Son is ill during GCSEs

[Caerulea]

He threw up yesterday morning but was able to go in & do his exam, then I picked him up after. Next is exam is tomorrow & this morning he got up & had diarrhea & stomach hurts. Mild headache but no other obvs signs but for stomach acid pain.

So I've kept him off today but what do I do tomorrow? I'm not wholly sure if this is illness or stress & he's not able to make those links himself to tell me. He displays ZERO stress about the exams (he's autistic, it's bloody obvious to anyone else but the school refused to test him cos he's so capable)

I can see there are ways for the boards to compensate etc but am concerned his grades won't be representative. He's on for 8's & 9's - if he's unable to make it in what are the chances he'll get truly representative grades? He's a total outlier in the school itself, it's a really badly performing school (though wellbeing & safety is high)

As far as he's concerned he's going in tomorrow.

yes, speak to school/exam coordinator.
at my dc school non-attendence without dr note is counted as fail. and re-sits are not always possible. (not uk, so possibly different)

good luck with the exams!

OK will do - is there any chance they'll say not to come in?

Very much doubt it!
But they might want to put in protocols to stop him mixing with others.

d and v is normally 48 hours off but this does not apply during exams.

inform school and send him in. Get medication from pharmacy - diaoralyte will help with rehydration and you can get Buscopan and Imodium as well.
tell him to tell and invigilator so that he can signal to go out to the loo if he’s going to be sick/diarrhoae. An invigilator will go with him but not into the cubicle.

good luck to him

No chance.

i used to work at a school.
yhey did everything they could to get students physically in the exam room.

they might give him his own room if he’s really bad but they will want him in.

sickness adjustments from the exam board are a grade A pain in the arse.

Understandable!!

Perfect, thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know

It is most likely that he will get a 2% uplift (criteria here) chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/JCQ-A-guide-to-the-special-consideration-process-24-25_FINAL_accessible.pdf

Nope as others said OP no chance - medical evidence for a missed exam needs to be watertight

this they can and will sort it out for tomorrow for him go do it

JCQ say medical evidence is not required, it is s self cert form but the school does have to agree the illness is genuine. The form for missing an exam is here chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Form-14_Self-Certification-Form.pdf

From JCQ

EXAMPLES OF WHEN SPECIAL CONSIDERATION IS AND IS NOT APPROPRIATE

Example 1

A Year 12 candidate is sitting GCE AS qualifications in June 2025. The candidate is unable to attend any of his AS examinations (Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics) due to a temporary injury. The centre will re-enter him again for GCE AS Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics at the next available assessment opportunity in June 2026.

Example 2

A candidate misses two GCSE papers in one day, French in the morning and Computer Science in the afternoon, due to ill health. She meets the minimum requirements for a GCSE award in June 2025, having completed over 15% of the total assessment in both GCSE subjects*. The centre applies for special consideration. As the centre knows that the candidate has been struggling with her health over the past few days, they can write a supporting letter to substantiate her absence from the two GCSE papers.

Example 3

A candidate sits a GCE A-level Government and Politics examination on Thursday morning. He is known to be struggling with a chest and ear infection yet is adamant that he must sit his examination. The candidate’s illness is clear to the invigilation team. However, the candidate is unable to attend his GCE A-level German examination the following morning. He meets the minimum requirements for a GCE A-level German award since he has already completed one paper which is worth more than 15% of the total assessment. The centre can write a statement supporting the application for special consideration since they know he was falling ill prior to his absence from Friday morning’s examination.

Example 4

A candidate sits a GCSE Italian examination on Thursday afternoon. There were no known problems during Thursday’s examination. However, she does not attend her GCSE Geography examination on Friday morning. Her mother contacts the school office on the morning of the Geography examination to report her absence owing to a stomach upset. Medical evidence is not available to substantiate the request. The centre advises the parent to complete the relevant part of Form 14 – JCQ/ME which is then brought into the school office. The centre having received Form 14 feels able to support the application and submits an online application for special consideration. Form 14 is retained on the centre’s files.

Poor lad. Hope he feels better tomorrow and aces those exams!

I would let him go if he feels he can manage. He’s not vomitting and having diarrhoea regularly which suggest to me it’s a nervy tummy rather than a sickness bug or anything. It doesn’t sound like the diarrhoea is regular enough to prevent him sitting the exam. Encourage him to go before the exam and if he has to go to the bathroom a couple of times during then it’s not the end of the world.

Get in touch with school asap. They have plans to cope with ill children during exams

I'd get in touch with head of year and exam officer - explain situation and see what the say.

They have kids in seperate rooms for exams for many different reasons - that may be an option - but sooner you get in touch with them more time they have to come up with a plan and decide what best.

Just to update -

Have contacted school & am waiting for a call back.

He's eaten two pieces of buttered toast which is actually more than he'd normally eat before 4pm on a school day

Contact school they will have a protocol and be best placed to advise...
Not sure why you need school involvement for autism assessment - most are only involved in the sense that the team assessing will contact them for a report on how he presents at school. Many children mask in school so it's not that unusual

Would he have something like ginger cordial, a ginger shot or ginger beer?

I used to have Belvoir ginger cordial in orange juice for morning sickness. someone is just feeling a bit queasy rather than having an actual bug or virus ginger can really help.

Former invigilator here - send him to school email the examination officer to inform her of his illness - call the dr and inform them you will require a medical letter (also take child so they can see) this will be medical proof so the examination officer can tell the exam board to take into consideration.
Also request he be sat near the door / exit and have an invigilator present because he will need to go, then tell him the minutes he was out using the toilet he wants back as time ( that way he doesnt loose time going to the loo)

Invigilators have to record what time the leave the hall and what time they re-enter, if he's been out for 5 minutes then that time gets added back onto his final time. Your son needs to request this please arm him with this information. If the invigilators deny this tell them to check their JCQ rules he is entitled to the time back.

We've been told at our school by the exam boards that any missed exams will mean the grade will be given based on the other sat papers for that subject. Assuming it's English Language in the morning there's only 2 papers - so will have needed to perform really well in that to get a decent grade.

Also what did you mean by "he's autistic it's obvious but the school won't test him?" Is he diagnosed? If so what aren't the school testing him for?

Depends on your area. Where I am CAMHS would only accept a referral from school. They refused the referral from the GP. All autism assessments were via CAMHS.

Thank you for the point about English, hadn't thought of that.

Have briefly covered the autism thing & it's only relevant here in terms of him not being able to identify why he's poorly or if he's even anxious/stressed.

Please speak to the school and exam office.
My older DS is autistic, stress manifests as aura style headaches and vomiting too.
My DD had the same last few days and her school have sorted out access immediately, separate room, special consideration, chat before exams, counsellors and for her we do not know if it is undiagnosed ADHD or physical as she has dangerously low iron stores, evidenced by a blood test. The GP has also written a note yesterday.
School had observed DD looking really faint and doing weird Tics in previous exams so they sorted it all out yesterday.

No idea on the situation at the time but I’m an invigilator and I know we had a pupil who had a 1-1 person sat in the room ready and waiting for a ‘medical episode’. I did wonder if this was to rush them to the toilet. They’ll want him to sit it and if it’s that bad they may come to you and do a home invigilation.

It's the path we had to follow after the referral for the hospital visit - GP & school but it's the school that had to refer. 3yr wait & this was last year so I can see why that, combined with his exemplary behaviour & grades & ability to interact etc etc, meant they didn't see a need to refer. He needs no intervention in a school setting, no support etc.

It's what we knew would happen.