Three Alevels on the same day?

[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?

@Possiblynotever

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?

Round here, the schools state which board they use for a given subject - and the specific syllabus variant, if appropriate - in their 6th form prospectus, which should be online.

Re the Maths / FM issue, unless she is actually taking 5 A levels this year - FM, although a full A level, is almost never taken as a stand alone subject by students in a normal state school - if it is Further Maths, your DD presumably 'took' Maths A level last year?

Even if it really makes no difference which board they are using (although DD moaned long and loud about her school using OCR for Eng.Lit, as it was the only 'closed book' one, apparently), in that you aren't going to be able to make them change boards if you prefer the look of another one, in my experience, all three schools where our DC have taken A levels have ask the parent to confirm that the list of exams for which the school intends to enter their DC is correct.

(I must say that I am also a bit boggled by a school which made current year 13s take six GCSEs earlier than year 11, btw).

@Revengeofthepangolins

I think people are being a bit aggressive about dropping the fourth a level, or AS level as the case may be. Quite a lot of schools do more than 3, for various reasons and it isn’t really on topic. And an exam clash would be a very odd reason to drop a subject.

Op said essentially that three exams on one day could lead to stress and mental health breakdown...it s clearly causing extreme anxiety already.

so a good enough reason to lessen the stress.

No reason to do four a levels. It s not needed for uni application.
So a simple solution. Drop one.

I do not think people should be advising a student to randomly drop A levels without knowing the precise situation!

Lots of students do take 4A levels still. The student could have already submitted their UCAS and received offers based on what exams they are taking. If this is the case all unis would have to be notified and offers could possibly be changed.

If doing further maths (and no, not all school take the Maths A level a year early, leaving the FM for year 13 as unis like 3 A levels taken at the same time if not doing 4) it is quite common for that to be part of a 4 A level package, and usually done as it is required for certain degrees. The 4A levels allow a breadth of subjects to be retained.

Furthermore, if a student has got to this stage of 6th form doing 4, it seems bizarre (not to mention a huge waste of time and effort) to simply drop one now due to an exam clash.

Hopefully the student concerned will be able to talk to her teachers and get the best advice for her circumstances. I am a staggered that a parent appears to have no idea of what her DD is studying, nor a vague Idea of how the system works though!

OP, with respect, I d think you are getting yourself tied up in knots here.

Nothing can be done to change it. She will be in the same position as many. many other students this year, and in previous years. The school cannot change a thing as the timetables are set by the exam boards. the exam boards have hundreds of exams to schedule - please remember that GCSE and A Level exams all run at the same time.

If she needs to have overnight supervision then that will be organised by the school. It is usually in the home of one of the SLT. You say that you are opposed to this. I assume she is going to be going to university next year? This will be a breeze compared to her moving away from home for weeks at a time. The school staff who do this, in my opinion, deserve our thanks. They are the ones who are welcoming someone else into their home. They will make it as easy and stress free as possible.

I remember having 6 hours of exams in one day when I was in sixth form. I dreaded it for months, but honestly, once you get into it on the day you just sort of do it and get on with it, and the time just passes.

There's ultimately nothing she can do about it, so just make sure she does the work, and gets into a healthy routine with diet and sleep etc. That's the best way to help.

Just to clarify overnights are not supervisors by school anymore - students stays at home. Parent accepts no responsibility.

This happened to two of my DC , I don't remember it being a big deal. I think DD had to be kept in purdah for an hour or two but they are 17 or 18 they have stamina. I would play it down personally and encourage her to think that it will be no problem.

The exams are all scheduled at the same time tho, regardless of exam board. All the Eng lit exams, from al the boards that offer it, will be at the same time of the same day - otherwise there would be a lot more clashes.

Does this include Cambridge Pre-U exams too?

@Gardenia22

The exams are all scheduled at the same time tho, regardless of exam board. All the Eng lit exams, from al the boards that offer it, will be at the same time of the same day - otherwise there would be a lot more clashes.

Does this include Cambridge Pre-U exams too?

No, only those awarding bodies who are regulated by JCQ have agreed timetables. The many and varied other qualifications that some independent schools like to do because they are easier do not follow the JCQ timetables.

The many and varied other qualifications that some independent schools like to do because they are easier do not follow the JCQ timetables.

Thanks.

I didn't think that Cambridge Pre U exams were easier than A levels - are they perceived as that?

Ok, I have checked with my DD: she is taking OCR ALevel Maths and the timetable came out of the OCR board...but, the Math exam is listed in red...so, maybe some hope that times will be changed? Maybe she is looking into the wrong information?

