My son did his grade 8 trombone at Trinity Laban in Greenwich today. We chose that venue because, although further from home, we were impressed that they did exams on a Sunday (easier logistically for us, despite the longer journey) and thought it would be well-managed, being - I suppose - a flagship venue (having had bad experiences at school and local exam centres).
Pieces apparently went well. Nice room, nice piano, accompanist said he played excellently.
But then .... apparently members of the public were free to walk around outside (ok, it's a major London landmark with - presumably - public access around the outside) but also could walk right up to the windows of the hall and peer in. At one point there were a couple of kids with their noses right up against the glass, and at another point he said there were 5 adults just standing there, staring in. I guess he managed to block it out during the pieces, but it really distracted him during the supporting tests to the point where he really fluffed the aural tests. Apparently the examiner wouldn't have seen as she had her back to the windows. I don't know if the steward would have been aware. My son didn't say anything.
He came out really upset and flustered and just wanted to get out of the building as quickly as possible. The full story only came out after we'd left and were walking down the road. I didn't feel able to go back and have a word. Also, not sure who I could have spoken to since the waiting room was staffed by a couple of students who barely looked up from their phones.
So, what do I do? I really think this was unacceptable and unfair. I know, as a musician, you have to be able to accept the unexpected and carry on (which he managed to do in the pieces) but this was unfair and detrimental in an exam situation, I think. On top of everything, he has ASD and we had worked hard on 'what ifs' and went through carefully what to expect (as far as we possibly could, as we don't know the venue). I went over everything I could think of, but not the fact that there might be some muppet members of the public gawping at him.
I've seen on the Trinity website that there's a form for 'feedback' but I know from general enquiries that they've not good at responding. Given that they tend to give out results quite quickly anyway, I want to make my complaint as soon as possible. Planning to ring up in the morning.
Anyone got any advice? I see that the appeals procedure is expensive and long-winded (bloody cheek).
I'm so sorry for my son (as well as angry): these exams cost a fortune, kids put in hours of work, and get this kind of treatment. He was hopeful for a distinction (which his teacher thought was perfectly possible) but he really doesn't think that's now going to be the outcome.