To think summer is not the best time for exams ( and so many of them).

[malificent7]

So the weather is glorious, its hard to concentrate because of the heat, sleep is poorer generally and everyone wants the beach. Plus it's the law that as soon as the last exam is over it rains as it did the day of my last a-level 20 odd years ago.

Why not have exams in February or November...both rubbish, cold months with nothing better to do?

As an aside...dd has so many gcse mock exams...English is now lang, lit, speaking etc. Too much pressure.

Meh, when is it a good time fir exams?

Everyone is in it together

@Takoneko I have 6 GCSEs. 4 were subjects that were a mix of coursework, modular exams and final exams. 2 were final exams only.
Guess which 2 I did terrible in?
(clue…..it was the final exams ones).
It needs to be a mix to give everyone a decent chance.
Oh and my parents never helped me with coursework. Wouldn’t have even occurred to them to do that.

Ds is doing physics and geography GCSEs today and hoping that the antihistamine will last through till this afternoon. It's a bit shit. I had the same carry on through my exams a zillion years ago.

Having them in the middle of cough/ cold/ flu season would be much worse!

Funny how school based qualifications seem to have to be "final exam" based, yet Uni exams are modular and consist of a mix of coursework, assignments, group projects, progress tests, and final exams.

My son's degree course marking over the two final years is something like two thirds of total marks awarded on the year end "formal" exams, and one third based on work they've done outside of exam conditions, where they've been free to "collaborate" (cheat), Google for answers, refer to text books and course/lecture notes, etc. The overall "pass mark" for the degree is only 40%, and they can get 33% by getting full marks on all the unsupervised/uncontrolled work they do over two years. So they can do pretty badly on the final/formal/supervised tests and still get a half decent degree. That massively benefits students who aren't naturally good at formal exams or struggle with hay fever, fasting or whatever in the May/June exam season.

I really don't know why school exams continue to be so outdated. Like still not allowing "open book" exams in say English Literature. We're still stuck with predominantly rote learning which is just not needed in modern World when we all have easy access to Google for the basic facts etc. The entire school exam system needs moving over to logic, comprehension, evaluation, etc rather than blandly remembering things.

Though, having said all that, I was delighted to see the History GCSE is very different to how it used to be, far more emphasis on why things happened, cause and effect, etc rather than the bland rote learning of facts I endured when I did my History O level 40 years ago! At least some things have changed for the better.

Funny how school based qualifications seem to have to be "final exam" based, yet Uni exams are modular and consist of a mix of coursework, assignments, group projects, progress tests, and final exams.

Depends on the uni and the subject.
Dd's were based on exams set in the summer term in years 2 and 3. No coursework, assignments, group projects or progress tests.

Well yes, it does vary on the course. One of my son's flatmates had only a couple of final exams, and well over half of her marks were based on coursework, dissertations, etc.

I suppose what I'm trying to get at (probably badly) is that the exams/assessments etc at Uni are based on the subject, as you say, and that there's flexibility to use what the Uni considered to be the most appropriate method of evaluation. They don't use the same "one size fits all" approach that schools have with GCSEs and A levels.

Surely, if you did exams earlier in the year, the academic year would finish earlier, which would mean the new academic year would need to start earlier (assuming the summer break was still the same number of weeks). This would potentially result in the academic year starting in July/August.

Honestly I never found it a problem for any of the reasons mentioned. Usually exams finish by mid to late June and the weather is not that hot in that period anyway.

Why are some parents so bloody precious these days? No doubt if they were in the winter you would be moaning about Christmas and your poor wee teenage dote having to go in for exams with ice on the road.

It does seem crap but pp right that winter would mean lots missed due to illness.

I did exams every summer from age 11 through to 23 and I have to say I did not once consider the weather as an issue! And yes, we did have hot summers then. Kids are resilient. Adrenalin takes them through. But agree that weather always seemed to change once exams were over!

I completely agree, if only because DS suffers really badly with hay fever.

He wakes up completely bunged up with sore itchy eyes. He takes endless hay fever meds and uses eye drops. He gets hay fever induced asthma so need an inhaler too. I can’t help but think he’s not at his best in the summer!

I reckon March/April or September/October would be better with a complete restructure of the academic year.

@Guiltridden12345 I did exams every summer from age 11 through to 23 and I have to say I did not once consider the weather as an issue!

I agree. And not once did I ever hear a single peer wish exams could have been in the colder months. It’s not on their radar.

Some people don't seem to realise that the 'examiners' marking GCSE and A level exams are just ordinary teachers that choose to do so ( a lot of my colleagues are ). They have the time to do it as this time of the year because they no longer have those classes to prepare lessons for in an evening. One issue if you change the exam structure to modular exams throughout the year is that a lot of people would choose not to as the work load would not allow them to.

Or just give kids a longer summer holiday? That's what they do in the Netherlands. Kids take their final exams in May. Get 2-3 weeks off. Results in mid-June. Resits in late June/early July for those who need them. Effectively, most kids will be off from end of May until end of August.

Most take a celebratory holiday with friends during those 2-3 weeks and then spend the rest of their summer either relaxing or earning money before they start uni/college.

Exams obviously work better at the end of the school year.
One of the great joys of childhood is the long summer holidays with school finishing in July, and having the long end of school year holiday in the warmest month so children can play outside or go on holiday (I realise some people go abroad for a holiday but most don’t and stay in the Uk).

How is not having exams when the weather is "hot" better? I don't live in the UK, I don't recall finding exams in summer difficult, and I'm willing to bet we have more hot days here than you do! In fact, thinking about it, I have never once heard anyone, parent or child, complain about it. If they can cope, what is the issue?