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Original poster

If your child is in hospital, can school really refuse to let them sit the exam on another day?

30 replies

QuintessentiallyQS · 13/06/2014 11:19

My son had an accident (Long and complicated story, involving toilet bleach in his eye), and went to minor injuries, and dh was told he needed to take him to an eye specialist for 8.30 am the following day for a check up and a closer look, and gave him a letter to take to school because he had several end of year exams.

The school told them that he had to come and sit the exams, as he would not be able to sit them another day. He could do his exam at home but it would not be marked.

Can a school really do this if a child is injured and has to go to hospital? Son went straight to school after seeing the eye specialist, and sat two exams with an eye patch and in pain, but missed out on taking his maths paper. So he will not get a maths grade.

I am beginning to have second thoughts we made a right choice about his school.

This is just one aspect of rigid nonsense we have experienced in this year.

OP posts:
summerends · 13/06/2014 15:52

Quintessentially, your poor DS, especially also having to do the other papers whilst in pain. It does sound a bit intransigent of the school but it must be nice to have a DC who is gutted about missing a maths exam Smile. The school obviously know he is good at maths though which is probably why they are n't worried about him taking it.

Original poster
QuintessentiallyQS · 13/06/2014 11:39

Thanks for the offer, SDT, he is just in Y7, so it is an internal exam. I just dont understand why they could not let him sit it at home, mark it and tell him it cant be an "official" grade due to not actually sitting it.

He will "leave" Y7 without a mark for maths. He is gutted, as maths is his best subject, and he was part of the maths challenge as one of a handful of kids in his year, just missing out on a medal with one point.

The school is so strict in all aspects we are seriously considering moving him, and I am currently exploring other options.

OP posts:
OwlCapone · 13/06/2014 11:32

That sounds ridiculous. last year, DS1 missed an internal Y9 exam due to a fracture clinic appointment and he simply sat it on the Monday. Ds2 missed a couple as he was sent home ill and he also sat them on the Monday.

I would ask what the implications are for your son. I'm guessing they'll use course work and teacher opinion if it affects setting next year.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 13/06/2014 11:30

If it was external exams, they would not be allowed to do this - but the exam boards have systems in place for dealing with this - keeping a child isolated (so they can't speak to children who have already sat the paper) or giving them a different paper, if neccessary.

I assume the school can't provide a different exam paper - they probably only do one paper for the end of year exams, and may have used previous years' papers during revision for the exams, and they aren't going to be able to keep your child secluded, just for end of year exams.

However, this doesn't explain why they can't let him sit the exam at home, and put a note in the records saying that this was what happened.

As it is the maths paper he has missed, I would suggest taking them up on the offer to do it at home, and then find a local maths tutor who would agree to mark it for you. If it came to it, you could scan it in and email it to me, and ds2, who is reading maths at Edinburgh, could probably mark it for you - so your son wouldn't have an official grade, but would have a mark that you and he would know was a fair reflection of the work he has done.

outtolunchagain · 13/06/2014 11:28

If it is just a school exam it probably doesn't matter and I wouldn't worry.My son's school has just had a rota of teachers going into hospital (40 miles away)to invigilate for a boy with leukaemia for his A levels so they definitely do do important exams in hospital

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