son had his mobile phone in GCSE biology

[Applecheeks]

Three minutes before the end of my sons Biology paper today his mobile phone rang. It was in his pocket. He forgot he had it despite usual prompt at the beginning to hand any mobiles in. He didn't answer it, Invigilator took it off him. He was then interviewed after asked had he intended to cheat etc. My son is chaotic and disorganised. The school rang me to inform and explain that they would submit an incident report. My son is in pieces , angry at himself. I am hoping someone may have had experience. I have read the guidelines on the website of the exam board. This suggests he will receive a penalty of either a warning, lose of points on a unit or the paper, disqualification of this GCSE or ultimately of all he has taken under this board. That would be five GCSEs. I'm so angry with him but that's not helping so trying to stay calm. Clearly it's a breach of the rules but the website doesn't help me work out which penalty is likely as it is judged case by case

His tutor rang me before DS got home to tell me what had happened. She told me she was gutted for him. Having been his tutor since year 7 she knows him well. Ironically he never has that bloody phone on him or if he does it's dead! No doubt it did disturb other students and he like me is mortified that it happened. I don't think anyone would actually suspect him of cheating he just isn't motivated enough! We will obviously have to accept whatever judgement is passed and him being disqualified from this GCSE will be justified I can see that. He has no excuses at the end of the day. His disorganised approach to life is going to bite him on the bum massively.

Ffs we're talking about a 16 year old taking a GCSE exam here, have a bit of empathy. Some of you are calling him a liar and a cheat. His mum has already said he's pretty chaotic.
He may have had other exams this week, it's a hot Friday afternoon, it may have just slipped his mind that the phone was in his pocket. I've done it in the cinema, despite the long warnings at the beginning of a film.

We're not all perfect

I really hope the board are sympathetic to your son OP.

BakeOff'- I have far more empathy for the other students in the exam, also tired after a week of exams, also sitting in a hit exam hall, who had their exam disturbed by one child who did not adhere to the rules.

I have no sympathy for the child who disturbed the exam.

Btw he has no idea who called him! The invigilator looked at the phone and didn't recognise the area code. She even rang it back but there was no answer

Oh, and the cinema comparison is utterly ridiculous. To a 16 year old sitting GCSEs, this is incredibly important. A phone going off in a film is irritating but nothing on this scale.

Hi Applecheeks. I have no doubt your son made a genuine mistake. And I'm sure the school will put in report that he has an exemplary record. This will help and I hope he gets a warning. No one wants him to lose any marks. I will keep fingers crossed he just gets a rap on the knuckles.

As to Bodeca. Oh dear. I have had a very long five weeks running revision clinics for students and at everyone I have reiterated the phones policy. Most kids have had it bored into them since year 7. I wish I could apply discretion but I can't. And I had a little laugh at the idea that the independents apply different rules. They don't. They can't. It's not allowed. Or they risk fines and loss of exam status.o know this because I've worked at some very posh ones of these too. And same rules apply.

PS I'm joining in this slightly bonkers debate while marking year 11 mock papers. So they can all do their best next week. So sorry for typos.

Applecheeks your son has been caught up in the rules that have to apply to prevent cheating. Phones are banned from the exam room for very good reason. He knows that and just forgot. But discretion is not allowed by school (if an assessor turned up and saw it lots of people would lose jobs and the whole year group would fail their exams).
I will be keeping fingers crossed that he is treated fairly . I have been known to frisk some of my less reliable students !!

He has been an idiot, but the rules are clear. Sadly sanctions have to applied otherwise kids would never take rules seriously. You cannot have empty threats. I imagine that the GCSE paper will be cancelled. At least it was a biology exam today and not maths. I doubt that other papers will be cancelled as the boy did not diliberately cheat.

Exam invigilators so have no power and work within a rigid framework. Everything is controlled centrally so that the conditions a child takes GCSE biology under is the same in Manchester as London or Devon. Late comers are allowed in provided they are not too late. The cut off is specified in some huge and really boring book.

In most schools exam invigilators are instructed to called SMT if there is a violation of the rules.

Well I would hope you can still have sympathy for someone who has made a stupid mistake, even if it does inconvenience your child.

Evil It is possible to have empathy for the other children in the exam room and the boy who made a mistake. And his Mum of course.

