Essential Information for Exams Summer 2024

EXAM OFFICE AND GENERAL CONTACTS

EXAM STUDY LEAVE

• Year 11 study leave begins on Friday 3 May 2024

• Year 13 study leave begins Friday 10 May 2024

Once study leave begins you only need to attend school when you have an examination, although there will be facilities available each day should you prefer to study in school. During this time, you must sign in and out at Reception when you are not in an exam so that we know who is in school in case of an emergency.

ASSEMBLY POINTS

• Students should assemble outside the exam room stated on their personalised timetable

• Students will begin entering the exam room at:

08:45 for the morning sessions

13:15 for the afternoon sessions

The Head of Year, Tutors, or a member of the Senior Leadership Team will be present and can direct you if you are unclear

STARTING TIMES FOR PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS

09:00 for morning examinations

13:30 for afternoon examinations

EXAMINATION TIMETABLE

There is a copy of the full examination timetable on Firefly and a personalised timetable has been emailed to you.

PUBLIC EXAMINATION CLASHES

A clash occurs when two different subjects are scheduled to be examined at the same time. Where both examinations total more than 3 hours, one of the subjects will be moved to another examination session on the same day. If they total less than 3 hours you will be given a short break after the first exam and then begin the second exam.

Timings for clash exams will be confirmed on your personalised timetable. When a student has finished their first examination, they will be supervised until the second examination begins. This will include supervised access to toilets. If your second exam is due to take place in the afternoon exam session you will need to bring a packed lunch and / or snacks.

INSIDE THE EXAMINATION ROOM

Please note the following points:

EQUIPMENT

• Have spare pens available (BLACK INK ONLY).

• Pencils should be HB and only used for drawing. Have spares and a pencil sharpener.

• Make sure that you have an eraser. Some subjects may require rulers, compasses, protractors, etc. The provision of these is the student’s responsibility.

• Pencil cases must be transparent (see-through). Transparent polythene bags are suitable.

• Calculators are permitted for certain examinations. Students are responsible for the calculator’s power supply; the calculator’s working condition and clearing anything stored in the calculator. Calculator cases are not permitted in the examination room.

MOBILE PHONES/ELECTRONIC DEVICES/WATCHES:

These must not be taken into the examination room as this is a breach of public examination regulations. YOU MUST LOCK YOUR PHONE/WATCH IN YOUR LOCKER.

Any items which do not adhere to the JCQ regulations will be removed before a student is allowed to enter the examination venue.

BAGS

The main venue for the examinations will be the Sports Hall. It will not be possible for bags to be placed inside the hall – they will have to be left outside, in form rooms or the Sixth Form Centre. They will NOT be supervised.

In general, there is no need to bring to school anything other than examination materials. No student will have access to their bags during the examination.

FOOD AND DRINK

Food must NOT be brought into the examination room unless prior permission has been granted via formal procedures relating to medical conditions and approved by JCQ.

You are allowed to bring a bottle of water into the examination room; this must be clear and free from any writing or branding, and any labels MUST be removed

A water bottle like this which can be purchased from Ikea would be acceptable.

DRESS CODE

All students must wear appropriate clothing, please see Sixth Form Dress Code. No coats, hats, hoodies with the hood up. Please dress according to the weather and remember that it is always cooler in the Sports Hall than it is outside.

JCQ DOCUMENTS

The JCQ document Information for Candidates - Written Exams also gives important information about the rules you need to follow. The Warning to Candidates Poster will be displayed outside every exam room, alongside the Unauthorised Items Poster. Further JCQ documents can be found on Firefly and should be read before examinations begin.

MALPRACTICE

You will be disqualified if you:

• Attempt to communicate with another student by any method, including speaking, passing of notes etc.

• Attempt to look at another student’s work.

• Bring into the examination room a mobile phone, watch, books, notes and any other electronic device.

UNFORESEEN EVENTS

Listed below are some of the unforeseen events that could happen:

Late arrival

Should you be absent at the start of an exam, attempts will be made to contact you via all numbers provided on your personal records. We shall only use the telephone numbers in our records – please make sure we have your most up-to-date contact details.

We will NOT delay the start of the examination – we have to be fair to the other students.

A student who arrives within one hour of the starting time of the examination may be allowed to enter the examination room and sit the exam. The examination board will be informed of the late arrival and the circumstances involved. You will be allowed the full time of the examination.

Should you arrive more than 1 hour after the start of the examination then you may not be admitted. IF YOU DO COMPLETE THE EXAM, THE EXAMINATION BOARD RESERVES THE RIGHT NOT TO ACCEPT THE SCRIPT.

Illness

If you become unwell during an examination, raise your hand; an invigilator will make the necessary arrangements.

The recommendation from all of the exam boards is that, even if you are feeling ill, you should come to school and sit your examination to the best of your ability. An application for special consideration may be applied for and we can make reasonable adjustments for your circumstances on the day.

Absence

If, in the unlikely circumstance you miss an examination entirely without a reasonable explanation you CANNOT take the missed examination and it will be ungraded.

If you are too ill to come to school (i.e., if you require emergency medical care) you must of course put your health first. Should you be too unwell to sit an examination and you are at home, then you or your parent/carer must telephone the school and leave a message with the School Receptionist for the attention of Mrs Loates. This procedure applies to each individual examination.

If you miss an exam due to illness you must provide a Medical Certificate from your doctor stating explicitly that you were too ill to attend school. The Medical Certificate must be forwarded to Mrs Loates in order for her to make a request for Special Consideration. The Medical Certificate will be used as evidence. This application must be received by the examining board no more than five days after the affected examination. JCQ reserve the right to grant or refuse the application.

All communication about examinations will always be done through your school email account, never your home email address. Please make sure you are able to log in to your account. If you have forgotten your password, please email IThelpdesk@swps.org.uk who will reset it for you. You will also need this for any post results services like reviews of marking or access to scripts, even if you have left the school Please make sure your inbox is not full as you may miss important information.

EXAM RESULTS

Examination results will be emailed to students using school email accounts after 8:00am on:

A level - Thursday 15 August 2024

GCSE - Thursday 22 August 2024

ENQUIRIES ABOUT RESULTS

Further information about the services available and the procedures you will need to follow will be sent prior to your exam results being released.

If there are any problems during the examination period, please do not hesitate to speak to Mrs Loates in the exam’s office.