Exam Handbook

for Students

2017 - 2018

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Examination Instructions for Students

Statements of Entry

When you receive your individual candidate statement of entry and timetable, please check it carefully, mistakes that are not spotted at this stage could mean that your certificate is incorrectly printed later. Once your certificate is printed you will have to pay approximately £43 to the exam board for it to be amended. You must also check that you have been entered for the correct subjects/units. Amendments will attract late fees for which you are responsible if you do not inform Mrs McLoughlin immediately of any amendments.

Your exams are your responsibility

Therefore carefully check the following:-

  • Personal Details (spelling of name, date of birth etc)This name must be used on all your exam papers together with the CORRECT candidate number
  • Subject Entries. Inform Mrs McLoughlin immediately if there are exams on your statement of entry that should not be there e.g. subjects you have dropped or if any exams are missing.

Also please let Mrs McLoughlin know immediately:

  • If you have a timetable clash between papers of different subjects
  • If you wish to withdraw from any unit
  • If any amendments to your personal details need to be made
  • If you have changed your telephone number

Make sure that you know exactly when your exams are, especially whether they are morning or afternoon. Misreading the timetable will not be accepted as a satisfactory explanation for absence. All dates and times can be found on your statement of entry.

Timings

Please ensure you allow enough time to get to school so if you are delayed for any reason (e.g. traffic) you will still arrive in good time.

All exams at Christ’s College Finchley start at 9:00am for morning papers and 1:30pm for afternoon papers.

You must be present at your exam venue at the following times.

Morning exams:8:45 am

Afternoon exams:1:15 pm

You will NOT be entitled to any extra time, should you arrive late for any of your exams. If you arrive more than 30 minutes after the start of any exam, you may be unable to sit the exam. The Exam Boards will have to be notified.

If you are ill and cannot take the exam, you MUST telephone the school immediately and leave a message for the Exams Secretary. You must provide a medical certificate/letter from the doctor within 4 days of the exam you have missed.

Clashes

If you have a clash between papers of different subjects, arrangements will be made for you to take these exams one after the other, or if the total time is more than three hours, the exams will be split between the morning and afternoon sessions. If this happens, you will have to be supervised over lunchtime; you will not be allowed to communicate with anyone else and will not be allowed to use your mobile phone (or any other electronic communication device) and you will need to bring a packed lunch.

Dress Code

All candidates up to and including Year 11 must be wearing uniform and Y12 and Y13 must adhere to their dress code.

Equipment

Please make sure you bring in pens (black ink only), pencils, eraser, ruler and a sharpener in a clear pencil case or plastic bag. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE TIPPEX OR HIGHLIGHTER PENS ONANY ANSWER SHEETS/BOOKLETS

You need to make sure that you bring in ALLrelevant items for each exam e.g. acalculator for a Maths exam.

Calculators

Calculators may be used in most exams: your subject teachers will tell you if they are not allowed for a particular paper. You must bring your own calculator if you need one. You are not allowed to use a mobile phone as a calculator. Your calculator should be no larger than the regular handheld size and no printed instructions or cases are allowed. The exam boards do not make any allowance for calculator failure or operational mistakes – You are responsible for making sure your calculator works properly. If you are going to buy a new calculator, please check with your Maths teacher to see what he/she recommends. Make sure it works properly and that the batteries are working and that you have:

  • Cleared anything stored on it
  • Removed any parts such as lids, cases or covers

Dictionaries

Dictionaries may not be used in exams unless they are specifically permitted by the subject specification (your teacher will tell you if they are allowed). Electronic translators are never allowed. If English is not your first language you may be allowed to use a bilingual translation dictionary in certain exams however, this MUST be arranged before the exams begin.

If you think you will be eligible to use a bilingual dictionary, please see Mrs Pahlan, EMA Coordinator.

Bags, Books, Notes and Valuables

You are not allowed to keep any bags, books or notes with you in the exam room.

Bags are left in the back of the exam room. Please do not bring valuables with you when you come into school for an exam. Under no circumstances should you leave any money or valuables unattended in any bag.

Mobile Phones, iPods,iWatches, MP3/4 players and other electronic devices – No Potential Technological/Web enabled sources of information

Please do not bring mobile phones, music players, organisers or any other electronic communication or storage device with you when you have an examas they may disturb others and/or lead to your disqualification from the exam.

Christ’s College Finchley cannot take responsibility if they are lost or damaged. If you have to bring a mobile phone, you will be asked to switch it offand put it in your bag

Wrist Watches

If you are wearing a wrist watch you will have to put it in front of you on the desk.

