Exams

This information has been produced by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), the organisation responsible for regulating GCSE, GCE, ELC, FCSE and Functional Skills qualifications for all awarding boards. All schools and colleges throughout England must follow their guidelines.

We are required to report all instances of misconduct, whether they occur during exams or whilst completing non-examined assessments (coursework or controlled assessments) to the awarding bodies.

Before the Exam season

Summer 2026: The exam board contingency day is 24^th June 2026. Students must be available on this day, even if their timetable of exams is finished before this date.

1. Exam documents

Each student receives a paper copy of their exam timetable, statement of entry and exam reply slip. Students/parents/carers must check the subjects listed, the tiers of entry and the 'Name on certificates' for accuracy. The parent/carer must sign and return the exam reply slip to the exams team noting any corrections.

The exam timetables are generated using the exam board specified data. Occasionally some subjects will have more than one unit or topic sat within one exam and these exams show up on exam timetables as having 0-minutes duration. Where this occurs the exam duration will be as published by the exam board for the specification.

2. Students with Exam Clashes

Any student that has an exam clash (i.e two exams on the same day and same time), will be contacted by the exams team to clarify which exam they will be sitting first.  On any day that the student has a clash, they must make sure that they bring lunch and a drink with them to school as they will be kept under exam supervision between the exams.

On the day of the Exam

1. Exam Start Times

Students must arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of their exam.

Morning exams start at 09:00

Afternoon exams start at 13:30

2. Student ill on the day of the exam

Students must always attempt to attend an exam, unless circumstances such as admittance to hospital or a contagious disease prevent it.

If despite being ill, the student is still able to sit the exam, the student or parent/carer should make the Invigilator/Exams Officer aware. If the student needs assistance during the exam they must put up their hand and an invigilator will come over to them.

If the student is unable to sit the exam due to illness a parent/carer must contact the Exams team on 01483 476861 before the exam is due to start.  Evidence from a GP, Hospital or Specialist will need to be provided to the Exams Officer who will submit it to the exam board where required.

3. Students arriving late on the day of the exam

The student/parent/carer must phone the school to advise they are on their way. Call 01483 476861

As soon as they arrive in school, the student must go directly to the Exams Office. Depending on how late the student arrives will determine if the student is allowed to enter the exam room and complete their exam as per the school's Exams Policy.

4. Exam rooms and seating plans

Most exams take place in the Sports Hall unless a student has specific access arrangements. Seating plans are displayed on the hall corridor window and students must check this and know their seat number before entering the exam room. Failure to do so delays the start of the exam for everyone else. For public exams, the seat numbers for a student will be available on the EduLink Exams button.

5. Items in exam rooms

JCQ rules specify what a student may have on their person in the exam room.

Mobile phones, smart glasses, air pods, ear buds, smart devices and watches are NOT allowed in the Exam.

Students must have empty pockets in the exam room. All items must be removed, including: timetables, notes, make-up, hairbrushes, mirrors, food, chewing gum, fobs, keys, packets of tissues, money.

Failure to comply with these rules is called Malpractice even if the student does not intend to use the items during the exam. All malpractice is reported to the exam boards who will sanction you for possession of these items in the exam room. The sanctions are:

• Warning
• Loss of marks for the paper
• Disqualification from the subject
• Disqualification from qualifications
• Disbarring from all exams

Malpractice is recorded on a student's exam record and will carry forward to college. Exam boards will consider previous occurrences when sanctioning any subsequent incidents.

Students should leave their items at home or in their bag outside the exam room.

Students are allowed to bring in clear plastic water bottles – however these cannot have any writing/labels on them.

Pencil cases and maths equipment containers must be clear without any writing on them. Calculator covers must be removed.

Where invigilators are concerned about the functionality of the calculator, it will be replaced with a school calculator. JCQ guidelines on calculators can be found here

After the Exams

1. Results day

The results will be available to students on Thursday 20^th August 2026.

Year 11 students are invited to collect their results and activate their DfE Education Record Service app from the school. Start time to be confirmed. Any uncollected results will be posted to students by second class mail.

Year 10 students are also able to collect their results from the school on this day. Start time to be confirmed. Any uncollected results will be available for collection from the Exams office at the start of term.

Year 9 results will be handed to students at the start of term.

Results will be available on EduLink for all students from 12 noon on results day.

To collect results on a student's behalf you must have:

• a letter from the student stating who is collecting the results
• photo ID so you can be identified as the person named by the student.

Without this we are unable to give the results to someone who is not the student. This is a requirement of the exam boards and covered by data protection law.

2. Post-results services

If you are unhappy with your results, take a moment to consider your options. If your next step depends on your results, contact the college, apprenticeship or employer for advice and to see if you are able to proceed with the results that you have.

The exam boards offer a range of chargeable post-results services:

• Clerical re-checks (check that the marks have been added up correctly)
• Review of marking (this is not a re-mark, it is a check that the mark scheme has been applied correctly and that the marking is in tolerance)
• Access to script (electronic copy of the candidates paper)

Costs and information on how to apply for a post-results service are provided with the results.

3. Exam certificates

The exam certificates will arrive in school in November. As soon as they are collated we will contact students to invite them to collect their certificates during school hours from the school's main reception.

The certificates are important documents, and once they have been issued, they are the student's responsibility. They should keep them safe as they will need them in the future for such things as university and job interviews. Unclaimed certificates will be kept securely for a period of 12 months from the date of issue and then must be destroyed as part of exam board regulations.

Please be aware that to replace a lost certificate you will need to contact the exam boards directly. There is a charge for this service and is something you would need to arrange yourself.

To collect exam certificates on a student's behalf you must have:

• a letter from the student stating who is collecting the results
• photo ID so you can be identified as the person named by the student.

Without this we are unable to give the results to someone who is not the student. This is a requirement of the exam boards and covered by data protection law.