was directly involved in the assessment in question, he will ask
another senior member of staff to conduct the investigation.
The senior member of staff conducting the investigation will decide whether the
process used for the internal assessment conformed with the requirements of the
awarding body and the examinations code of practice of the QCA. This will be
done before the end of the series.
You will be informed in writing of the outcome of the appeal, including any
correspondence with the board, any changes to the assessment of your work, and
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any changes to improve matters in future.
5 The outcome of the appeal will be made known to the Principal. A written record
of the appeal will be kept and made available to the awarding body at their
request. Should the appeal bring any significant irregularity to light, the
awarding body will be informed.
Moderation of work by awarding bodies
After work has been assessed internally, it is moderated by the awarding body to
ensure consistency between examination centres. Such moderation frequently
changes the marks awarded for internally assessed work.
Such moderation is the business of the awarding bodies, not Abbey College
Cambridge. It is not covered by the procedure set out in the Appendix.
Students who have concerns about the moderation conducted by the awarding
bodies should request a copy of the appeals procedure of the relevant examinations
board from the Business Director.
Submission of appeals
Submission of Appeals
1 You should ensure that all the boxes on the attached form have been accurately
filled in, including all your names and your candidate number. It is very
important that you should explain the reason for your appeal as concisely as
possible in the space provided. You may continue on another sheet if required.
2 The completed form should be given to the Business Director no later than two
weeks before the end of the Examination Series. He will appoint a panel, usually
comprising of a senior member of staff and one other tutor, who will hear the
appeal. To ensure independence, the panel will not include anyone who has
prior involvement with the assessment.
3 A copy of your appeal form will be sent to the tutor concerned, who will reply to
the panel in writing. A copy of this reply will be sent to you, along with the
panel’s comments.
4 If you are not satisfied with this written response, you have the right to a
personal hearing before the panel, following which a final ruling will be made.
You may bring a friend or relative to such a hearing.
5 Any change to the mark for an internally assessed component will be notified to
the examinations board.
6 Abbey College Cambridge will keep written records of all appeals and their
outcomes.
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