TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS
1. General
a) These Terms and Conditions for Public Examinations are additional to and should be read in conjunction with the General Terms and Conditions of Greene’s Tutorial College (hereafter “the college”). The Terms and Conditions for Public Examinations do not replace the college’s General Terms and Conditions.
b) A Public Examination is any examination held by the college under the accreditation conditions of an official examination board. Coursework, orals and portfolios are Public Examinations.
c) All examinations are provided at the discretion of the college and are conducted in accordance with the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and examination board regulations or other regulations as appropriate. In the very unlikely event that the college did not adhere to such regulations in any particularity, the issue would be resolved in accordance with the procedures for doing so laid down by the JCQ or equivalent body.
d) All examination candidates, students or other individuals registered with the college are bound by these terms and conditions.
e) All examination entries are made on the basis of information provided by the student and/or his/her parents. The college cannot be held responsible if this information should prove incomplete or erroneous.
f) The dates and times of each candidate’s written examinations will be communicated through his/her Greene’s Online profile. It is the responsibility of each candidate and/or their parent/guardian to be aware of them.
g) On occasions where a given examination is available on one or more dates, such as orals or science practical tests, the actual date will be decided and set by the college.
2. Registration and confirmation
a) Registration for an examination is complete when payment for it has been received by the college. The college cannot guarantee that an examination place will be available if payment has not been received. Entries are made following the settlement of examination fees. If fees are settled after the entry deadlines stated on the college’s website, additional late fees will be incurred. All examination fees are non-refundable.
b) The candidate and/or his/her parents/guardian should check that their examination registration information on Greene’s Online is accurate, correct and complete.
3. Identification
a) All candidates must be able to establish their identity on the day of each of their examinations. Private candidates must provide photographic ID; if unable to do so, their work may not be accepted by the examination board.
4. Special arrangements and consideration
a) Applications for special examination (access) arrangements such as extra time or a scribe or reader must be made to the Registrar of Examinations well in advance of the candidate’s examinations. These include the possible use in examinations of a laptop. Applications should reflect the candidate’s normal way of working and provide evidence of need. Later applications may not be accepted. The granting of access arrangements to any candidate will be subject to the submission of appropriate supporting documentary evidence and to formal approval by JCQ, whose decision will be final.
b) Applications for special consideration based on factors such as illness during an examination or reasons leading to the candidate not attending an examination must be made to the Registrar of Examinations in writing as quickly as possible following the incident. They must include a description of the incident and full supporting evidence, such as a doctor’s note. Special consideration will be subject to the submission of the appropriate supporting documentary evidence and to formal approval by JCQ, whose decision will be final. Applications for special consideration made later may not be accepted.
5. Attendance
a) Candidates must be on time for all examinations. This means that for written examinations they must arrive at the college no later than 8.45 a.m. for morning examinations and 1.15 p.m. for afternoon examinations. If a candidate is late, his/her work may not be accepted by the examination board. Owing to the disruption to other candidates that they cause, persistently late candidates may be accommodated separately and charged for this. Candidates who arrive late for an examination must report to the Registrar of Examinations. Candidates who arrive more than one hour after the published starting time for the examination will not be allowed to take it.
6. Regulations
a) Candidates must not become involved in any unfair or dishonest practice in any part of the examination. Candidates who try to use any unfair practice or break the rules in any way will be reported to the examination board concerned, and could be disqualified from all their subjects.
b) While in the examination room candidates must listen to the invigilator at all times and do what they are asked to do. They must not talk to or otherwise communicate with or disturb other candidates at any time.
c) Candidates may take into the examination room only the materials and equipment which are both permitted and necessary for the examination they are taking. They must not take into the examination room any unauthorised materials or equipment which might give an unfair advantage, such as notes, calculator cases/instruction leaflets, or digital, audio or electronic devices of any kind including mobile telephones, iPods or MP3 players. Possession of unauthorised material is breaking the rules, even if there is no intention to use it, and candidates will be subject to penalty and possible disqualification.
d) Candidates must write in black ink. Pencils may be used only for diagrams, maps etc. if stated in the instructions printed on the front of the question paper. Candidates must not use correcting fluid/pens, highlighters or gel pens on their answer paper. Pencil cases must be transparent.
