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Secondary education

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

Original poster

Exams

29 replies

MelanieSimone · 17/05/2023 08:06

My son has final GCSE exams. There is one subject he is not in the least bit interested in and isnt bothered about a GCSE in it. In the first paper he covered it in his favourite subject notes and used it as revision for that subject. Im worried that whoever sees the paper will comment and it might have an affect on him doing his other exams. Seeing maths on a language paper might not go down very well...do i need to worry? x

OP posts:
yikes88 · 17/05/2023 08:43

Hi
If I’ve understood what happened correctly- your son”s favourite subject is Maths. Yesterday he had a gcse paper in a subject he doesn’t care about whether he passes it or not. So instead of answering that gsce paper, he used the time to revise maths. He did this by writing in Maths on the gcse paper instead of attempting any of the questions?
If that’s correct, it will have no effect on his other exams.. He will just fail the paper he did yesterday

SheilaFentiman · 17/05/2023 08:44

Indeed, they are all marked separately, there will be children who write nothing!

lanthanum · 17/05/2023 10:31

The problem comes if they write offensive language on the paper, in which case they could be in trouble! I doubt they would take it further than disqualification from that subject, though.

If the school noticed, they might not be best pleased that he didn't even try, and might apply a sanction such as not being allowed to attend the prom. However since the teaching staff don't do the invigilating, it's very unlikely that anyone noticed who cared.

catndogslife · 17/05/2023 12:47

Exams are now marked online.
The examiner has to indicate that they have seen or read the page. However this will be entered on the system as "no relevant content" and no marks awarded. Sanctions are only applied by the exam board for offensive content or if there is evidence of cheating.
If an invigilator notices then the matter could be referred to the exams officer and subject teachers.

MelanieSimoneB · 17/05/2023 16:07

Hi @yikes88 , you have described the situation perfectly (and much better than I :D) - thanks for your reply, much appreciated and yours, with the others have calmed me some. All the best

MelanieSimoneB · 17/05/2023 16:11

Hi @SheilaFentiman , @catndogslife and @lanthanum many thanks, i appreciate your comments and time. He was respectful and only used the given spaces for answering (!) and yes, nothing rude....I will maybe check in with his teacher at some point. all the best.

Postapocalypticcowgirl · 17/05/2023 18:29

Yes, the only problem will be if he's written something offensive, and realistically it won't affect more than that paper, unless he's written "Frequent obscenities;
discriminatory language,remarks or drawings directed at an individual or
group"

If he's covered the paper with racist jokes etc, then it could mean the exam board disqualify him from that qualification, or, if very severe, from all the qualifications he's taking with them.

If it's just a load of maths formulae, he will be fine.

HalfSiblingsMadeContact · 17/05/2023 19:36

Hope he's fine and happy about the others.
I had to grin reading this though - my son managed to do something remarkably similar in one of his A level mocks ...

mrsdolittle · 17/05/2023 20:34

OP I work in an exams team. It is highly unlikely anyone had time or inclination to actually look at his paper (and only exams staff or invigilators would be able to look anyway - certainly no teachers). And even if someone noticed as long as there was nothing offensive on it no one will do anything about it in my experience. It will have been sent to the exam board and will get a zero grade. It's possible the Exams Officer was alerted by an invigilator but there really is nothing anyone can do about it. The school won't be chuffed but that's just tough. I wouldn't worry

PastTheGin · 17/05/2023 20:42

Why did you let him enter the exam if he had no intention of completing it? School will not be happy with a 0 score and his teacher might be in trouble for the bad result.

Even if he is not interested in the subject, does he not need to get an average point score to be accepted into 6th form?

SheilaFentiman · 17/05/2023 20:45

PastTheGin · 17/05/2023 20:42

Why did you let him enter the exam if he had no intention of completing it? School will not be happy with a 0 score and his teacher might be in trouble for the bad result.

Even if he is not interested in the subject, does he not need to get an average point score to be accepted into 6th form?

I imagine OP and the kid’s teachers have all been pushing and hoping that he would take the exam seriously.

