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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

School messed up badly - what happens

129 replies

prh47bridge · 16/05/2017 19:54

I didn't expect to find myself asking for advice like this...

DS1 is currently sitting his GCSEs. Today at around 4pm his school phoned both my wife and myself to tell us he had missed an exam. We both said that he didn't have an exam today and suggested the school might be getting him mixed up with another pupil with the same surname. It turns out the exam board (AQA) issued a revised exam timetable for DS1 in February but the school failed to pass it on to him. It has sat in teacher's folder for the last 3 months. The timetable they did give him was missing three papers, one of which was today.

I rushed DS1 into school and he sat the paper but he was starting over 4.5 hours late on a 1 hour paper. I pointed out to the school that their failure has undermined his ability to prepare for this exam. They brushed this off saying he will have been revising in class. However, my son has pointed out to me that they have been revising for Module 2 of this exam and this was Module 1, which he is retaking because he failed it last year. He also now knows he has another exam on Thursday which he was not expecting and which is also a retake. He now has less than 2 days to revise the entire Module 1 syllabus for this subject.

The school is unclear whether my son will get any marks at all for this module. Even if he does, the maximum uplift under "special consideration" is 5%. My son feels this is grossly inadequate. There were two 4-mark questions on subjects that he knew he had to revise. He was unable to answer these questions at all. There was also a 6-mark question on a subject he intended to revise. He believes the lack of revision cost him at least 2 marks on this question. Overall he believes that this has cost him at least 15%-20% of the marks on this paper. If he is right, even if AQA accept his paper and give him 5% extra (which appears to be the best case scenario) he will end up being penalised for the school's failure, possibly being knocked down a grade or more from the grade he would have got if the school had got it right.

I will clearly be taking this up with the school once exams are over. However, I can't see anything in the regulations that covers this kind of situation. Does anyone have any experience? How will AQA handle this? Is there anything I should do?

OP posts:

Peanutbutterrules · 17/05/2017 12:05

What a mess. Glad they are taking responsibility though, and not just blaming your DS.

I really don't think it's too much to expect the school to issue correct timetables - kids have enough stress with exams without being expected to double check that the school has competently put together an exam schedule.

RedHelenB · 17/05/2017 12:20

I can't see the exam board allowing any marks for that paper in the world of internet and phones but hopefully they will.look at his other two papers and he will get his c or above

TeenAndTween · 17/05/2017 12:23

prh forgotten to enter him yes that's what I assumed since all the other steps are pretty automatic. The most likely place for an error is the school e.g. not entering for an exam or putting Foundation when they mean Higher or syllabus A when they mean B.

Original poster

prh47bridge · 17/05/2017 12:35

Thanks for all the supportive messages. Much appreciated.

I suspect it will be a while now before anything significant happens. The focus for the next few weeks is to try and make sure this doesn't affect his other exams. Chemistry 1 tomorrow will be a challenge. He essentially has this afternoon and this evening to revise. After that he should be ok provided he doesn't let this prey on his mind.

OP posts:

Allthebestnamesareused · 17/05/2017 13:06

As an invigilator I was going to ask why he wasn't on the register (which each Board provides to the school and indeed there are separate registers for those in the main halls, extra timers, individual rooms etc) so it would be clear that someone was missing (and at the school I work at the candidate would be called immediately).

If they hadn't entered him he would not be on any register for the invigilators to realise that a candidate was missing.

I assume the school must generate the pupil's timetables (and revised ones themselves).

Please update once AQA have made a decision.

SandyDenny · 17/05/2017 13:11

Have they explained a) how and when they realised that your son should have been sitting the paper and b) why they didn't contact you until 4pm (unless that was the time they found out).

The school is obviously a small one, if they had entered him for the subejct and been sent a paper by the exam board there is no valid reason for him not being on the exam system and therefore the seating chart.

I could be off beam but it sounds to me like the school isn't telling you the whole story, it's not making sense.

Hopefully maladministration by the school will help you case but as RedHelen says I'm not sure how they could be satisfied that your son didn't know anything about the paper.

Does anyone in the school do triple science or would he literally have been the only person sitting B1?

noblegiraffe · 17/05/2017 13:19

If he wasn't entered (and that would explain why alarm bells didn't go off immediately when he wasn't there) then presumably there's nothing that can be done and he can't be entered for an exam after it was sat.

But I thought you said there was an updated timetable with the correct modules on, he just wasn't given it?

NotHotDogMum · 17/05/2017 13:54

What a nightmare!

Try to keep him calm, if he can be rushed school and write an exam under such stressful circumstances, that's a massive achievement I have utmost respect for a boy who can gather himself together and still try his best under such difficult conditions.

Not very helpful I know, but says a lot about his character. I hope the rest go better for him and the school manage to do some damage control.

Tissunnyupnorth · 17/05/2017 13:55

Hi. The only explanation I can think of for them not contacting you within minutes of the exam starting, is that he was not on the official AQA register. These are generated by each board and have to be signed by the invigilator concerned and sent back with the exam scripts. The procedure for an unexpected no show, is to send a member of staff to contact the parents/student immediately. The fact that he wasn't contacted for several hours suggests to me that he was not on the AQA register. This would only happen if a student had been withdrawn or not entered in the first place.

