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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Three Alevels on the same day?

123 replies

Possiblynotever · 16/11/2021 10:56

My DD just checked the timetable of her Alevel exams. On the 7th of June she will have three: Spanish, English and Math. I have contacted the school and they say that it is unfortunate but there is nothing they can do about it. Apparently there are " regulations" that deal with this and they will make sure she is aware of them.
I feel that three exams in the same day is truly a very stressful experience and I doubt she will be able to be on top of all the topics.
Is there something that can be done?

OP posts:

lanthanum · 16/11/2021 14:53

[quote Possiblynotever]@EileenGC I know how the Spanish system works and it is better and easier. You have a set amount of days with examinations all at the same time. No boards. The papers are chosen by the Ministry of Education and released on the day to headmasters. All go at the same time.
In England you get several exams on the same subject, not one.

Frankly I would not see any problems with exams going from the end of April to the middle of July.
Her GCSEs started at the end of April and the last exam was at the very end of June ( she took four in year 10 and 2 in year 9). She had two exams in a day but not 3.[/quote]
Middle of July would mean no results until September, which might make things difficult for sorting university places.
Starting earlier would reduce teaching time. For some reason, this is something which is rarely considered.
It would also be difficult for schools to have exams going on throughout the summer term.

Now, if we moved the university year to be Jan - Dec, then A-level exams could be scheduled right through the summer holidays, results in October, start uni in January. (It's been suggested before, one major problem being that there would be a funding gap for universities at the point it's implemented. It's a pity we didn't make the change when the pandemic hit: we could have written off the first lockdown term for current 1st/2nd years, done that in the autumn, and then everyone started the new academic year in January. The government would have had to contribute to cover that income gap, but it would have been the best time to do it.)

titchy · 16/11/2021 15:12

[quote Possiblynotever]@ssash I hear what you are saying but frankly I do not think that the current youth deserves to be called " snowflakes"... I feel that they are generally very responsible, thorough, well meaning and healthy. They have to manage their lives much earlier than we ever had to in a totally uncompromising society with mean previous generations that got Uni fully paid for calling them " snowflakes" sitting on their defined benefits packages...[/quote]
Ds had three GCSE exams on one day aged 16. He managed though was a bit annoyed at having to have lunch and make small talk with one of his teachers (yes I did suggest that revising rather than making small talk would have been more productive....) It was fine.

Sorry OP this is nothing particularly unusual or something that should affect your child's MH. And although I loathe the snowflake term, parents making this an issue simply perpetuates the underlying sentiment of the term, and gives kids the impression that they won't be able to cope. Not helpful.

titchy · 16/11/2021 15:14

And you may not see any problem with exams in mid July but those kids wanting their results for uni would.

thevassal · 16/11/2021 15:15

Not sure what the pandemic has to do with anything, as others have said this has been standard practice for years. I remember having to do two "writey" subjects (English and history) which were both 3hrs long on the same day -my hand was like a claw by the end of it and I'm surprised if the last answer was legible!

SeasonFinale · 16/11/2021 15:41

@Possiblynotever

Frankly I find it incredible that on the last year, after a pandemic, it is possible to ask a pupil to take 6 hours of examination in three completely unrelated subjects because of organisational problems of the exam boards. Of course they end up with mental health issues due to stress and nobody truly gives a damn. We are getting just lip service. There is something very, very wrong with this.

She will only have three because her school has opted to use different exam boards though. As I stated before some subjects have 3 hour exams so may have 6 hours anyway. Also if a student has extra time they can end up with longer exams eg. a 3 hour exam becomes 3 hours 45 minutes.

If she has prepared properly it won't matter if she has 3 on one day rather than 2 one and 1 the next.

SeasonFinale · 16/11/2021 15:45

@OnceuponaRainbow18

Love how people are just making up responses based on what they think will happen/what happened to them in the 80s

@Possiblynotever
Please speak to the school directly, one may be deferred to the next day

Only if the total of A level exams exceed 6 hours in the one day, otherwise under JCQ rules they must be taken on the same day.

Haskell · 16/11/2021 16:11

@SeasonFinale It doesn't matter which board, the subjects are standard on same days. The difficulty is students taking unusual combinations- not many take English and maths at A level.
As many posters have said upthread it's perfectly usual to have 6 hours of exam in one day. She needs to check with her centre what the timings for the three will be.

Tibby99 · 16/11/2021 16:14

Completely normal.

Had the same when I did my a levels.

When I did my gcses the exams were so packed in I had several days of multiple exams to sit. Just the way it is, gets it over with though - and it really is good prep for further education and world of work!

clary · 16/11/2021 16:18

Yep @SeasonFinale, your statement she will only have three because her school has opted to use different exam boards though is not the issue, as @Haskell and I have both pointed out. All the maths A level exams from all the boards are on at the same time.

But if you look at the A level timetable, multiple exams are on in any one session, simply for logistical reasons as stated.

Postdatedpandemic · 16/11/2021 16:34

Four GCSEs in year 10 and 2 in year 9

Ouch that is unfortunate, many Unis require All GCSEs to be sat in the same exam season.

Abetes · 16/11/2021 16:46

I did Maths, English and French for A level many many moons ago and had three exams on one day. It was fine. She will be fine too.

