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Original poster

Will DD likely be penalised for this

432 replies

curiousitygotthebetterofme · 04/06/2022 22:44

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?

OP posts:
IWentAwayIStayedAway · 04/06/2022 23:24

@MadameMinimes there were gcses in northern ireland this week. cant comment on Wales or Scotland. it is not half term here.

Eightiesfan · 04/06/2022 23:24

Best case, she will lose marks, worst case she will be disqualified. This actually happens quite a lot, most of the time most students just forget.

WishILivedInThrushGreen · 04/06/2022 23:25

Hang in, yesterday was a bank holiday?!

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WishILivedInThrushGreen · 04/06/2022 23:26

Sorry.. hang on

MadameMinimes · 04/06/2022 23:27

Apologies, when I hear GCSE I think England and Wales. I stand corrected.

Fuuuuuckit · 04/06/2022 23:27

A friend's dc was disqualified from their art gcse as his phone went off in their exam. The phone was in his bag, at the back of the room, but it was, unfortunately, an absolute black and white textbook disqualification.

Kids are told over and over and over again, no phones. Your dd will likely be disqualified.

(as an aside, is she sitting any more exams with the same exam board? In theory they could disqualify her from all of their exams this season if she is found with a phone on her in just one exam. Sorry.)

Original poster
curiousitygotthebetterofme · 04/06/2022 23:27

WishILivedInThrushGreen · 04/06/2022 23:25

Hang in, yesterday was a bank holiday?!

She sat the exam on Wednesday, part of this post is one that I had copied from a message I sent my teacher friend on Thursday and I forgot to change “yesterday” to Wednesday

OP posts:
Original poster
curiousitygotthebetterofme · 04/06/2022 23:28

Fuuuuuckit · 04/06/2022 23:27

A friend's dc was disqualified from their art gcse as his phone went off in their exam. The phone was in his bag, at the back of the room, but it was, unfortunately, an absolute black and white textbook disqualification.

Kids are told over and over and over again, no phones. Your dd will likely be disqualified.

(as an aside, is she sitting any more exams with the same exam board? In theory they could disqualify her from all of their exams this season if she is found with a phone on her in just one exam. Sorry.)

Oh my goodness I hope this doesn’t happen.

does anyone know what happens if she does get banned from all other exams this summer? Does she get expelled from school?

OP posts:
clary · 04/06/2022 23:29

Apols op, had no idea NI students sat exams through half term. Presumably NI-only boards.

Original poster
curiousitygotthebetterofme · 04/06/2022 23:30

clary · 04/06/2022 23:29

Apols op, had no idea NI students sat exams through half term. Presumably NI-only boards.

There is no half term in NI in the summer term.

they only get a half term in October and February, with nothing in the summer term but they get a longer summer holiday to make up for it

OP posts:
YerAWizardHarry · 04/06/2022 23:32

@titchy there were national and higher exams for Drama and Urdu in Scotland on Wednesday although not GCSEs..

Seasidefuntime · 04/06/2022 23:32

The exam board will not have to prove she used it, she was caught with the phone in an exam where mobile phones are not allowed. If there were no repercussions for taking a mobile in to an exam unless the exam board prove a kids used it then I would expect more student would do it. My two kids are doing their a levels\GCSEs at the moment, they too are working very hard, if another pupil had a mobile in their exams and they were told it was “ok as it was turned off” there would be a lot of complaint!

clary · 04/06/2022 23:32

Yes sorry, that’s what I meant, no May half term so they are sitting through the Eng/Wales half term. That’s tough actually, recall my dc being soooo relieved to hit half term and a break. So sorry Op, maybe don’t tell her what we’ve told you.

xyzandabc · 04/06/2022 23:34

At best, she will lose all marks for that paper. At worst, she will not get a grade for any exams taken with that exam board. Likely, she will not get a grade for that subject but will get grades for all her other subjects. She will be allowed to sit all of her other exams whether she gets grades for them will be decided later.

That's my experience of the 4 big exam boards in England. NI exam boards may do it differently, I don't know.

Pickabearanybear · 04/06/2022 23:36

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PinkPomegranite · 04/06/2022 23:36

As far as I understand the exam board in Northern Ireland comes under JCQ, if so your daughter will lose her marks for that exam. Once the school have made the report they should get a decision letter and then they can appeal.

I had almost the exact same scenario a few years ago (except that student didn't drop their phone until they picked their blazer off the back of their chair as they left) and was able to appeal the decision. I included character references, invigilator statements and a statement from the student and JCQ overturned the original decision. It took almost until results day and initially the decision was made to take the marks away as we had already been inspected and shown to have all the correct posters and announcements.

