Exams Office

Public exams can be a stressful time for students, parents and carers, and it is very important that all those involved are well informed. Please take time to thoroughly read all the information on this page and acquaint yourself with the examination rules and regulations.

Fitzharrys School makes every effort to ensure that our students receive the best possible preparation for their exams, that the administrative arrangements run smoothly, and that exams are conducted in a way that will cause as little stress as possible to help our students achieve their best.

Exams Office contact information

Please don't hesitate to contact the Exams Office during school ours if you have any queries. We would be pleased to answer any questions you have.

Isabel Hale - Exam Officer

01235 462405 (Monday - Thursday)

Email: ihale@fitzharrys.school

Information for Candidates

Coursework and Non-Exam Assessments

Pupils who are preparing coursework or non-exam assessments should be aware of these documents:

Coursework Assessments: Information for Candidates

Non-exam Assessments: Information for Candidates

Exam Day

On the day of your exam, there is a lot of information you need to remember. Familiarise yourself with this information in advance and if there is anything you don't understand, please talk to your teacher or pop into the Exams Office for advice.

Please read the following information sheets:

Written Examinations: Information for Candidates

Onscreen Tests: Information for Candidates

Exam Room Regulations

When you are in the exam room, you are expected to behave according to exam regulations. Two exam posters will be displayed in the exam room to remind you of these regulations (see below).

Unauthorised Items poster

Warning to Candidates notice

Calculators

You will be permitted to use a calculator for some of your exams. You are responsible for making sure that your calculator meets the awarding bodies' regulations. Please read the following information sheet for detailed guidance.

Calculator Brief

Mobile Phones & Other Devices

It is advisable to leave mobile phones, smart watches, regular watches, iPods, MP3/4 or similar and notes at home on a day when you have exams. If this is not possible, then you need to leave them in your school bag which will be stored securely in a holding room. If you still have any of these items on you when you enter the exam room, you must hand them into an invigilator.

Social Media

People often like to share experiences when taking examinations. However, it is important to consider very carefully what you say online as comments could lead to an investigation for malpractice or incurred penalties.

FAKE PAPERS

Sometimes fake exam papers are promoted to pupils on social media. Please be aware that the papers being advertised are almost always fake and that there are serious penalties for engaging with these accounts.

Please read the following guidelines to help you write posts and comment safely, without breaking examination rules. This guidance will remind you how to stay safe online regarding exams.

Social Media: Information for Candidates

Privacy Notice

Please read the privacy notice linked below to understand how, in order to be able to provide
examinations and assessments, the awarding body needs to collect and use information about candidates.

Privacy Notice: Information to Candidates

AI Use in Assessments

AI use refers to the use of AI tools to obtain information and content which might be used in work produced for assessments which lead towards qualification.

From: AI Use in Assessments: Protecting the Integrity of Qualifications, page 2.

Examples of AI misuse

Examples of AI misuse include:

Copying or paraphrasing sections of AI-generated content so that the work is no longer the student’s own
Copying or paraphrasing whole responses of AI-generated content
Using AI to complete parts of the assessment so that the work does not reflect the student’s own work, analysis, evaluation or calculations
Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information
Incomplete or poor acknowledgement of AI tools
Submitting work with intentionally incomplete or misleading references or bibliographies.

From: AI Use in Assessments: Protecting the Integrity of Qualifications, page 3.

AI misuse is considered a form of plagiarism and constitutes malpractice, as defined in the JCQ Suspected Malpractice: Policies and Procedures. Candidates misusing AI face disqualification and debarment from taking qualifications for a number of years.

Students should be made aware of the importance of referencing any AI generated content, as they do with any other used sources of information. They must acknowledge the use of AI and show clearly how they have used it. Any sources used in AI generated content must be independently verified and referenced by the student. Student must also show the name of the AI source used and should reference the date the content was generated. Student must retain in a non-editable format (e.g. a screenshot), and submit with the work to the teacher for reference and authentication purposes, a copy of the question and answer produced by the AI tool used.

Students should be informed about the risks of using artificial intelligence in their work. AI chatbots and AI tools generate content in response to prompts. As they are still being developed, the answers produced often contain incorrect or biased information as well as fake references to non-existent books, articles or people.

Students should also be reminded that any use of AI, even when appropriately referenced, means they have not independently demonstrated their own knowledge and attainment, which might be reflected in their marks.

Awarding bodies have tools to identify AI content. Several programs and services use statistical analysis of written content to determine the likelihood that it was produced by AI, including:

OpenAI Classifier https://openai.com/blog/new-ai-classifier-for-indicating-ai-written-text/
GPTZero https://gptzero.me/
The Giant Language Model Test Room: (GLTR) http://gltr.io/dist/

In addition, the JCQ awarding organisations are aware that AI detection will shortly be added to the existing tool: Turnitin Originality (https://www.turnitin.com/products/originality). This tool features an AI review of a student’s work, reviewing a portfolio of evidence and will indicate the likelihood of AI use.

Exam Timetables

Assessment information and examination dates/timetables can be found below:

KS3 Assessments

(English / Maths / Science / French / Spanish)

TBC

Year 10 Exams

TBC

Contingency dates for examinations

There are contingency sessions within the Summer 2024 exam timetable - the afternoon of 13th June, and the morning and afternoon of 25th June 2025. Please save these dates. These contingency days are designed to be used in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations. Make sure you are available on all three dates even if you do not have an exam scheduled on these days.

maths challenges

Intermediate Maths Challenge – Wednesday 29th January 2025
Junior Maths Challenge – Thursday 1st May 2025

Exam Results

Exam Results - Summer 2024

The dates for the release of examination results are:

A-level Exam Results Day

Thursday 14th August 2025

GCSE Exam Results Day

Thursday 21st August 2025

After Results

If your results are not what you hoped to achieve, there are a number of services available to you.

[Updated versions coming soon]

A Level Results Services

A Level Post Results Services - Guidance

GCE Results Day 15 August 2024 Post results fees and deadline

GCSE Results Services

GCSE Post Results Services - Guidance

GCSE Results Day 22 August 2024 Post results fees and deadline

The School Complaints Post Results and Appeals procedure, internal Appeals Procedures, and our Malpractice Policy are available upon request from the Exams Officer. Remember, if you are considering applying for a review of marking, marks can go down as well as up.