Calculators

Candidates may use a calculator in an examination unless this is prohibited by the exam body’s specification.

The instructions on the question paper will say whether calculators are allowed or not. If the instructions do not include such a statement, calculators should be treated as standard equipment and may be used by candidates.

Where the use of a calculator is allowed, candidates are responsible for making sure that their calculators meet the awarding bodies’ regulations.

Calculators must be:

• of a size suitable for use on the desk;

• either battery or solar powered;

• free of lids, cases and covers which have printed instructions or formulae.

Calculators must not:

• be designed or adapted to offer any of these facilities:

• language translators;

• symbolic algebra manipulation;

• symbolic differentiation or integration;

• communication with other machines or the internet;

• be borrowed from another candidate during an examination for any reason;

• have retrievable information stored in them. This includes:

• databanks;

• dictionaries;

• mathematical formulae;

• text.

The candidate is responsible for the following:

• the calculator’s power supply;

• the calculator’s working condition;

• clearing anything stored in the calculator.

Below are instructions on how to put your calculator into exam mode if you have a Casio fx-CG50.    You should see a magenta colour on the edge of the screen.

For those with the Classwiz calculator, to reset, they press shift then 9, option 3 then =, then ac.

If you have any other calculator, please speak to your Maths teacher for advice on how to set it to exams mode.