If a mobile phone or other electronic communication device is found on your person during an exam or quarantine, EVEN IF IT IS TURNED OFF, the device will be taken from you and a report made to the appropriate Exam Board.
You may be disqualified from that component or from the entire subject.
You may also bedisqualified from that component or from the entire subject if your phone or other electronic device goes off in your bag

Food and Drink

You are only allowed to bring water in a clear bottle into the exam room. All labels have to be removed. You are NOT allowed to bring in the following items: -

Fizzy drinks

Cans or cartons of drinks

Any food

Chewing gum

Conduct in the Exam Room

After checking the seating plan pinned up outside the exam venue, please wait quietly until the invigilator or Senior Teacher allows you to enter. Once inside the room, you must remainSILENT even before the exam has started. Once seated, do not turn round towards other candidates.If there is any communication between any students it will be assumed that you are cheating and a report will be made to the appropriate Examination Board.

You are not allowed to leave the exam venue unescorted during the course of an exam. This includes the interval where you are sitting more than one exam during a morning or afternoon.

End of the Exam

You will not be allowed to leave the exam room early,even if you have finished your exam, so do not ask!

The invigilators will collect your exam papers before you leave the exam room. Absolute silence must be maintained during this time. Question papers, answer booklets and additional paper must not be taken from the exam room.

When you leave, you must not talk until you are outside the exam room; please be aware that there may be other exams around the building that have not finished, so

KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN

Special Consideration

Special consideration can only be applied for if something has seriously affected your performance on the day of the exam. Examples of acceptable reasons for an application are bereavement (if a close relative or friend has passed away near the time of the exam), illness or injury (you will need to provide a doctor’s note). If, after an exam, you feel you have a good reason for applying for Special Consideration you should see or telephone Mrs McLoughlin as soon as possible within four days of the exam.

Exam Regulations

It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to read and understand the exam boards’ Information for Candidates(Using Social Media, Written Examinations, Privacy Notice)which is at the back of this leaflet. A Warning to Candidates poster will be displayed outside every exam room.

Cheating

If you are caught cheating in any way in an exam, you will be reported to the exam boards. “Cheating”means doing anything that is against the rules stated in the Notice to Candidates (included at the back of this leaflet) and includes:

  • Having a mobile phone on your person
  • Using unauthorised aids
  • Communicating with other candidates (by talking or otherwise)
  • Copying from other candidates

Penalties for cheating include disqualification.

Important Dates

Summer 2018

Summer AS/A2 Level Results Day:Thursday 16 August 2018

Summer GCSE Results Day:Thursday23August 2018

Deadline of Photocopied Scripts:AS/A2Friday 24 August 2018

GCSEFriday 31 August 2018

Deadline for Review of marking:Thursday20 September 2018

Deadline for return of Original Scripts:Thursday 4 October2018

Certificates IssuedNovember 2018

Certificates to be collected from School December 2018

(The school is obliged to keep your certificate

for ONE year only)

If you have any queries regarding your exams you must see the Exams Secretary,

Mrs McLoughlin in Room 221 or speak to the Exam Officer, Mr Nalewajko.

Enquiries about Results (Fees and application forms available on Results Day)

The following information explains what may happen following an appeal or enquiry about the result of an examination.

If your school makes an enquiry about the result of one of your examinations after your subject grades has been issued, there are three possible outcomes:

  • Your original mark is confirmed as correct, and there is no change to your grade.
  • Your original mark is raised so that your final grade may be higher than the original grade you received.
  • Your original mark is lowered so that your final grade may be lower than the original grade you received.

Services Explained

Clerical Re-check

Re-checks of all clerical procedures leading to the issue of a result. This service will include the following checks:

  • That all parts of the script have been marked
  • The totalling of marks
  • The recording of marks
  • If requested, a photocopy of the re-checked script(s) for those units/components included in access to scripts.

The outcome of the re-check will be reported along with a statement of total marks awarded for each unit, or component, included in the enquiry.

Review of marking

The review of marking of externally assessed units/components. This service will include:

  • The clerical re-checks detailed above.
  • The review of the original marking to ensure that the agreed mark scheme has been applied correctly.
  • If requested, a photocopy of the reviewed script(s) for those units/components included in access to scripts.

You cannot ask for a remark of internally assessed marks.

Access to Scripts (Fees and application forms available on Results Day)

Priority Copies of Scripts to support enquiries about results

Scripts are being made available electronically via email for OCR and Edexcel. If a student wishes to have a print out of a script he will need to request this by email Mrs McLoughlin ().

AQA scripts will need to be collected from the school in person.

Scripts to support teaching and learning

Scripts will be made available electronically via email for OCR and Edexcel. If a student wishes to have a print out of a script he will need to make a request to Mrs McLoughlin.

AQA scripts will need to be collected in person from Mrs McLoughlin.

Appeals

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of results following the outcome of Enquiry About Result process, please refer initially to the exam board’s Code of Practice and the JCQ publication Post Results Service. Once consulting these documents if you are convinced that he awarding body has not followed procedures it is possible to submit an appeal in line with the procedures set out. The appeal must clearly set out the grounds for the appeal. The appeal must specify which procedures have not been properly or fairly applied.

Appeals can only be submitted via the Examination Officer; appeals will not be accepted by the Exam boards from you or your parent/carer.

For more information on Appeals, please visit

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