EXAMINATIONS ENTRY POLICY
The Policy Purpose
The purpose of this exam policy is:
 To ensure the planning and management of exams is conducted efficiently and in the best
interest of candidates
 To ensure the operation of an efficient exam system with clear guidelines for all relevant staff
It is the responsibility of everyone involved in the centre's exam processes to read, understand and
implement this policy.
The exam policy will be reviewed annually by the member of the Senior Leadership Team with
responsibility for exams and Exams Officer.
Exam Responsibilities
Exams office manager/exams officer
Manages the administration of public and internal exams:
 Advises the senior leadership team, subject and class teachers and other relevant support
staff on annual exam timetables and application procedures as set by the various awarding
bodies
 Oversees the production and distribution to staff, governors and candidates of an annual
calendar for all exams in which candidates will be involved and communicates regularly with
staff concerning imminent deadlines and events
 Ensures that candidates and their parents/carers are informed of and understand those
aspects of the exam timetable that will affect them
 Consults with teaching staff to ensure that necessary coursework is completed on time and in
accordance with JCQ guidelines
 Provides and confirms detailed data on estimated entries
 Receives, checks and stores securely all exam papers and completed scripts
 Administers access arrangements and makes applications for special consideration using the
JCQ publications Access arrangements, reasonable adjustments and special consideration
 Identifies and manages exam timetable clashes
 Accounts for income and expenditures relating to all exam costs/charges
 Line manages the senior exam invigilator in organising the recruitment, training and
monitoring of a team of exams invigilators responsible for the conduct of exams
 Submits candidates' coursework marks, tracks despatch and stores returned coursework and
any other material required by the appropriate awarding bodies correctly and on schedule
 Arranges for dissemination of exam results and certificates to candidates and forwards, in
consultation with the SLT, any appeals/re-mark requests
 Maintains systems and processes to support the timely entry of candidates for their exams
Lead Teachers / Subject Leads are responsible for:
 Checking exam entries
 Liaising with the exams office regarding late entries & withdrawals
 Arranging a staff presence at the start of exams in their subject
Teachers are responsible for:
 Liaising with Specialist teachers where they feel exam access arrangements may be
necessary for certain students taking their subject.
 Submission of candidates' names to Lead Teachers
Inclusion team is responsible for:
 The identification and assessment of students who require exam access arrangements
 Completion of necessary paperwork to show evidence of individual student need
 Liaison with Exams Officer to ensure applications are submitted and approved
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Liaison with lead Teachers and Subject Leads where exams/controlled coursework is
conducted within lessons.
Noting approved exam access arrangements on SEN database or equivalent.
Senior invigilators/invigilators are responsible for:
 Collection of exam papers and other material from the exams office before the start of the
exam.
 Collection of all exam papers in the correct order at the end of the exam and their return to
the exams office.
Candidates are responsible for:
 Confirmation and signing of entries. Candidates are asked to check their exam entries with
their teachers and peers.
 Understanding coursework and controlled assessment regulations and signing a declaration
that authenticates the coursework/controlled assessment as their own.
Qualifications
Qualifications Offered
The qualifications offered at this centre are decided by the Lead Teachers in conjunction with ALT.
The qualifications offered are GCSE, iGCSE, BTEC, Level 2 Certificates and NCFE VCerts.
The subjects offered for these qualifications in any academic year may be found in the centre's
published options prospectus for that year. If there has been a change of syllabus from the previous
year, the exams office must be informed by 30th September of the new school year.
Informing the exams office of changes to a syllabus is the responsibility of the Lead Teacher and
Subject Leads for each subject.
Decisions on whether a candidate should be entered for a particular subject will be taken in
consultation with the Candidates, Parents/Carers, SENCo, Subject teachers and Lead Teacher for
that subject area and final decision will be made by the Assistant principal – Achievement.
Exam Series and Timetables
Exam Seasons
Internal exams and assessments for KS4 are scheduled in December, March/April and June.
External exams and assessments are scheduled in November, January and June.
All internal end of year exams will be held in exam conditions.
The Lead Teacher for each subject and the AP Achievement decide which exam series’ are used in
the centre. Some qualifications can be externally assessed at any time and the windows for these
assessments are decided by the AP Aspirations in conjunction with the Lead Teacher fir that area.
Controlled Assessments
All internal controlled assessments are to be organised and managed by each Lead Teacher or
Subject Lead. Control conditions are to be maintained throughout to maintain the integrity of the
assessment.
