A - LEVEL EXAM INFORMATION

A Level Exams – Format
Generally there are two or three modules (examined or coursework) in an AS course, and another two or three to complete the A2 course.

Entries
There are two exam sessions each year, in January and May/June. About three months before the start of the session, exam entries are submitted to the examinations officer, usually via the subject teacher. The school pays for initial entries, but students are expected to pay, in advance, for any resits - a fee of approximately £13 per module. At the same time as being entered for modules, students have to be entered for AS or A2 certification once they are ready to ‘cash in’ their modules for an A level qualification. Students receive a Statement of Entry listing all their entries for modules and for certification before they are sent to the exam boards. It is the student’s responsibility to check that all details on this statement are correct and that there are no errors or omissions. If so, they should talk to the examinations officer as soon as possible. Mistakes do happen, but they are easily put right at this stage, whereas mistakes discovered once entries have been sent to the exam boards are expensive and sometimes impossible to put right.

Timetables/ Clashes
An initial exam timetable is issued as soon as possible following the completion of the entry process. Students should not be concerned if they notice that they have an exam clash. A few weeks before the exam session begins, students receive their individual timetable, which they should keep safe. This will show how clashes have been resolved and advise them of their seating position in each exam venue. Generally, exams in the same subject will be sat one after another, whereas a clash between exams in two different subjects will be resolved by moving one examination to the afternoon (or to the morning for an afternoon clash). Students whose exams have been moved will be kept in isolation in between the exams. Strict guidelines from the examining bodies have to be followed when moving the timing of examinations.

Results
Interpreting results is not always easy for students, firstly because grade boundaries vary from subject to subject, but also because of the way raw marks are adjusted in order to standardise them. This results in what is known as the UMS mark, which is the one that counts. Students should keep in mind that ultimately it is the marks achieved for individual modules that are important, not the grades, since the AS and A2 grades are based on the total of the module marks. Subject teachers or Heads of Departments should be able to help students interpret their results in each subject.

Post Results Services
Priority Photocopy: For a fee students can request a photocopy of their examination script. This service is only available for a week after results are out and the script should arrive within a couple of weeks. Its purpose is to enable students and teachers to check whether they wish to request a remark, when results have been unexpectedly low.

Remark: This is an expensive service, so students would do well to request a priority photocopy first in order to check that there are grounds for their remark request. There is plenty of time to do this first, since the remark service is available for about a month after results come out. They should be aware that results can go down, as well as up, following a remark, and there is no subsequent appeal. Hence, they are advised not to ask for a remark if their final mark is just over a grade boundary. The majority of remark requests are unsuccessful, particularly in some subjects. Students are best to take advice from their teachers on this issue. In successful cases, the fee is rebated.

Return of Original Script: For a fee of £6 students can request their script back. The service is available for three weeks after results and its purpose is to allow students wishing to resit a module the opportunity to get feedback from teachers on their first attempt. No original scripts will be dispatched by the exam boards until the deadline for remarks is past, so students tend not to receive scripts for at least six weeks.

Exam Refusals
Before each examination session students are issued with full details of the exam rules and regulations which must be read carefully. The school may be subject to external inspection, without notice, during any exam session and we are required to adhere to the exam guidelines at all times.

Any queries and issues with regard to the conduct of examinations should be addressed to the Examinations Officer.

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