Original poster

Possiblynotever · 16/11/2021 16:49

@Postdatedpandemic I have no idea - this is what the school "suggested" and she did them, like all others.

The total amount of hours will exceed 6.

Thanks for the trouble a lot of you have gone through to explain the system; I really appreciate!

OP posts:

Malbecfan · 16/11/2021 16:55

Quite a lot of misunderstandings here.

As @Haskell correctly says, all exam boards do the same subject on the same day. It avoids clashes where schools use different boards for different subjects.

All those advocating for the exam period to last 3 or 4 months: what about the schools who have GCSEs and A levels happening at the same time? Are you suggesting that A levels can't be taken in the same room as GCSEs because the GCSEs are shorter and candidates leave earlier? It was ever thus I'm afraid. Or are you wanting GCSEs to run from January to April to avoid clashes there, followed by A levels from May to July? What about mock exams? Perhaps the whole school year could just be a feast of examining?

When exams are running in my school, pretty much any empty classroom is turned into an exam room, especially if it can be cordoned off to keep noise down. Every year it seems that more kids need extra time or adjustments. It isn't fair on the younger kids to take away their facilities for months on end because they are used for exams.

The system is far from perfect but it works ok and has done for a number of years. It is good preparation for life beyond school where you do get clashes of events.

SeasonFinale · 16/11/2021 17:05

[quote Haskell]@SeasonFinale It doesn't matter which board, the subjects are standard on same days. The difficulty is students taking unusual combinations- not many take English and maths at A level.
As many posters have said upthread it's perfectly usual to have 6 hours of exam in one day. She needs to check with her centre what the timings for the three will be.[/quote]
Yes I do understand that but the majority of issues like this do occur when schools use a mix of boards, in particular if they add in CAIE.

SeasonFinale · 16/11/2021 17:07

[quote Possiblynotever]@Postdatedpandemic I have no idea - this is what the school "suggested" and she did them, like all others.

The total amount of hours will exceed 6.

Thanks for the trouble a lot of you have gone through to explain the system; I really appreciate![/quote]
If that is the case then you will need to approach the school to enquire about a next day exam but beware your daughter may prefer the 3 in one day to an overnight supervision.

SeasonFinale · 16/11/2021 17:08

@clary

Yep *@SeasonFinale, your statement she will only have three because her school has opted to use different exam boards though is not the issue, as @Haskell* and I have both pointed out. All the maths A level exams from all the boards are on at the same time.

But if you look at the A level timetable, multiple exams are on in any one session, simply for logistical reasons as stated.

Sorry yes - should have said "may only" rather than will only.

clary · 16/11/2021 17:17

@Malbecfan to be clear, I am not advocating a many-month-long exam season to deal with possible clashes! In fact I think the only person here who thinks that is a good idea is the OP.

Haskell · 16/11/2021 17:18

Well, presumably CAIE have clashes because they're not regulated by Ofqual? Only independent schools would be offering CAIE in England and Wales, surely?

AlleZusammen · 16/11/2021 17:19

We may be in the same situation op as dd does maths, biol and French. Completely normal to be concerned about it being fair when its your own child and it could affect the uni they get into. If it wasn't an issue they'd have 3 exams per day for everyone as standard

clary · 16/11/2021 17:29

@AlleZusammen

Looks like she will have French and biology timetabled to both be in the morning on 24 June - but there is nothing in the afternoon so she will just have to be isolated before doing whichever she does second - still only two exams that day tho.

SeasonFinale · 16/11/2021 17:32

@Haskell

Well, presumably CAIE have clashes because they're not regulated by Ofqual? Only independent schools would be offering CAIE in England and Wales, surely?

Actually it is not the case that only indies offer CAIE but a common mistake.

LIZS · 16/11/2021 17:34

I think dd sat whichever paper had the larger numbers of candidates as timetabled and the other separately. She had a class of about 10 for French and 2 for German so those tended to be the displaced ones.

jgw1 · 16/11/2021 17:34

@Possiblynotever

My DD just checked the timetable of her Alevel exams. On the 7th of June she will have three: Spanish, English and Math. I have contacted the school and they say that it is unfortunate but there is nothing they can do about it. Apparently there are " regulations" that deal with this and they will make sure she is aware of them. I feel that three exams in the same day is truly a very stressful experience and I doubt she will be able to be on top of all the topics. Is there something that can be done?

English is 3 hours. Spanish is 2hours 30minutes. There is also Further Maths (not Maths) on 7th June which is 2 hours.

If (and I suspect the number of students taking that combination is less than 10 in the country) a student has 3 papers scheduled for the same day totalling more than 6 hours they may at the schools discretion take one of the papers the next morning.

clary · 16/11/2021 17:44

OP you haven't clarified whether this is in fact an issue - is your DD doing further maths? There is no maths A level on that day (just maths AS). I am over invested in this for sure!

Original poster

Possiblynotever · 16/11/2021 18:13

Frankly, she has always talked about Maths, but I assume it is further maths as the department head has confirmed that she has three exams on the same day, two of which are clashing.

I did not check the boards as, honestly, I would not know where to start: she is very independent and does it all by herself.

What would taking the paper the next morning entail?

OP posts:

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