It's important the school are on board to fight for her marks and I really hope they support her OP, it's such a harsh lesson to learn at that age.

Original poster
curiousitygotthebetterofme · 04/06/2022 23:42

PinkPomegranite · 04/06/2022 23:36

As far as I understand the exam board in Northern Ireland comes under JCQ, if so your daughter will lose her marks for that exam. Once the school have made the report they should get a decision letter and then they can appeal.

I had almost the exact same scenario a few years ago (except that student didn't drop their phone until they picked their blazer off the back of their chair as they left) and was able to appeal the decision. I included character references, invigilator statements and a statement from the student and JCQ overturned the original decision. It took almost until results day and initially the decision was made to take the marks away as we had already been inspected and shown to have all the correct posters and announcements.

It's important the school are on board to fight for her marks and I really hope they support her OP, it's such a harsh lesson to learn at that age.

Thanks for the information, I really do hope they plead her case.

she has been in tears over the prospect of getting no grades this august over this. She really has had her head in the book since September and I know she has worked so so hard to do well.

part of me thought why are the school even bothering to report her to the the board but the reality is I know they have to.

im guessing you were / are a teacher - if she does get banned from doing exams, does she get excluded from school?

OP posts:
PAFMO · 04/06/2022 23:50

I had two students caught at the same exam a few years ago.
Both had to submit a declaration of sorts to the exam board, a kind of detailed statement about everything they remembered from the day itself including any mention from the invigilators about phones (and other rules) etc.
Their results were "withheld" pending investigation. Both were disqualified.
The school wasn't asked at any stage by the exam board to intervene or supply any further statements in favour of the kids.

FuchsAndMöhr · 04/06/2022 23:54

curiousitygotthebetterofme · 04/06/2022 23:19

I’m not in England. Different part of the UK.

But yesterday was a BH in all of the UK 🤷🏼‍♀️

FuchsAndMöhr · 04/06/2022 23:58

FuchsAndMöhr · 04/06/2022 23:54

But yesterday was a BH in all of the UK 🤷🏼‍♀️

Show quote history

FTFT Fuchs 🙈🙄🤣

Fuuuuuckit · 05/06/2022 00:02

part of me thought why are the school even bothering to report her to the the board

Really?!? The school is an exam centre, and no doubt is providing potentially thousands of exams every year. If it was to get out that someone was 'cheating' and it WASN'T reported, the school could be prevented from hosting exams - THE WHOLE POINT OF TEACHING GCSE COURSES

Kids are told endlessly about not having mobile phones in the exam hall, and what the consequences are if they do. Schools have a duty to report events like this, as they do fire alarms, or provide additional support for certain students. You're not sure why they're bothering to report it? How about professional integrity and conduct, the exams officer wanting to keep their job, and being trusted to continue to be an exam centre? It's more than their job's worth not to report it, and your dd should absolutely know better.

PinkPomegranite · 05/06/2022 00:03

I'm an exams officer @curiousitygotthebetterofme so was involved in the reporting and statements. It took a while for the initial decision to come back so the student was already sitting other exams as normal. Being excluded from school would be upto the school not the exam board so I guess that depends on her school.

We weren't asked to intervene or give further evidence @PAFMO but used the appeals process. I've done one other malpractice report which wasn't appealed as there were no grounds for appeal and no way that one could have been a mistake on the student's part.

I would suggest having another talk with the school OP and see what they think. Being disqualified from all exams is the harshest penalty and will mean no results for the school which most schools want to avoid.

Carrotten · 05/06/2022 00:49

Did she really forget? It seems so unlikely, its so heavily repeated do not take your phone in. Its not just forget to hand into reception, especially when everyone else will be sorting out their phones.

Head in a book since September sounds quite anxious for GCSEs, could she have been so anxious she put her phone in just in case? I think there's a bit of a misconception that people who cheat are the more badly behaved pupils, but often can be high achievers or hard workers who are anxious about 'failure"

TenTentacles · 05/06/2022 01:06

(Nc as outing)
DD was in a similar (but not identical) situation.
The school referred her to the exam board - she was disqualified from the whole GCSE, not just that one exam.
A tough lesson learned the hard way, unfortunately. It caused a lot of heartache, and an extra year at school.
Sorry to be negative and I really hope it's not the same for your DD.

Stompythedinosaur · 05/06/2022 01:28

How did she manage to forget about her phone? Surely there will have been reminder signs and the invigilator will have given a reminder at the beginning.

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