EXAMINATIONS POLICY

Policy for Entering Students for Exams

Students are recommended for examination entry by subject teachers and the Head of Year. Details of such entries are forwarded to parents and there is an opportunity for discussions to take place. Before students can be officially entered for exams written parental consent is required.

Charging for Exams

Entry fees for examinations will normally be met by the school. However, a charge is made to parents when a student who has been prepared for any public examination by the school, fails to complete the examination requirements without good reason. Acceptable reasons would be an illness confirmed by a doctor's note or a close family bereavement. In other cases where parents feel that they have a valid reason they should give this in writing to the Head.

Appeals Against Internal Assessments Of Work For External Qualifications

Shorefields Technology College is committed to ensuring that whenever it assesses the work of candidates for external qualifications, this is done fairly, consistently and in accordance with the specification for the qualification concerned. Assessments will be conducted by staff who have appropriate knowledge, understanding and skills and who have been trained in this activity. The work of candidates must be produced and will be authenticated according to the requirements of the awarding body. When assessment of a piece of work is divided among several staff, consistency will be maintained by internal moderation & standardisation.

If a candidate feels that these procedures have not been carried out in relation to his or her work he or she should first discuss the matter with the Head of Subject. If the problem cannot be resolved in this way, the candidate may use the formal appeal procedure described below. Appeals may be only against the procedures that led to the assessment and not against mark or grade.

The Appeal Procedure

1. The parent or guardian of the candidate, but not the candidate acting alone, must write to the Examinations Officer. The application must be made as soon as the circumstances become known and always before the date of the first written paper of the examination series.
2. The Examinations Officer and another experienced member of the teaching staff, not directly involved in the assessment in question, will conduct the appeal. If the Examinations Officer is unable to investigate, the Headteacher will appoint a member of the Senior Management in his place.
3. The teachers who conduct the appeal will decide whether the procedures used for the internal assessment conformed to the requirements of the awarding body and the QCA Code of Practice.
4. The outcome of the appeal will be reported in writing to the parents or guardian of the candidate on completion. Any changes made to the assessment of the work, any changes made to improve the School's application of the procedures and any correspondence with the Awarding Body will also be reported.
5. The outcome of the appeal will be known to the Headteacher and will be logged as a complaint under the School's complaints procedure. The School will notify the awarding body of any outcome of the appeal that has implications for the conduct of the examination or the issue of results. A written record of the appeal will be kept and must be made available to the Awarding Body if requested.

Notes

• After work has been assessed internally it is moderated by the awarding body to ensure consistency between centres. Such moderation may change the marks awarded internally but is beyond the control of the School.
• Appeals against the marking of externally assessed examination components are dealt with after the publication of results according to procedures published by the Awarding Bodies.
• This procedure and further information about the Awarding Bodies' procedures may be obtained from the Exams Office.