Maximum number of hours in one day (GSCE)

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Can you help? Google isn't much help on this one! My daughter has come home with her exam timetable and has 7 hours' GSCE exams timetable - including 5 hours on the trot. Surely there are limits to a) the maximum number of exams on one day b) provisions for breaks for the candidates??

Is the 5 hour exam art?

How many subjects is she taking?

5 hours on the trot does seem excessive as there's no break for food in there. I'd be very concerned and would raise this as an issue with the school to raise with the exam board.

At GCSE it is no more than 5 1/2 hours of exams a day including extra time and/or supervised rest breaks. I am sure the school will be in contact to discuss how to sort this out, they have various ways to do it so don't worry until you know what they plan to do.

4 exams (3 x2hrs; 1 x 1hr)
Subjects:
History 9am
Further Maths 1pm
Food Tech 3.05; and
Roman Civilisation (a Latin paper) 5.10pm

so 5 mins break only between Maths and Food tech; and Food tech and Latin
So she can have lunch before the Maths paper. How on earth are kids supposed to perform to their best of their ability in exams?!

If a GCSE student has more than 5.5 hours of exams on the same day they qualify for special consideration for the last paper of the day of 2% extra marks.

Noble, that's interesting! Can you point me in direction of rules/guidance about this?

My son had six hours on one day, when he took his exams in 2013. No consideration was given. I was furious as it definitely affected his results. He was exhausted. Because the exams were a mixture of IGCSEs and GCSEs nothing could be done, apparently.

It's page 7 of this document www.jcq.org.uk/Download/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-and-guidance/a-guide-to-the-special-consideration-process-2015-2016

The school would need to make an application for special consideration, so make sure they know about it!

I did 5 exams one day when I did mine. The fifth one was squeezed into the lunch break. It was fine - good to get them all over with !

I have worked as an exam invigilator. 5 mins between exams isn't even enough time to collect the completed papers and then place new papers on the desks!
I assume that the final 2 papers are all scheduled for the afternoon. I understand that it is possible to change the start time of exams, but there are limits (The exam board needs to be consulted if an afternoon exam is moved to the morning for example). It may perhaps be possible to start FM at 12.30pm (or even 12 noon) and then give pupils a bit more break between exams. (These breaks would require pupils to be supervised though).
Hope that helps

Thanks all, and i'll look at that link too. On Monday, I'll email the teacher responsible for exam timetabling and take it from there.

You could ask for the 5 pm exam to be held the next day. My friend's son did this but they had to sign a document saying they would be with him all the time and he would not cheat. They had to escort him to and from school and he was not allowed access to any electronic equipment or his phone. I think the school had to be involved in his supervision so your school may not be keen to offer this but you could ask. The school would also have to get prior permission from the exam board.

I didn't even know there were exams taken outside the normal school day hours. Is the Roman Civilisation one an extra curricular subject?

I have to say that 4 exams in one day is rather excessive.

From what I've read so far, she can do one of the exams the next morning but then the supervision requirements come into play. We need to speak with the school and see what the options are, and see what my DD wants to do. She doesn't want to be on her own if she has to stay overnight at a teacher's house (though she says one other person is in the same boat as her).

Nickname it's one of her Latin exam papers (and one of her best subjects - she wants to Classics at Uni so this one is just as important as the others).

We've had kids go into seclusion overnight in the past. They have had to stay with a member of staff, though.

Sorry, cross post. I understand that staying at a teacher's house isn't ideal, but your daughter needs to recognise that it's awkward for the teacher, too, and appreciate that it's above and beyond the call of duty.

They can stay with parents now, not with teachers, but no access to the Internet or peers. Most pupils decide that doing the final exam is worth not having the Internet/social mediafor 24 hours!