Timetable
Once confirmed, the exams officer will circulate the exam timetable for internal exams and external
exams.
Entries, Entry Details and Late Entries
Candidates are selected for their exam entries by the Lead Teacher for that curriculum area.
Candidates or parents/carers can request a subject entry, change of level or withdrawal, but the final
say comes from the Assistant Principal for Achievement. The centre does not act as an exam centre
for other organisations. Entry deadlines are circulated to Lead Teachers via Email.
Late entries are authorised by the AP for Achievement and paid for out of the examinations budget.
GCSE unit retakes are allowed up to the maximum number possible. Retake decisions will be made
in consultation with Candidates, Subject teachers and Lead Teachers.
Exam Fees
Candidates or departments will not be charged for changes of tier, withdrawals made by the proper
procedures or alterations arising from administrative processes provided these are made within the
time allowed by the awarding bodies. All entry exam fees are paid by the Centre. However
Departments may be required to contribute from their capitation the entire cost of a withdrawal, if this
occurs after the final changes deadline has expired.
Access Arrangements
A candidate's access arrangements requirement is determined by the school’s designated Specialist
within the Inclusion team (where this is due to low levels of literacy, a learning difficulty or other
special educational need.). The designated Specialist will complete the necessary assessments and
paperwork to be used as evidence for the application.
Making access arrangement applications for candidates to take exams is the responsibility of both the
designated Specialist, Exams officer and AP Achievement.
The designated Specialist and Exams officer will ensure that staff are advised which students have
approved exam access arrangements.
Rooming for access arrangement candidates will be arranged by the exams officer in consultation
with the designated Specialist and AP Achievement.
Invigilation and support for access arrangement candidates will be organised by the exams officer.
Where exams/controlled assessments take place within timetabled lessons, Lead Teachers are
responsible for ensuring that exam access arrangements are put in place in liaison with the exams
officer and Inclusion team.
Off-Site Provision
It is the responsibility of the Lead Teacher or Subject Lead to liaise with the ORB team and all students
to ensure every candidate is aware of examination dates and times.
Where poor effort and/or attendance is a major issue, the Academy reserves the right to request that
parents pay the fee for examination entry, refundable if the student exceeds the predicted grade.
Early Entry Policy for Public Examinations
Introduction
Early entry is one element of OABs approach to ensuring all students succeed in public
examinations. Early entry can play a significant role in improving the attainment of students
and is firmly focused on enhancing achievement for all. Students are always given additional
opportunities to improve grades before the final examination period in Year 11. The
motivational benefits of students experiencing success throughout their GCSE course are
significant. In addition, reducing the total amount of examinations students need to sit at the
end of Year 11 enables students to focus on other subjects.
Guiding Principals
We enter students early because we firmly believe that the result offer students, parents and
teachers a firm and nationally benchmarked summative assessment from which the students
can positively build upon over the next year. It is a positive and methodical approach to
helping students get the best grades possible, similar in effect to a very well run and
executed mock. The minimum expectation is that students will make at least three levels of
progress between KS2 and KS4 and early entry practices should make a demonstrable
contribution to this being achieved or exceeded.
Students will always be allowed, and may actively be encouraged, to re-sit an examination at
a later date even if good progress has already been made. Early entry will not be used in a
way that encourages the ‘banking’ of notional pass grades (for example, a C in GCSE
Mathematics) but be used as a stepping stone to promote higher achievement.
Early entry should maximise students’ opportunities to succeed in any given subject. It
should, therefore, enhance students’ sense of enjoyment and may play a role in their choice
to continue to study that subject after GCSE.
Early entry in practice
The following processes should be completed prior to entry.
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Students should be informed by the class teacher of that subject.
Opportunities should be made available for parents/carers and students to meet a senior
member of staff and the relevant head of department to discuss the entry policy.
Departments should provide a clear rationale of the selection process for early entry.
The following processes should be completed following the receipt of results.
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Results analysis will be undertaken to ensure that the outcomes of early entry are
contributing strongly to raising achievement for all students.
Choices of post-16 courses will be reviewed in light of any early entry practices at KS4 to
ensure that early entry does not negatively affect students’ ability to undertake further
study in that subject.
Final decisions regarding early entry will be taken by the head teacher. A decision will be
taken on each student’s individual circumstances, taking into account the professional
judgement of staff and the availability of resources.