Warning about talking in GCSE exams.....

Yeah i can still remeber my GCSE and i remember the sign which says to be SILENT when you enter the room because it is exam conditions. Yes the women sounds to have a bee up her arse, but your DD should know that silent means silent. She should have gone to an examiner to rectify the problem.

They are under exam conditions the moment they enter the exam room. That means no talking to other candidates. Any problem is sorted out by the invigilator or exams officer.

An invigilator cannot disqualify a candidate. If they suspect an irregularity, they report it to the exams officer, who would then report it to the awarding body. In a situation described by the OP, the awarding body would take no action against the student. They may recommend some training to the school so that students understand what is meant by exam conditions.

It does sound like the invigilator was a touch over zealous.

However, all schools that I have taught at have made it very clear to all students that 'exam conditions' exist from the moment you enter the door.

All mobile phones and such like need to be turned off and handed in. We had a lad this year who had given his in, but not turned it off, cue a call (apparently from his mum asking how it went) while we were collecting the papers in at the end. No formal action was taken, we just gave him a good kicking in the corridor after.

I have invigilated tons of exams. I would not have treated your daughter in this way. At the end I might, if I'd had time because it's a busier job than meets the eye, have had a really quiet word with your dd to make sure that next time if the same thing happened, she went straight to the invigilator to tell her there was a problem and to let the invigilator sort it out.

Students who are allowed to use a computer use a school one which has been set up specially in the exam hall and only the relevant programs installed.

They do not bring their own laptop!

The exact same situation happened in my university exam yesterday. Silence on entering room, numbered seats etc. Someone sat in the wrong seat and the other person told them.

What happened? Nothing, because it would be utterly ridiculous to disqualify someone from sitting an exam over such a mundane thing.

That's mean!

actually Sauvignon some students with statements ARE allowed laptops - they just ain't allowed to surf facebook and the like in the exam!

You'll be telling me you're not allowed your laptop next.

I'll have another glass of , perhaps you should too donnie, it might help your headache.

hey, did you also know that you aren't allowed to ring/text people in exams?

Seeker says in her second post that her daughter says the school did tell her.

wll if you read the thread Sauvignon you will observe that the OP has already said the school HAD informed students to that effect. This transfers the onus to the students.

(bangs head against brick wall)

Evidently the students did not know, the onus is on the school to inform them.

I am quite alarmed at this thread - do students really not know that there is to be silence as soon as the exam room/hall is entered?

All this hyperbolic guff about 'complaining to the exam boards' etc - get over yourselves FGS!!

IshallWearMidnight How strange of the invigilator. Now that is what I would call unreasonable behaviour. Your dd did absolutely nothing wrong and fairly normal in my book.

DD1 was told off because she finished one exam quite early, then sat for 20 minutes or so daydreaming before checking over her paper. The invigilator claimed never to have come across anyone doing this ever before, so therefore DD must have been allowing someone near her to copy her answers.

She only backed down when it was pointed out that the only DC within eyeshot of DD were doing a completely different exam (DD had permission to choose her seat to avoid direct sunshine due to an eye condition, so was amongst another exam group). Poor DD was being threatened with not being able to sit any more exams at school ever again .

Sounds like a very stressy invigilator to me. The JCQ Information to Candidates says "Do not talk to or try to communicate with or disturb other candidates once the exam has started." See here: www.jths.co.uk/sites/default/files/5.4%20Information%20for%20candidates%20-%20written%20exams.pdf

If I were you, I would remind them of this. In no way did she contravene this rule.

I always try to keep the candidates as calm and relaxed as possible before the start of an exam. There is no need for this additonal stress and I am sure this could have been handled so much better on the part of the school.

Remember too, that the invigilator does not know the children. Your dd could be fantastic, or could be Troublemaker number 1, who needs to have things clear from the start.
Consistency is vital in school. Appearing to condone talking with one pupil can lead to less amenable pupils taking it as a cue to push their luck.

The invigilator did use their discretion, as seeker's daughter has not been disqualified. The rules are there, she says she was told what they were but misinterpreted. She has been put straight. It seems to have been well handled to me.

Every exam desk at DD's school has a card with the candidates name and number on. They are sat in candidate number order. So it is assigned seating. It is all set out ready before the candidates enter the room.

The teachers aren't allowed in the exam room but they register the students in the lobby and get them lined up in the right order ready to go in.

Hope your DD is ok now OP.

do you sit in specific seats then? are the papers named?

took O levels back in days of yore

In every school I have worked in, the rule is silence from when you enter the room. I've invigilated a lot and there is rarely a reason to talk once you are in the room.
If you don't follow the rules, you can be disqualified.

Bollocks, it's perfectly straightforward to make it clear that the exam starts now, and there should be no more talking.

The right message is not that if you have an issue to deal with that requires speaking before the start of the exam you will be punished severely.

Invigilators are supposed to use their judgment, not just terrify teenagers by making unnecessary threats.