Exam Information
External Examination, Results Day, Re-marking and Re-sit Guidelines
Please click here to download a copy of the information as prepared by the exams office.
2021 External Exams (CAG) Appeals Process download a copy of the process here
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Revision booklets for Years 1 to 3 for End-of-Year exams
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
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Art Mock 2 Exam schedule:
- Wednesday 17th March: 14:00 - 18:00 (4 hours)
- Friday 19th March: 15:10 - 17:10 (2 hours)
- Wednesday 24th March: 14:00 - 18:00 (4 hours)
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Exams Update No:4
05/03/2021
Download a copy of the letter forwarded by the Headmaster dated 05th March, Exams update 4
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Pre-Mock Support Lessons
Dear Students and Parents/Guardians,
Please find the programme for Additional Support Lessons below.
These have been arranged in order to assist you to do your best in the upcoming Mock Examinations in April. These sessions start the week beginning 15th February, and are compulsory; attendance will be taken on Teams by your teacher.
As outlined in previous presentations, these additional support lessons are designed to focus on areas for development identified in your diagnostic assessments and to be helpful for all students.
We look forward to seeing those of you sitting assessments next week, back at school, even if it is only a brief visit for now.
With Best Wishes,
Ursula Pantelides
Year 6 & Year 4 Support/Revision Lessons
Year 7 Support/Revision Lessons
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Exams Update No:3
4/2/2021
Dear Parent/Guardian and Student,
Ref: Examinations 2021 - Update No 3
Pearson International Qualifications (IGCSE/IAL)
I hope you and your family are keeping well. As you may be aware, Pearson announced yesterday (see link: Pearson COVID-19 | Pearson qualifications) that, International examinations (IGCSE/IAL) will not take place as planned and that grades will be awarded on a robust approach to centre assessment. This is a helpful development for year 5 students as there was the risk of a potential disadvantage if exams took place in some countries but not in others.
We have held a number of assemblies with students this week regarding some of the practical arrangements to support their learning and preparation for mock examinations. A summary is given below:
Award of Grades / Weighting – We await feedback from Ofqual on how grades should be awarded this year and the weight of any component. Our plan is for the mock examination to carry the majority of any weighting, with the contribution of the diagnostic assessment and school-based common assessments being much smaller. Grading this year will be generous and facilitate progression.
Content of Mock Examinations/Advance Notice – Given that students will sit the mock examinations in early April, the content will be limited to a maximum of 80% of material/skills covered to date. Students will be provided with advance notice of topics to be covered on the mock exam so that they can focus their revision. Advance notice will be provided by 17/2/2021.
Study leave/Revision Week – The week of 22nd March will be set as a revision week during which key topics can be revised. Given the importance of the mock examinations, a short period of study leave will be given to year 5 and 7 students from Monday 29th March - Thu 1st April. During this time teachers will be available to support any aspect of learning.
Support Lessons – As mentioned in previous correspondence, we are finalising a programme of support lessons which will be based on observations from the diagnostic assessment. These will provide an important opportunity to review content and skills and enable students to maximise performance in the mock examinations. Further details on this programme will follow shortly.
We fully appreciate that this extended period of online learning coupled with uncertainty about examinations has been difficult for all members of our school community. Examination boards have indicated that they will undertake a quality assurance process of the evidence schools have used to award grades. Our fundamental aim throughout this period is to guide and support students in the lead-up to their mock examinations so they achieve their best possible outcome. The learning and assessment programme for this term will help ensure we have the best evidence to effect this outcome.
In the next update, we will provide details about the results of the Ofqual consultation and the plan for year 5 and 7 students from 10th May onwards.
Yours faithfully,
David Lambon
Headmaster
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Download a copy of Remote Learning and Assessment document
Remote Learning and Assessment
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Diagnostic Assessment Programme
Please see the link to our upcoming Diagnostic Assessment Programme for Year 4-7 students sitting external examinations this summer. The table lists the topics which will be examined in these assessments and there will be further guidance from teachers in class. Please contact us if you have any queries
Advance Notification for Diagnostic Assessment - February 2021 (Updated 21.01.2021 Changes to Year 5, Chemistry, Economics, Geography and Physics and Year 7 Biology duration of paper)
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Examinations 2021 - Update No 2
18/1/2021
Dear Parent/Guardian and Student,
Ref: Examinations 2021 - Update No 2 Ofqual Consultation on Summer 2021 Examination
Note: This update is mainly of interest to Senior Students sitting GCSE/GCE external examinations and their Parents/Guardians as it relates to the situation of how grades will be awarded in the absence of examinations.
Ofqual, the regulating body for the UK examinations boards, is conducting a consultation exercise on how grades might be awarded in summer 2021. You can read the full consultation document here. Views on Ofqual’s proposals are sought from students, parents and teachers and you can participate here. The proposals deal with a range of issues including:
- Examination candidates being asked to sit mini-exam papers which will be provided by the examination boards and take place in May. These papers will be marked internally by teachers and subject to external moderation.
- Teachers will be asked to make a holistic, evidence-based assessment of the grade each student should receive’. Exam boards should ‘provide guidance on the relative weighting of the different forms of evidence’. Schools will be asked to retain the evidence (including coursework) used to assign grades.
At this moment, it appears that the arrangements we have put in place: diagnostic assessment, additional support programme and mock examinations fit with the proposals made in the consultation. We will await the outcome of the consultation exercise before making any changes. Our main priority remains to offer students a suitable number of opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding and to balance this with their overall wellbeing.
Please do not hesitate to contact Ms Rousou (Asst Head with responsibility for Examinations), Ms Pantelides (Senior Asst Head) or myself with any questions you may have. Please note the Ofqual consultation closes on 29th January.
Yours faithfully,
David Lambon
Headmaster
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Diagnostic Assessment Programme
Please see the link to our upcoming Diagnostic Assessment Programme for Year 4-7 students sitting external examinations this summer. The table lists the topics which will be examined in these assessments and there will be further guidance from teachers in class. Please contact us if you have any queries
Advance Notification for Diagnostic Assessment - February 2021
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Examinations 2021 - Update No 1
13/1/2021
Dear Parent/Guardian and Students,
Ref: Examinations 2021 - Update No 1
You will be aware that there have been some recent changes with external examinations this summer. As always, there is a time lag between political announcements and practical guidance from the examination boards. The current information indicates that some examinations (Linear ‘A’ levels [GCE] and the UK regulated GCSE qualifications [GCSE]) will not take place, whilst others (International ‘A’ levels [IAL] and International GCSEs [IGCSE]) will take place.
With this letter, you will find attached the practical arrangements which we will put in place to support students. We will explain through a series of presentations (attached) to all year 4-7 students how we will assess them in the absence of examinations and also how we will support their preparation for Mock and any external examinations which may take place this year.
When we receive more guidance from examination boards, we will advise all students on the grade awarding process that we plan to use this year. We fully appreciate that these are difficult times for all of our students, however, we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that all aspects of their learning are supported and that the grades awarded reflect their hard work and commitment to their studies.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have questions arising from the presentations to students.
Yours faithfully,
Mr David Lambon
Headmaster
Click to download the below:
Letter from Ms M Rousou about Mock examinations, the Support programme and diagnostic tests. (uploaded 13.1.2021)
Presentation to be made to students on 14/1 and 15/1. (uploaded 13.1.2021)