Examinations are a very important part of your time at St Peter’s School. This section is designed to provide easy access to up-to-date information on examinations.
A number of documents which provide important information on how to prepare and what to expect during examinations are available to download in the panel on the left of this page. Important documents covering the current JCQ rules and regulations can also be found here. These rules and regulations must be adhered to by all students taking examinations at St Peter’s School.
For GCSEs, AS and A levels, teachers will assess the standard at which you are performing based only on what you have been taught so that your school or college can determine your grade. Teachers’ judgements should be based on a range of evidence relating to the subject content that your teachers have delivered, either in the classroom or via remote learning.
Teachers will be able to use evidence about your performance gathered throughout your course to inform their judgement. This might include work that you have already completed, mock exam results, homework or in-class tests. Your teachers may also use questions from exam boards, largely based on past papers, to help assess you, but this won’t be compulsory. Reasonable adjustments should be taken into account if you have a disability.
The arrangements for this year are designed so that teaching and learning can continue for as long as possible, so your teachers’ judgement of your work should take place as late in the academic year as is practical. It’s important that you keep engaged in your learning and study as long as possible so that your hard work can be considered in your grade. And it will stand you in good stead for the next stage of your life. Teachers will tell you which pieces of work will count towards your grade, before your grade is submitted to the exam board.
We know that some of you may be worried that you have not covered all the content for a particular subject. We will not set any requirements about the minimum amount of content that should be taught or assessed, but we will ask the head of your school or college to confirm that you have been taught enough content so that you can progress to the next stage of your education. We want you to make the best choices about your next steps and it wouldn’t be helpful if you started studying a subject at a higher level that you might struggle with.
Please continue to work on your non-exam assessment (NEA) work or coursework, including for Project qualifications, wherever possible. We know that for some of you, this will be more difficult, especially if you need the specialist equipment at your school or college. Teachers will mark your NEA and it will contribute to your overall grade, whether or not it has been completed. We will treat Advanced Extension Awards and Project qualifications in the same way as GCSEs, AS and A levels.
For GCSE, AS and A level art and design, your grade will be based on your portfolio only, whether or not you have finished it. And for GCSE English language, GCSE modern foreign languages and A level sciences (biology, chemistry, physics and geology), your school or college should submit a separate grade or result for the spoken language or practical skills tested, based on work that you have completed.
If you are studying for a qualification that is similar to, or taken alongside GCSEs or A levels, then you will be eligible for a teacher assessed grade. This will require your teacher or lecturer to make an informed judgement on the grade you will receive using a variety of evidence, such as performance of tasks or assessments that have already been completed. We will regulate so that these qualifications can be awarded to you, even if your teachers or lecturers have incomplete assessment evidence for you.
Examples of these types of qualifications are BTECs (Pearson) and OCR Cambridge Technicals in subjects such as engineering, digital media and health and social care. They also include Pre-U and core maths.
You should receive your results no later than students who are studying for GCSEs and A levels.
As per JCQ (Joint Council Regulations) requirements all candidates taking GCSE or GCE qualifications must be informed of the mark given to them for any centre assessed component or unit. This enables a candidate, if they wish, to ask for a review of the centre’s marking before submitting the mark to the awarding body.
Candidates are reminded that if they wish to make an appeal it is about the process of the marking and it’s conduct, rather than an appeal about the mark given.