Examination FAQ's
What exam boards are each of my subjects?
Year 11 | Exam Board |
Art | AQA |
BTEC PE | Edexcel |
Business | WJEC |
Catering | WJEC |
Child Development | NCFE |
Dance | Edexcel |
Drama | AQA |
English | AQA |
French | AQA |
Geography | AQA |
History | Edexcel |
IT | Edexcel |
Maths | Edexcel |
Media Studies | WJEC |
Music | Edexcel |
Product Design | AQA |
Religious Studies | AQA |
Science | AQA |
Spanish | AQA |
Triple Science | AQA |
Year 12 | Exam Board |
Art | AQA |
Biology | AQA |
BTEC Science | Edexcel |
Business | OCR and WJEC |
Chemistry | AQA |
Core Maths | Edexcel |
Criminology | WJEC |
DT | Edexcel |
English Retake | AQA |
Geography | AQA |
Health and Fitness | NCFE |
History | Edexcel |
HSC | OCR |
IT | OCR |
Maths | Edexcel |
Maths Retake | Edexcel |
Media Studies | WJEC |
PE | OCR |
Performing Arts | Edexcel |
Physics | AQA |
Psychology | AQA |
Sociology | AQA |
Spanish | AQA |
Travel and Tourism | Edexcel |
Year 13 | Exam Board |
Biology | AQA |
BTEC Science | Edexcel |
Business | OCR and WJEC |
Chemistry | AQA |
English Literature | Edexcel |
EPQ | AQA |
Further Maths | Edexcel |
Geography | AQA |
History | Edexcel |
HSC | OCR |
IT | OCR |
Maths | Edexcel |
Maths Retake | Edexcel |
Media Studies | WJEC |
PE | OCR |
Physics | AQA |
Psychology | AQA |
Sociology | AQA |
I am entitled to extra time – how will this affect the way I take my exams?
Some students receive an allowance of 25% extra time. Where possible such candidates will be seated together to minimise disturbance from other candidates who finish earlier or will sit their exams in a separate room. The invigilators will include the additional time when they display the finishing time of your exam on the board
Why can’t I bring my mobile phone into the exam room?
Being in possession of a mobile phone (or any other electronic communication device e.g. ipod, headphones etc.) is regarded as cheating and is subject to severe penalty from awarding bodies. You may be disqualified from the specific paper or from all further exams
Can I bring food and drink to the examinations?
Only water in a clear bottle with the label removed.
How do I know how long the exam is?
The length of the exam is on your timetable. Invigilators will tell you when to start and finish the exam. They will write the finish time of the exam on the board at the front of the exam room. There will be a clock in all examination rooms.
What do I do if there's a clash on my timetable?
The school will reschedule papers where there is a clash of subjects on the same day. Candidates will normally sit one paper, then have a break during which they will be supervised and must not have any communication with other candidates. They will then sit the second subject paper.
If I am late can I still sit the examination?
Provided you are not more than 1 hour late it may still be possible for you to sit the examination. You should get to school as quickly as possible and report to Reception. It may not be possible to allow you any extra time if you start the examination late.
If I miss the examination can I take it on another day?
No. Timetables are run by the exam boards and cannot be changed.
What do I do if I am ill or have an accident before the exam?
Inform the school at the earliest possible point so we can help or advise you. In the case of an accident that means you are unable to write it may be possible to provide you with a scribe to write your answers but we will need as much prior notice as possible.
You may need to provide medical evidence (from your GP or hospital) if you wish the school to make an appeal for Special Consideration on your behalf.
What do I do if I feel ill during the exam?
Put up your hand and an invigilator will assist you.
What is an Appeal for Special Consideration?
Special consideration is an adjustment to the marks or grades of a candidate who is eligible for consideration. The allowance for Special Consideration is from 0% (consideration given but addition of marks considered inappropriate) to 5% (reserved for exceptional cases). Parents should be aware that any adjustment is likely to be small and no feedback is ever provided. Candidates will only be eligible for Special Consideration if they have been fully prepared and covered the whole course but performance in the examination or in the production of coursework is affected by adverse circumstances beyond their control. Examples of such circumstances may be illness, accident or injury, bereavement, domestic crisis. The Examination Officer must be informed immediately, so that the necessary paperwork can be completed (within 7 days of the last exam session for each subject) and the candidate will be required to provide evidence to support such an application.
What do I do if I finish the exam early?
Students should use all of the available time in their exams and spend any time at the end checking their answers. Students are not permitted to leave before the end of the exam, they must sit quietly at their desks so as not to disturb other candidates.
Can I leave the exam early?
It is a requirement of the exam boards that you must stay in the examination room for at least one hour after the published start time of the exam (or for the duration of the exam if it is less than one hour). It is the school’s policy NOT to allow candidates to leave the exam room early as this is disruptive to other candidates.
What do I do if the fire alarm goes off?
The examination invigilators will tell you what to do. If you have to evacuate the room, leave everything on your desk and leave the room in silence. You must not attempt to communicate with any other candidates during the evacuation.