Examinations

It is the candidate and parent/carer responsibility to ensure they read and understand all information in the different sections on this page in relation to any internal/external examination that may take place at Oakbank.

Examinations Officer: Mr M Mault

Email: exams@oakbank.anthemtrust.uk

All exam related communication must go via the exams@oakbank.anthemtrust.uk and not to staff individual school email address. Mr Mault will communicate with any relevant staff depending on the query raised.

Working days for Oakbank School: Monday to Friday between 08:00 - 16:00 (term-time only)

Key Information for Candidates:

• Key Information from Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)

​All candidates sitting written examinations, undertaking non-examined assessment (NEA) or taking on-screen tests must have read and understood the documents below as part of their preparation for public examinations. These documents are issued by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) on behalf of the exam boards.

It is particularly important that you understand the regulations surrounding NEAs for the preparation of your work, to know what plagiarism is and the potential penalties for breaking these regulations. All the documents listed can be found as PDF attachments on this page.

• Exam Timetables and Seating Plans

​All candidates sitting external examinations will be provided with a personalised candidate timetable prior to commencement of the exam period – usually handed out the previous half-term. This will be handed to candidates in an Exam Assembly (schedule shared during tutor time) and parents/carers can request a PDF copy by emailing the ‘exams Oakbank email’ exams@oakbank.anthemtrust.uk?subject=Exam QueryThese timetables will show candidates key information including their exam room, seat row and number and the length of the exam paper they are sitting on a given day. Candidates must sit in their assigned seat and can only move if it has been approved by one of the following members of staff: Mr Mault, Miss Gratton or Mr Masson prior to the exam starting.

• Exam Times

​Examinations at Oakbank will begin at 09:00 for a morning exam and 13:15 for the afternoon exam (unless you receive written communication stating otherwise). Candidates should arrive promptly for all scheduled exams and are asked to firstly head to the bag drop area (changing rooms in C Block) twenty minutes before the start of the exam, they must then line up in the courtyard area in their designated area/line for pre-exam registration before being sent to their exam room.

If you are running late on the day of an exam, please telephone reception on 01189 883 616 who will ensure that the Examinations Team are made aware. You must give the following information to the reception team:

1. Candidate name and tutor group
2. Exam you are running late for
3. Reason why you are running late

You should come into school as soon as possible after you have informed the reception team and start the exam late.

Exam rules and regulations state that you are not allowed to sit the examination if you arrive more than one hour after an examination has started in the case of any paper of an hour or more, or for papers of less than one hour, if you arrive once the paper has been completed. Arriving after the times listed above could result in your paper being rejected by the exam board.

• Exam Clashes

​Exam clashes may occur where two scheduled exams are due to take place at the same time. These will be identified in advance and your personalised candidate timetable will show details of the re-arranged time.

Where candidates have an exam clash, it is normally necessary to keep these candidates in quarantine during the clash period to protect the integrity of the exam paper (examination rules state this). Candidates will be briefed in advance of the specific arrangements for their clash. If you have identified a clash on your personalised candidate timetable that has not been resolved, please speak to the Mr Mault immediately.

• Illness

​If you are unwell on the day of an exam you or a parent/carer must notify the attendance officer as a matter of urgency by telephoning 0118 976 8839 and passing on the following information:

1 - Candidate full name & tutor group

2 – The exam they are missing due to illness (if possible the exam code as well, this will be displayed on the personalised candidate timetable)

3 - What the illness is. This information will only be shared with the following people (Attendance Officer, Examinations Team, Head of Centre, and Head of Year)

On the same day you must contact your doctor’s surgery to seek medical advice. You must complete the JCQ Self Certification Form 14 which must be signed by the candidate, parent/carer, doctor’s surgery and the school. Please click the link below to download the form.

JCQ Self Certification Form 14

The completed form must be returned to the Examinations Officer within 48 hours and failure to complete it may result in a withdrawal fee being charged. This form can either be emailed to Mr Mault or left in a sealed envelope at reception. Section A is completed by Mr Mault once he has received the form back from you.

Following submission of the self-certification form, the Examinations Officer will make a special consideration application to the relevant exam board. The examination board will decide whether they can award a grade or whether you will need to sit the examination at the next session. The outcome of a special consideration request will be communicated upon receipt by the school. It is worth saying that just because a Special Consideration is submitted it does not automatically mean it will be accepted, the final decision rests with JCQ and the individual exam board.

• Equipment and the Exam Room

​All prohibited exam items must be left in your bag in the designated bag drop changing room. If a candidate forgets to remove one of these items, they must alert a member of the exam team before the exam starts, failing to do so and if the candidate keeps the prohibited item on their persons when the exam starts is a breach of exam regulations and will result in the candidate being removed from the exam room and being disqualified from that exam and potentially other examinations/qualifications under the same exam board.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to bring the correct equipment for each exam they take, the school has a limited supply of resources and cannot guarantee enough equipment for all candidates. We recommend the night before an exam that you double check your timetable to see if you need any specialist equipment (such as protractors/compasses for maths papers) and ensure that they are in your clear see-through pencil case.

Additional information relating to the exam room:

• If you feel ill during the exam or wish to communicate with an invigilator for any reason, you must raise your hand and wait for them to come over to speak to you.
• If there is a fire alarm, you will be instructed about the procedure and must follow all instructions from the invigilators.
• You will not be allowed to exit the exam room before the published end time (this will be displayed on the main board in each exam room).
• If you need to use the toilet during the exam, you must raise your hand and the invigilator will contact a member of the Examinations Team who will then escort you.
• A code of conduct will be read before the start of each exam. Please listen carefully and follow this in order to satisfy the requirements of the examination boards.

• Access Arrangements

​Some candidates may be entitled to certain concessions during their examinations known as Access Arrangements. Candidates who may be eligible for this support are identified by the SENDCO and undergo formalised testing. Access arrangements are specific to individual candidates and must be applied for well in advance of the main exam period starting. At Oakbank we usually do this during the summer term of Year 9 or autumn term of Year 10 . This allows for a full assessment to take place and for the Access Arrangement to be assigned for the entirety of the GCSE years (Year 10 and Year 11).

Candidates who have access arrangements may take their examination in a satellite room. This will be identified on their individual candidate timetable. It is the school’s practice to keep candidates with access arrangements in the same room for all of their exams where practically possible. If this is not possible Mr Mault will give the candidate and parents/carers as much notice as possible.

Only candidates with approved Access Arrangement entitlements will be allowed to use approved technology, such as bilingual dictionary, a reader pen, laptop etc or have access to a reader/scribe to support them in the exam.

If you have questions relating to access arrangement entitlements or support, please contact Mr Mault via the email listed at the top of the page and he will inform the SENDCO.