Will DD likely be penalised for this

[curiousitygotthebetterofme]

DD(15) sat a GCSE exam yesterday, which she prepared so well and worked hard for.

She is aware of all the exam hall rules including that you can’t bring mobile phones in with you.

Yesterday, she had her phone with her but forgot to leave it at the school reception until after the exam was finished.

She was not using her mobile phone during the exam nor did she attempt to. The phone was also switched off.

It was in her pocket and it fell out onto the floor and invigilator seen it happen.

Her head of year rang me yesterday to inform
that they are obliged to report it to the exam board and that they could very well take marks off her or disqualify her.

I feel sorry for DD as she worked so hard for these exams and she has been quite distressed over it all and the possibility of being penalised. It just slipped her mind but she knows to be more aware for future exams.

I get that exam boards have to follow procedures, but surely the fact she wasn't actually using the phone will work in her favour?

Just resit it penalised or disqualified

I can't see how she would forget. Everyone else would have been putting their phones wherever they were meant to go. Also how did the phone fall out of her jacket pocket? Was she taking her jacker off or?

I thought all exams were linear now?

How can they form an opinion? Based on what?

Only in England.

Oh it's one of these threads:

OP asks question about exams/schools

Teachers, TAs, exam officers and dozens of others with the knowledge and experience etc all respond with the (correct and only) answer

OP (and often others, overly invested in the outcome) expresses incredulity and frustration that the given answer isn't the one they wanted as it inconveniences their offspring

Someone (sometimes also the OP) accuses teachers etc of vitriol and of picking on innocent children.

No wonder teachers are leaving the profession

😕😕

Presumably it will be relatively easy to prove it wasn’t activated/switched on for that time period? Must be in the phones data somewhere

She isn't accused of the phone being switched on, so that's irrelevant.

That's kind of irrelevant.
You aren't allowed a phone, full stop.
They know it was off, so the penalty will be lower than if it were on.

And to everyone saying they can't see how she would forget.
If her intent was to leave it elsewhere earlier she may well have ticked it off her mental list, so on hearing the reminders would have thought 'I'm sorted'.

There is so much to remember

• right room, right time


• is the paper in front of them correct (there has already been a thread this season of a DC sitting an AQA paper when entered for Edexcel)


• all the content and the last minute revision

It really isn't surprising the occasional teen screws up.

When DD1 did GCSEs we left her phone at home as she is so distractable.

What exam board is it? And how many of her other subjects are also on that board. It' could make a huge difference because some students sit nearly all papers with only one board - say AQA and only 1 with Edexcel.

No it isn't that. OP asks a question. People come on and say the exam will probably be cancelled then many many more comments saying the exact same thing just to put the boot in.
Then some extra 'your daughter is lying and probably was going to cheat' to add to the fun along with some 'there weren't any exams in the U.K. at that time the OP is lying'

I think the OP gets it now.

Spot on.

Exactly. Your teen left the phone at home.

To be honest it doesn't matter of there are so many things to remember. Rules are rules and that is it.

Whether the occasional teen screws up or not there are always going to be consequences and that's it. Imagine if your child got penalised and this one didn't.

@fUNNYfACE36 education is like health a devolved matter.

In Wales state school sit with WJEC board - which kept A* to G grading and avoided Goves reforms. I think it's only private school's that occasionally sit with English boards as well.

In N.I where OP is - last time I read anything about GCSE they sit a mix of their board which kept A-G grading and English boards - so there student have a mix of 1-9 and AG. I'm not sure of its subjects or school which determine that - but OP DD should know which board the exam was with.

So either OP DD Y10 was sitting an English GCSE early - which is allowed in Wales and in fact canlt be avoided in our area - or is like DS sitting an end of unit exam that is a percentage of final mark.

I think it's this as well.

RS and Skills challenge start GCSE part way through Y9 after Christmas at DC school and rest start in Y10 - English lit starts last half term of Y9.

DD1 ended up with 12 GCSE and DS is sitting currently 11 GCSE -- they both only had three options they could chose at GCSE.

Reforms are coming in 2024 - and then English and maths go back down to one GCSE and I think they are taking away option of triple science GCSE.