To those of you who helped and went on to check for me: thank you, I really appreciate!

A few of you have judged my parenting as I do not know the type of exams she is doing and how the system works. I am a very hands on parent and my DD is truly well looked after compared to some of her contemporaries ( she goes to a State school and plenty of her contemporaries do not have food for lunch...). She has chosen four very difficult subjects and I am truly proud of her. She is almost 18 and she wants to make her own choices with the help of her teachers as some of you suggested.
I truly do not know how it works because my high school days have been in a different continent and culture.

I obviously worry about the stress of doing more than 6 hours of exams spanning from a different language, literature and maths on the same day and I am sure that every good parent will understand this.

Not sure this is right! There is an AS maths and an a level further maths but no A level scheduled in afternoon of June 7

I can understand how you wouldn't know about exam clashes @Possiblynotever
I am only in Scotland and it is an alien concept here!

The exam diet goes on for about 6 weeks and every subject has its own day.
So eg. Monday would be English, 2 papers with break in between. Tuesday Spanish, 2 papers with break in between. Wednesday Physics, 2 papers with break in between and so on......
They try to put the popular combinations (like biology, chemistry) a week apart.

[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]
I'm curious by what you mean when you say the current generation have to manage their lives earlier? 3 exams in one day isn't ideal but stress is an inevitable part of life unfortunately, learning to cope is part of the process of preparing for life outside school/college. Best of luck for her exams 🍀

@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.

Whaaat?

she's not a baby FGS. People have been facing 3 lots of exams year in, year out since time immemorial. Your hyperbole is, frankly, ludicrous.

There definitely is an A level maths paper on 7th June on the OCR timetable. Both for the MEI syllabus and the standard one.

I work in Exam department of very large sixth form. Three way clashes are unfortunate but unavoidable. In a normal season we always have a couple of students in that situation. There are various ways of managing it - you or DD need to speak to her Exams Officer find out what they suggest. If the total of all exams is less than 6 hours (which is unlikely) she will have to sit them all in one day. If more then she should be given the option to take one the next day BUT she will have to be supervised by you overnight. So collected from school by you, have absolutely no access to Internet, tv or radio and no contact with anyone outside the family household. Then delivered back to school to sit the final exam the next day.

Students who have done this tell me it's actually not so bad, but some are so horrified by the thought they choose the sit all three the same day. So they might start one earlier than the other students, then a supervised break before the next one and so on. Also the Exams Officer can apply for Special Consideration for the final exam which means she might gain a few marks. Again your Exams Officer will advise.

Its really not the end of the world, and unfortunately there isn't any alternative. If the exam timetable didn't have multiple subjects running at the same time the exam season would be ridiculously long. The Boards try very hard to avoid clashes but enviably it does happen

I had two three hour exams on one day when I did my A-Levels. English and Theatre Studies. A lot of writing.

I hear what you are saying, but we are talking about three exams that require different sets of skills: foreign language, literacy and math.
At 17.
GCSE is one thing , ALevels is another and University is another. In between there is a growing process.
Yes, I have done three exams on the same day at Uni and no, I did not think that University was particularly difficult. University exams happen after a process.
You walk before you run.

@Possiblynotever You do realise that A Level students applying to read medicine at many universities will have to sit an entrance exam that is 5 hours long?

No chance of a resit. If they don't make the grade, they have to wait to resit it the following year.

Quite frankly if they can't cope with the intense study at A level, they're probably not cut out for university.

@mrsdolittle Thank you, very helpful. She told me that she will decide together with her Exams Officer. Two of her exams clash in the morning, so probably she will have to do the second in supervised conditions.
I was not aware of a Special Consideration; the headmaster told me is that they will abide by the rules in order to protect their students as the overall exams are well over 6 hours.
I am sure that she will receive all the necessary advice and support.
Thanks to you all.

OP. Special Consideration would be normal if she chooses to sit all three in one day. Your Exams Officer will advise.

If she needs overnight supervision it will be agreed with you. I have never known a student to have to stay overnight with a member of staff. Those days are long gone.

Please try not to worry. I know it all sounds daunting but your exam officers job is to make it all as painless as possible for the students. Our three way clash students have found it much much easier than they thought.

All will be fine I am sure

Even though this is an unfortunate coincidence, the school can't do anything in terms of rearranging the exams to a different day, as this could hinder the integrity of the exam. However, I would make sure they are giving her adequate breaks in between exams, so she is not just sitting them back to back. When I was doing my A-levels, I had the same issue and even though it was fairly exhausting on the day, it was nice to get them out of the way!