This within itself is not a huge problem, often students are added to the register by the invigilator on the day. They are considered as late entries by the board. In normal circumstances most boards would accommodate these additions and accept the script for marking.

The issue with regards your DS is in relation to how late he sat the exam. However, as I think I said yesterday, if the school takes responsibility for the mess up, the board will not seek to 'punish' the student. They will take the view that the schools administrative errors caused this situation for your DS and the board will seek to redress that for him.

Original poster

prh47bridge · 17/05/2017 16:33

I have not had a clear answer as to why we weren't contacted until 4pm. Right now I'm focussed on getting as much evidence as possible to show where he was yesterday afternoon. I'll worry about the other questions once I've done that.

OP posts:

KittyVonCatsington · 17/05/2017 16:59

You have done brilliantly prh to cope with all this and glad the shook are taking full responsibility. I really wish your DS lots of luck in the rest of this exams.

Mind you, as his school uses different exam boards for different subjects, he would need to do that on 5 separate websites to get his full timetable.

There used to be a centralised link to check all of the Exam boards' exam dates and times in one place but this was closed after Gove tinkered with things. I miss being able to check on one link!!

KittyVonCatsington · 17/05/2017 17:00

*school not shook

user1471530109 · 17/05/2017 19:36

I could be wrong, but I think B1 was the only GCSE yesterday afternoon. That would explain why no one noticed. As in, no one took a register of an empty exam hall.

Just wanted to add, it's 25% for each module. B1, C1, P1 plus his ISA. Do you know what he got for his ISA? If he is allowed to be entered, 29/60 and if he does well on the other papers, this is still very much in grasp of a B or above. They just add up the appropriate UMS scores.

Year 10 are extremely unlikely to have been entered. All pupils of their cohort have to sit new syllabus. Nothing else will count towards progress 8. I doubt very much the school would have wasted money in a year group entry if they weren't going to gain from it. I don't really understand the logic that the above PP said about the old course maths either. The school paid for entry for no benefit of their own?? In fact, if the kids are no longer putting as much effort into maths due to this, they have made a massive mistake!

Squirrelonwheels · 17/05/2017 19:48

Sorry to hear this has happened. However please be aware that unless you were aware that you had to be supervising your son once the exam had started (which obviously you weren't as you weren't made aware until 4pm) then it is very unlikely that AQA will allow his mark to stand. This is because there can be no guarantee that he didn't access the paper content - late arrivals are only accepted when the candidate was under full supervision by a person who knew they were supposed to be supervising them. However AQA may decide to do an assessed grade instead. Hope this helps.

Original poster

prh47bridge · 17/05/2017 20:06

I think you are right that it was the only GCSE. I think the same exam is used for people doing Biology as a single subject which is an option the school offers. I don't know if anyone would have been sitting it for that reason. My son was definitely the only pupil retaking Science A so it may be he would have been the only person there.

No, the school haven't told my son what he got for his ISA.

As he wasn't with us yesterday afternoon I've been gathering evidence of my son's movements yesterday afternoon. I've got two items with times on that firmly place him and I'm waiting for a statement from someone else. Not sure if it will make any difference but the school want to put in as much evidence as they can. I believe they are hoping that my son's movements will show that he was clearly not expecting an exam at all, let alone trying to cheat.

OP posts:

Floggingmolly · 17/05/2017 20:08

Best of luck to your ds 🍀 What a nightmare...

ParadiseCity · 17/05/2017 20:10

Bloody hell!!!! My advice would be to ask prh47bridge as they know all about school stuff. Feck - I'm so sorry for your ordeal, after all the help you give on here I hope this gets sorted for you as 'easily' as possible.

(Sorry not useful at all.)

ParadiseCity · 17/05/2017 20:13

PS. I think you have accidentally named your DS in the post above - I have reported as guessing you didn't mean to.

titchy · 17/05/2017 20:24

'Ask prh47bridge..' - did you spot the OP's name?!!!!

TeenAndTween · 17/05/2017 20:27

Original poster

prh47bridge · 17/05/2017 20:30

I have. You are right that I didn't mean to. Thanks.

OP posts:

MNHQ

IonaMumsnet · 17/05/2017 20:34

We've edited that name out for you now, OP.

Original poster

prh47bridge · 17/05/2017 20:48

Thanks Iona.

OP posts:

Zoflorabore · 17/05/2017 20:56

Hi p, didn't want to read and run, given the sheer amount of help you have given me with our 2 appeals ;)

What a terrible situation your ds is in, whilst it could be argued that the duty of care is on your ds it seems that the school are rightly taking full responsibility and you are right to document everything do they know your background?!

I hope that your ds is given all the special consideration he deserves, it does sound plausible that the school had forgotten to enter him seeing as he's the only one taking this particular test.
Don't forget to ask to see the school's entry request for your ds, this will prove it.

Very best of luck and I sincerely hope it gets resolved in your ds's favour.

ParadiseCity · 17/05/2017 21:32

YY I realised who OP was - that's what I mean - how unfair/ironic etc. Like Grimaldis doctor recommending him. And why I hope 'extra hard' it's sorted out properly.

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