Apparently many Welsh school's currently don't offer English Lit at all - local ones it's done mainly in Y10 - I don't know why it's not started earlier in Y9 - and there no option of retaking if failed or poor grade.

Under this system it made no odds to the school’s headline figures if a bright student who should have got an A or A instead achieved a B in year 10.

Though DC school does have this view in both Y10 and Y11 GCSE - though the colleges here will take grade B for A-level subjects - and they do seem to get decent grades at A-level.

That's really unfair!

Perhaps. There are those who think it unfair that Welsh students leave school with qualifications that are widely considered to be less rigorous.

It’s telling that most independent schools in Wales offer English or international GCSEs.

@minutesturntohours and others, our regulatory and legal systems are not designed to consider questions of intent except in the gravest cases, such as manslaughter vs murder.

Knowing how overworked university academic integrity and appeals boards already are, I cannot begin to imagine the chaos that would ensue if the question of intent were a factor when exam boards decided cases like the present one. Uni students would expect the same treatment. It doesn’t take a cynic to expect that cheating cases would increase. (I am generally considered quite ‘soft’.).

Students would also take the expectation that intent is primary into the working world. Employers would not thank us for that. Although the regs are cold and may seem harsh, they are the only way to be fair to everyone.

I am slightly surprised that you as a teacher are not interested helping the OP and her DD to see that whatever happens now, they have the right to expect that the school will help them to move forward constructively.

There are those who think it unfair that Welsh students leave school with qualifications that are widely considered to be less rigorous.

🙄
This is as useful as saying some would think it unfair that the poor English students only take a measly 9 GCSEs when many Welsh students get 14 or 15, so have a much broader education to GCSE level.

It's just a different approach. Unless there's any evidence that outcomes for Welsh students are worse as a result of having studied in Wales.

I’m afraid there is. Wales remains the lowest performing of the UK nations in the PISA rankings: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50629432.amp.

There’s no need to roll your eyes at me. I take no pleasure in the situation. DH and I are both Welsh and work in education, and if we had confidence in the system we’d have moved home years ago. We were really disappointed by the new curriculum, too - no option to study triple science in Welsh state schools is a dreadful shame.

many Welsh students get 14 or 15, so have a much broader education to GCSE level.

I don't know any one taking that many - DC school struggle with 11/12 GCSEs and timetabling and I talk to parents with DC at other schools and DD1 is at college with wider area intake and her 12 GCSEs is normal amount.

I suppose some schools may be managing that number but not in our area.

We were really disappointed by the new curriculum, too - no option to study triple science in Welsh state schools is a dreadful shame.

I agree - though there are things I do like about Welsh education.

I don't know any one taking that many

At DC school they do 9 compulsory (8 if doing double science) plus 4 options plus Welsh Bacc plus about 1/3 of them do additional maths. So 13 is standard for those in lower sets and 15 for those in higher sets.

I’m afraid there is. Wales remains the lowest performing of the UK nations in the PISA rankings

In terms of outcomes I was thinking more along the lines of struggling to get uni places or jobs. It doesn't seem to have affected DS's offers this year and I can't imagine any employer taking exam boards into consideration.

I completely agree about getting rid of triple science though, madness.

Another humourous reference to the fact people can't possibly believe I'm a teacher, I assume. Purely because I didn't launch on a pile on about a teenager, and showed them some compassion and an attempt to make OP feel like it isn't the worst deal in the world, rather than taking glee.

If you think I'm ridiculous enough to make a MN account and forge a false career, well......fair enough.

At DC school its compulsary : 2 English, 2 maths, 1 welsh, 1 RS , 1 skills challenge, (formally welsh bacc), 2 science for everyone, then 3 options so far our children have chose triple science as one of their options .

DS is in top set maths and there was talk of them taking GCSE early - they didn't DD1 year have plans to do this for any of them - and taking additional maths GCSE but no sure if that's going ahead due to massive covid disruptions and issues with staffing.

That's normal for this area - and both DC in this area were all top sets - though I grant you overall the GCSE results in the area are on the low side nationally.

They have to have a two week alternating timetable to fit all the lessons in.

It's very strange it should be so different - though here the minimum needed is 5 GCSE above c grade including maths and English lang and usually at least a B in that subject to go on to A-levels - so number taken wouldn't impact that.