Examinations

Public and Pre-Public Examinations (PPE)
Public GCSE examinations happen throughout Years 9 to 11.  The Examination Boards schedule exams in May & June.  Students will be given ample notice of when they are entered for an examination both by their subject teacher and the Examinations Officer who will issue a personal timetable to each student which will detail the dates and times of any exam that they have been entered for.   

Pre-Public Examinations (PPE) are held in November and February for students in Years 9 to 11.  These can last for up to two weeks.  The exams are run under the same conditions as a GCSE exam and students are expected to conduct themselves accordingly.   

Timetables for each GCSE exam series and also for internal mock examinations are given to students prior to the start of the exam series.  For the PPEand the GCSE Summer exams a timetable is also sent home to parents.  Copies of these timetables will be available to view on the website.

Controlled Assessments

Controlled Assessments have replaced coursework in most subjects (some subjects do not have a Controlled Assessment element e.g. Maths).  These are completed largely in School under various levels of supervision and generally happen during lesson time.  The work is then marked and the marks are submitted to the exam boards as part of the GCSE exam.    

Controlled Assessment work may not be returned to the student until the examination certificates are issued in the November after they have completed their GCSE course.

Rules and Regulations

There are rules and regulations from the examination boards that all students taking exams must adhere to.   It is the responsibility of each student to make themselves familiar with these rules and regulations. In KS4 students will be given an information booklet that answers many questions that students may have regarding the examination process and what is expected of them.  Please make sure that all these documents are kept in a safe place.

Illness

As Examinations and Controlled Assessments are happening throughout Years 9, 10 & 11 any period of illness may have an impact on the work a student is doing for their GCSE.  If a student misses any scheduled GCSE exam that they have been entered for because they are ill, a doctor's certificate must be obtained, even if the module that was missed can be done at a later date.  Any unaccounted absences from GCSE exams will result in students being charged for the cost of entry to that exam.