Original poster
MelanieSimone · 18/05/2023 00:01

@PastTheGin we talked to the school over 6 months ago asking that he not do the subject and they refused. They put him into the exam despite my ds being polite and clear with them. It isnt a subject that he needs to follow the path he would like to follow. He is very focused and will use his energy on what is important to him. Thank you for your response.

OP posts:
Original poster
MelanieSimone · 18/05/2023 00:04

hi @mrsdolittle , thank you so much for taking the time to write. We spoke to the school some time ago about the subject but they didnt allow my ds to drop the subject. Thanks for the clarification and good to have it from someone who works in the system.

OP posts:
grishaverse · 18/05/2023 20:54

Yeah it won't affect him. Sad the school didn't let him drop it but also I find it kind of funny how he used it for Maths revision 😂If I was an examiner that would make my day. I'm sure your son will do great in his other exams though.

PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister · 18/05/2023 21:00

The only problem he will have is that he will have to declare it as an exam he took and it will be on his exam certificates as a U.

”I didn’t think it was important so I didn’t bother” won’t necessarily go down well with employers in the future. It might make no difference at all, but I’m not sure it paints him in a good light.

Mum1976Mum · 18/05/2023 21:05

^^ this
If he has to provide result slips as evidence in the future his U grade will be on there for all to see.

Not his finest hours I wouldn’t have thought.

tallcypowder · 18/05/2023 21:08

PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister · 18/05/2023 21:00

The only problem he will have is that he will have to declare it as an exam he took and it will be on his exam certificates as a U.

”I didn’t think it was important so I didn’t bother” won’t necessarily go down well with employers in the future. It might make no difference at all, but I’m not sure it paints him in a good light.

Surely you just don't put that exam on your qualification list unless its the same exam board or as I do now:

  • 9 A-C grades inc Maths English and Science. Gcses become less important the further up you go.
MrsRinaDecker · 18/05/2023 21:13

The issue will be when he comes to apply to uni, as UCAS rules state you have to declare ALL grades for ALL exams taken, including any you failed and / or ended up resitting. If you fail to declare anything you risk your application being thrown out.

SeasonFinale · 18/05/2023 21:21

He will have to declare his U grade when he applies to university via UCAS as another poster said. If it is a uni that scores Gcse Grades his score average will be affected by a 0

Hellocatshome · 18/05/2023 21:26

MrsRinaDecker · 18/05/2023 21:13

The issue will be when he comes to apply to uni, as UCAS rules state you have to declare ALL grades for ALL exams taken, including any you failed and / or ended up resitting. If you fail to declare anything you risk your application being thrown out.

Why are you assuming he is going to apply to University? It seems the go to assumption on MN that after GCSEs comes 6th form then Uni but for a lot of people this is not the case and they still go on to have very good careers.

SheilaFentiman · 18/05/2023 21:26

OP

I believe it may be possible to withdraw from the exam even at this late stage, before it is graded.

Maybe look into it.

Superdupes · 18/05/2023 21:27

Invigilators won't have looked at his paper, they're not allowed to. Not allowed to look through the papers before or after. What he put in the paper is not their business and nothing will be done, he'll just get 0 when it's marked. Some don't even open the paper.

I do think it's a shame that if he turned up and sat it that he didn't at least attempt it though.

ShanghaiDiva · 18/05/2023 21:30

Under the exam regulations, nobody should be reading his answer booklet except the person marking it. It would be a breach of the exam regulations for a teacher or exams officer to read the answer booklet and comment on it.

themidimit · 18/05/2023 21:31

I think it's surprising that posters think that a teenager just giving up on a subject and not even bothering to try is fine. Really sad. And also a bit petulant that he destroys the paper as didn't get his own way (despite, no doubt, hours of teacher investment!) Schools don't allow children to drop subjects at GCSE (unless they have SEN) as they have to be somewhere supervised every period of the day. Where would they go with a blank space on their timetable?

SheilaFentiman · 18/05/2023 21:35

Who thinks it is fine?

It’s happened now, I’m sure OP would rather it hadn’t, but her question was whether it would impact other grades and the answer is no.

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