At The Burton Borough School, we expect the highest standards of behaviour during all examinations, from every student. Any misconduct will be reported to the examination boards and will be dealt with severely. It may even result in you being disqualified from all further GCSE examinations.
Full school uniform must be worn by all students attending school for examinations.
Candidates not in uniform will be turned away and not admitted to the exam room until they
are suitably dressed.
All candidates with long hair are encouraged to tie their hair back. In cases where hair remains down, candidates will be asked on entry to lift the hair to enable invigilating staff to check for earphones.
Please do not write on the examination desks. This is regarded as vandalism and you will be asked to pay for any damage. Do not draw graffiti or write offensive comments on examination papers. If you do the examination board may refuse to accept your paper.
Before you sit your Exam
Your teachers have to inform the examinations officer which examination you need to be
entered for. Before it is sent off to the examinations boards, you will be given a piece of paper
with all your personal details and exams listed.
YOU MUST CHECK IT VERY CAREFULLY
Any mistakes that are not picked up at this stage will be either very expensive to correct or at
worst, may result in you getting no result for your exam.
The things to check are:
- Your personal details as this is how they will appear on your certificates
- Correct date of birth.
- Examination units you are taking.
- Level of the paper e.g. Foundation (F) or Higher (H).
Check your exam entry with your teacher. If you are entered for the wrong exam, you will be
given the wrong paper. If anything is incorrect, you must write the correct spelling or exam on
the paper and tell the examinations officer IMMEDIATELY.
REMEMBER - The exams officer relies on you and your teachers to request the correct exams.
Candidate Numbers
You will each be given a unique candidate number. You MUST remember to write it on every exam paper you take. Your candidate number will stay the same throughout your school year. You also have to write the School Centre Number, 29145, on every exam paper.
When you are issued with your examination timetable, read it carefully to make sure you know when your exams are. Put it somewhere safe at home so that you and your family can see it and you all know when you should be at school taking an exam.
During The Examination Period
Start Times and Entry to Exams
All morning exams will begin at 9:00 am, and all afternoon exams will begin at 1:30 pm. Please remember that all candidates need to be gathered ready for entry to the exam venue 20 minutes prior to the start time (unless otherwise stated). This means that in the morning the candidates need to be ready at the assembly point rather than going to CLL / Assembly:-
When?
Morning examinations start at 9.00a.m. Be outside the sports hall for 8.45am at the very latest.
Afternoon examinations start at 1.30p.m. Be outside the sports hall for 1.15pm at the very latest.
Do check your exam timetable for any room or time changes.
Do not go to registration, do not go to assembly. You will be registered in the exam room.
Where?
Normally all your examinations will take place in the Sports Hall, occasionally other rooms may be used so check your exam timetable. You enter the examination room through the front doors of the Sports Hall when told to do so. You will be given instructions about where to leave your bags, coat etc.
Your photo identification card with your examination number will be placed on a desk. Do not be intimidated by this, it is so you can be identified by the exams staff as required by the exam boards. You need to find your place and sit down in silence. Each Exam will have a Different Seating Plan
The seating plans and start times will be clearly displayed on the exam notice board near the Help Desk the day before the exam. Further copies will be displayed by the Sports Hall on the day of the exam.
DO NOT DISTURB THE REST OF THE SCHOOL AT THE START OF ANY EXAMINATION
Entering the Exam Room
- You must be silent.
- You must not communicate with any other student in ANY WAY.
- No eye contact or grinning at another student, this can be counted as communicating.
- Do not pass anything to another student in an examination.
- Do not borrow anything from another student whilst in the exam room.
DOs and DON’TS
REMEMBER TO BRING:
- Any set books, such as an anthology, if allowed.
- Drinking water in a CLEAR BOTTLE with NO LABEL. No other drinks are allowed
- Your normal writing materials and calculator, when applicable, to the exam in a CLEAR PENCIL CASE or CLEAR PLASTIC BAG.
- We recommend that you have 2 Pencils, 2 Black Pens (no Gel pens or erasable pens, Biro only), a ruler, a rubber, a pencil sharpener, a protractor, a compass and a scientific calculator. This is deemed as BASIC EQUIPMENT that you need every day in school and so you will be expected to bring it to your exams. We have very few spares and so if you fail to bring your own equipment you may have to go without.
Exam kits containing the above can be purchased from the exams office for £1 and calculators for £7.
Calculators Must be:
- of a size suitable for use on the desk;
- either battery or solar powered;
- free of lids, cases and covers which have printed instructions or formulas.
Calculators Must Not:
- be designed or adapted to offer any of these facilities: -
- language translators;
- symbolic algebra manipulation;
- symbolic differentiation or integration;
- communication with other machines or the internet;
- be borrowed from another candidate during an examination for any reason;
- have retrievable information stored in them - this includes:
- databanks;
- dictionaries;
- mathematical formulas;
- text
You Must NOT Bring:
- Mobile Phone
- iPod
- MP3/4 Player
- Any electronic device capable of accessing the internet (Smart Watches, tablets etc)
- Pager or any other product with text digital facilities.
- Unauthorised books or rough paper.
- Noisy jewellery as this may disturb other candidates.
- All watches of any kind must be removed from the candidates wrist and placed in their own school bag or handed to an invigilator before the exam starts
Any phones, iPODs, MP3s or any other products with text digital facilities removed once in the examination room before the start of the exam will be stored securely in the examinations office, for collection from the Help Desk at the end of your school day.
NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE.
You Cannot:
- Leave an examination early,
- Leave to go to the toilet (except under special considerations) so make sure you go before the exam starts.
- Go and fetch something you have forgotten. i.e. glasses,
- Ask the invigilators questions relating to the content of the exam. However, if you think there is something missing from your paper, ask for guidance.
- Enter the room with writing on arms. Anyone trying to do so will be required to wash it off before they can sit the exam. Should this make you late, you will be treated as a late arrival.
Once everyone is seated you will be told how to complete the details on the examination paper.
On Every Paper, You Must Write:
- Your name
- Your Candidate Number
- The School Centre Number: 29145
Remember:
- Only write in black ink.
- Only use pencil for diagrams.
- Do not write in any other colour.
- Do not use correction fluid - if you make a mistake cross it out and carry on.
When Your Exam has Finished
When your exam has finished and your papers have been collected in, you will be told you can leave the exam room, a row at a time. Other students may still be working in the room so you must leave in silence. Once you have been dismissed from the exam room, you can go back to normal lessons.
DO NOT DISTURB THE REST OF THE SCHOOL AT THE END OF ANY EXAMINATION