No, it is not easily done. At my school and all schools I know of the entrance doors are sraffed and phones taken and stored in boxes. It is simply not possible to NOT be aware you shoull hand your phone in.

He will be disqualified form that exam at the very least.

Not really. Secondary school teacher. Having coached the most stress-ridden kids over the last few months, I would be livid that a child had potentially caused one of those others to nudge over the edge and lose it in the last part of an exam for a core subject. There are so many reminders - it's beyond careless to take a phone in, turned on or off.

My annoyance on this thread is more to do with the number of "it's no big deal", "easily done", "fingers crossed" posts. I do feel sympathy for the OP, but not for her DS.

I don't think I said independent's had different rules over mobile phones. I did say they had different standards over matters of real illegality such as theft, etc. That to me is very important. It's something my dd's state secondary didn't take very seriously along with assault, intimidation, etc., all things that the indy sector in my experience would have excluded for. Just trying to draw a parallel about right and wrong and things that matter.

Cheating is shocking but unfortunately when basic standards and expectations in state schools are so very low and teachers in them think such things should be swept under the carpet then I can understand the exam boards taking a zero tolerance stance.

It is all so very very wrong. I wanted to be able to look up to my children's teachers but when a head teacher told me that theft was "normal" I'm afraid I simply couldn't do that.

That's why I take all this stuff with a pinch of salt.

And, no, my children were brought up to know right from wrong at home. I had no faith that those running state schools could possibly have taught them that. So please, those of you trying to take the moral ground over a phone that went off in an exam and wasn't removed from the pocket, just try to reflect a little about the bigger picture please. And why much of the public has lost respect. It's actually awfully sad.

My children had two state school head teachers at "outstanding" schools. I could not have trusted either of them to have been in loco parentis for either of my children because neither had the moral fibre to teach my children right from wrong and neither set an acceptable example due to their own personal conduct and truthfulness and what was condoned in respect of their staff.

I know there are many many committed teachers out there but there is a rot at the heart of education in this country and until it is dealt with the status quo is deeply out of kilter and the minority have for too long been able to dilute the efficacy of the majority.

For the OP's son, I hope and pray that common sense will prevail. That same common sense that teaches young people that theft is wrong, that assault is wrong, that disruption is wrong .....................

Did his tutor really tell you she was gutted for him, op? Strange phrase, really, it sort of indicates that the incident was something unfairly foisted on him by external forces, rather than a situation of his own making?

A round of applause for your post Beaufort

Beaufort I don't think I understand. On one hand you've obviously had a difficult time with your DC's school where you feel that rule breaking was not dealt with robustly enough, and on the other, you're saying it's ok to choose where to apply the rules and where not to.

You don't half talk bollocks, beaufort belle.

My kids go to a state secondary that wipes the arse of most crappy little private schools staffed cheaply with non qualified teachers in crumbling buildings.

And how you can talk about low standards when you admit you let kids who cheated off, is beyond me. Thank goodness you and state education parted company - your low standards are a disgrace and if you'd worked in my school I'd have wiped the floor with you.

So you really need it pointing out to you Evil?

Do

Yes she did Floggingmolly at least I think she did, the whole phone call is a bit of an emotional blur. I interpreted that as her knowing he's predisposed to being a knob and true to form he cocked up? Maybe it was a reference to him being upset?? I want to make it clear I started this thread to learn more about the process and get some idea of time scales. I massively appreciate the support but I do recognise that my son is in the wrong and that his actions have had an impact on other students. I'm not making any excuses for him in describing him as chaotic just trying to give a picture of the situation

God there are some thick people on this thread!

beau I think you are talking utter bollux. There are plenty of nasty children in private school would cheat given half a chance. In my experience state school kids have as much moral fibre as private school kids. Private schools often kick out children who might mess with their Stats close to exam time. I am sure that rich kids at private school might be tempted to cheat as they are often under stupid pressure to do well.

Exam centres have to follow rules to the letter in the big orange book. We cannot show any favour and decisions about disqualifications are not made by a school. All exam invigilators do is report what happened.

I have lots of sympathy for him. I think there are so many reminders, the students become a bit immune to it. If he hasn't had it on him in previous exams, you could see why he'd forget.

Fingers crossed they deal with it as leniently as possible.

I was being sarcastic Bakeoff. The double standards in Beaufort's post are disgusting. If there is rot at the heart of anything, it's people like that who think they're above the rules.