Exam Guidelines - Multiple Exams.

[Estjab]

My DD has 5.75 hours (3 exams) of A'levels on Friday. She had a major anxiety attack last week and it's all building once again. The formal guidelines say 6 hours or more A'levels on one day and one can be taken next morning. I'm trying to push for college to allow her do take one the following day but has anyone experience of this? Is there any discretion at all? Or is it just 'tough luck'?

6 hours are the guidelines so they have stuck by this.

In higher education 6 hours is very normal 3hr exam in morning (9-12) and 3hrs in afternoon (2-5). It is not uncommon to get this back to back for several days.

The JCQ regulations are very strict and all centre must abide by them. For A-levels it must be more than 6 hours in one day before they are allowed to move one to the following day. The centre have no leeway in this, no amount of pushing will make them break the regulations.

Page 11 below is the bit you need.

www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/ice---instructions-for-conducting-examinations/instructions-for-conducting-examinations-2017-2018

Also in between exams the child must be monitored by an invigilator, so we sometimes have to accompany them to lunch in the case of a clash. Would you like a house guest all weekend?

Sorry hatchy but that's not quite true. If 6 hours was exceeded on a Friday, and the candidate opted to take one exam the next day, it does have to be the following morning. So any supervision would only be required until 9am on Saturday morning when the exam starts.

The exam would have to be scheduled for the Saturday morning, not held over until the Monday. So they would not have a houseguest for the whole weekend.

JCQ regulations are strict. But is it possible to get your DD's doctor involved? Can you research/ask her college if there is any dispensation if she has a medical issue? For example, JCQ would have to act if a student broke their arm on Thursday night and had exams on Friday. There would be help for an emergency such as that. Try the medical route if the anxiety attack is affecting her badly.

Thanks all. All sorted. In the sense that I've been reassured: no roll over to following morning but DD will be in a smaller more informal room, with 'nice' invigilators with not a lot of walking around. Anxiety - not necessary to get gp involved - it's not an anxiety disorder it's just extreme pre exam stress.

BTW for a couple of posters above - she had multiple exams two years ago with GCSEs. She did not need overnight stay at teachers, the last exam was Sat am, and DD, and me and DH had to sign an undertaking that she would not have any social media or internet access overnight, and we had to escort her from school reception on the multiple exam day, and escort her in the following day.