e) Candidates must bring with them such equipment as pens, pencils, mathematical instruments, and set texts. They may use a calculator unless told otherwise, and are responsible for ensuring it is in good working condition and has nothing stored on it. Candidates must not use a dictionary unless previously informed that they may do so. They must not borrow anything from another candidate during the examination.
f) Mathematical and scientific formulae books are provided by the college, and must not be written in or removed.
g) The only food and drink permitted in the examination room is still water in a sealed clear bottle. Chewing gum or sweets are not permitted.
h) Candidates must tell the invigilator at once if they think that they have not been given the right question paper or all the materials listed on the front of the paper; and/or if the question paper is incomplete or badly printed. They must read and carefully follow the instructions printed on the question paper and/or on the answer booklet. They must fill in the details required on the front of the question paper and/or on the answer booklet before starting the examination.
i) During the examination candidates must put up their hand if they have a problem and are in doubt about what to do; or if they feel ill; and/or they need more paper. They must wait until the invigilator comes over and then speak to him/her quietly. They must not ask for, and will not be given, any explanation of the questions.
j) Candidates must do all their work on the official examination stationery provided. Work that is not to be marked should be neatly crossed through and handed in at the end. If the stationery provided is filled up, additional paper should be requested. There is no such thing as “rough paper”.
k) No candidate may leave the examination room unsupervised before 10 a.m. for morning examinations or 2.30 p.m. for afternoon examinations. Moreover, internal candidates must stay until the end of their examination. Candidates must not leave the examination room until permitted to do so by the invigilator. Having left the examination room, they will not be allowed to return. They must leave the examination room silently. They must not take from it any examination stationery including the question paper.
l) Candidates must bring any issues or concerns that arise before, during or after any examination which they believe may affect their examination performance to the immediate attention of the invigilator in the examination room or of the Registrar of Examinations so that appropriate remedial action can be taken. Any delay in doing so will make such action either difficult or impossible.
7. Coursework
a) The work that candidates submit as coursework must be their own. The responsibilities of a tutor when a student prepares coursework do not differ from when the student prepares for a written examination. In both cases the quality and probity of the work produced are the sole responsibility of the student. Any extra guidance that a candidate has received should be recorded.
b) Candidates submitting coursework must familiarise themselves with the requirements of the specification concerned. They must not engage in dishonest or unfair practices such as plagiarism, for which they would face penalties such as disqualification. They are responsible for understanding exactly what constitutes plagiarism and for acting on this understanding.
c) Where a candidate’s work has been submitted and it has been found they have broken the regulations, one of the following penalties will be applied: the piece of work will be awarded zero marks; or the candidate will be disqualified from that unit for that examination session; or the candidate will be disqualified from the whole subject for that exam session; or the candidate will be disqualified and barred from entering again for a period of time.
d) Finished coursework must be handed in by the deadline stated on the college’s website. Failure to meet this deadline may result in the coursework not being submitted to the examination board. If applied for in writing at least two weeks before the deadline, a short extension may exceptionally be granted. Retrospective extensions will not be granted. The examination boards’ own coursework deadlines apply to the college, not to the individual candidate.
e) On occasions a tutor may suggest that a given piece of coursework is worth a particular mark. Due to the complex administrative and statistical processes involved in the marking of coursework, over which the college has no control, this suggestion must be understood as only indicative and the college cannot be held responsible if the final grade should differ from this.
8. Speaking tests
a) Speaking tests take place during the four weeks prior to the first written examination in a series as described on the college’s website. Candidates will be informed at least four weeks in advance of the exact date and time of their speaking test. Private candidates will not receive on the day of their oral any coaching in the format or requirements of their test, but may arrange this with the college beforehand.
9. Certificates
a) Certificates are awarded to candidates who either have done a linear qualification such as IGCSEs, or have cashed in a modular qualification such as A levels. They are issued two months after the release of results. Candidates must either collect them in person from the college, giving 24 hours’ notice and bringing photographic ID with them, or provide a stamped addressed envelope in which they can be posted to them. The college does not undertake to post a student’s certificate unless he or she has already supplied an A4 envelope with the correct postage and address.
Oxford, 1st November 2013