Preparing for Exams

EXAMINATION BOARDS

The School uses the following Examination Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, and WJEC.

CANDIDATE NAME AND NUMBER

Please ensure that if the name you are known by in school is different from your legal name (as on your birth certificate), your legal name is written on your exam papers. Your entry is made using your legal name, and if it differs then your results may be delayed.

Each candidate has a four-digit candidate number. This is the number you will enter on examination papers. It will appear next to your name on seating cards. Please learn it.

CONTACT NUMBERS

Please check that school has at least one up-to-date contact number for you in case we need to contact you regarding examinations.

STATEMENTS OF ENTRY

All Candidates will receive an Individual Statement of Entry from school indicating the subjects they are being entered for and the levels of entry, where applicable (i.e. Languages, Maths and Science). Some subjects only have one tier of entry, some have Foundation or Higher tiers. Please check it carefully and report any concerns to your subject teacher(s) in the first instance, or to the Examinations Officer.

If there is an exam on the list that you are not expecting to take (e.g. you know you have already dropped or been withdrawn from a subject) you MUST tell your subject teacher and/or the Examinations Officer immediately.

CONTINGENCY DAY

For the Summer 2025 exam series a “contingency” exam day has been arranged by the examination awarding bodies which all students need to be aware of. This contingency day for GCSE (or equivalent) examinations has been put in place “in the event of widespread, sustained national or local disruption to examinations during the June 2025 examination series.” The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) have decided that they need the option to postpone an exam (or exams) in the event of an incident and rearrange them for a later date to allow all students a fair and equal chance. The dates that have been set aside as the contingency days are Wednesday 11 June 2025 (PM) and Wednesday 25 June 2025. This means that all exam candidates must be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until Wednesday 25 June 2025. This decision is not a school decision and applies to all candidates in all schools.

SEATING

The Head of Year/SLT member will have a copy of the Sports Hall seating plan for candidates to view on entry to the Sports Hall.

Your exam room and seat number can be found on your exam timetable on your student portal. You will be notified by email when this information has been populated. This will be available at least one week prior to the exam.

TIMETABLES

You will also receive an exams timetable showing specific examinations with details of date, time, and duration of the examinations. Check it carefully. If you think something is wrong, see Mrs Andrews in the General Office. You will be contacted at least one week before the start of the exam series with details of where and when to meet in preparation for your exam.

Note – your timetable is also available on Your Student Portal.

Some candidates may have a clash where two subjects are timetabled at the same time. The school will make special arrangements for these candidates only and inform them in writing of how the clash will be resolved.

TIMETABLE CLASHES

The school will re-schedule papers internally (on the same day) where there is a clash of subjects. 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 you have been identified as having a clash of exams an additional letter will be included with your timetable, detailing the changes to be made. It may be necessary for you to bring a packed lunch if you have exams in the morning and afternoon as you will have to remain under supervision until both examinations are completed.

TIMINGS OF THE DAY

BE ON TIME for the start of your exam. Arrive at least 15 minutes before the start. We will not wait for you.

If you miss the bus or your bus is late, DO NOT PANIC. If possible contact the school to let us know. Report to reception as soon as you arrive.

If your exam finishes later than 3.10 pm, how are you going to get home?

LUNCH

If you have exams for the whole school day, make sure you bring lunch with you or have enough funds on your catering account.

EQUIPMENT

Do you have the right equipment? Have you got all the equipment that you need?

Make sure you have more than one BLACK pen. You can guarantee that if you only have one it will run out!

All the equipment that you bring into the exam room must be in a clear pencil case or plastic bag.

You will need:

Clear pencil case
At least 2 black biros
Pencil
Ruler
Rubber
Highlighters
Calculator (if relevant)
Compass (if relevant)
Protractor (if relevant)

UNAUTHORISED EQUIPMENT/ACTIONS

Bringing your mobile phone or a watch to school? These MUST be handed to the Invigilator or kept switched off in your bag.
Only material that is listed on the exam paper is permitted in the examination room and students who are found to have any material with them that is not allowed will be reported to the appropriate Exam Board. In such circumstances, a student would normally be disqualified from the paper or the subject concerned.
It is very important that students check their pockets to make sure there is no unauthorised equipment on their person eg paper/notes/phones/smart watches etc.
Bags, coats, hats and scarves and any other items not permitted under examination regulations must be stored in the designated area of each exam room.
No food is allowed in the exam room.
No writing/drawing can be made on your body before or during the exam. IF YOU ARE SEEN TO HAVE WRITING/DRAWING ON YOUR BODY YOU WILL NEED TO WASH IT OFF UNDER INVIGILATOR SUPERVISION. THIS WILL BE WITHIN YOUR EXAM TIME. If the writing/drawing is considered to be in relation to your exam you will be reported to the Exam Board for potential malpractice.

CANDIDATE INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE OF A WORD PROCESSOR IN EXAMINATIONS

The use of a laptop/word processor MUST reflect the candidate’s normal way of working within the centre and be appropriate to the candidate’s needs.
A laptop/word processor will be provided with the spelling and grammar check facility and predictive text facility switched off.
Wordpad is the software installed on laptop/word processor used for examination purposes.
Laptops/word processors will be in good working order at the time of the examination.
Candidates may use their answer booklet in addition to the laptop/word processor if they wish to do so.
Only authorised memory sticks provided by the centre may be used.
Candidates must save their work at regular intervals.
Printing must be carried out after the examination is over and the candidate must be present to verify that the work printed is his/her own.
Candidates are to remain seated at the end of the examination and wait to be accompanied by an Invigilator to print their scripts, taking their personal belongings and exam papers with them.
Candidates must ensure that their centre number, candidate number and unit code are typed on the first page of their typed script.
If equipment failure should occur, the candidate should immediately report their concerns to an Invigilator.

Information for Candidates - Preparing to sit your exam.pdf

For help and advice on dealing with exam pressure, please click the picture below and take a look at this Government website -

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