Exams

Summer 2011 Exam Timetable

At Cowes High School our students study a range of courses from a number of examination boards. Each baord publishes full specifications of its courses, qualifications and requirements on their website:

Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA)  www.aqa.org.uk

Edexcel     www.edexcel.org.uk

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations www.ocr.org.uk

WJEC      www.wjec.co.uk

Internal Coursework Appeals Policy

In order to meet our school aim of Learning Together for a Changing World we value and promote the best performance assessment and examination practice, making our systems open and honest. 

Therefore it is our policy that:

• We ensure that whenever our staff assess students' work for external qualification, this is done fairly, consistently and in accordance with the specification for the qualification concerned.
• Assessments are conducted by staff who have appropriate knowledge, understanding and skills, and have been trained in this activity.
• Students' work is produced and authenticated according to the requirements of the examinations board.
• Where a set of work is divided between staff, consistency is assured by internal moderation and standardisation.
• Where a student feels that this may not have happened in relation to his or her work, that there is a procedure for making appeal.
• That appeals may only be made against the process that led to the assessment and not against the mark or grade.

Rhona Trodd
Chair of Governing Body

Approaches, procedures and principles

Availability:
This procedure is available from the examinations office and is posted on the school website.  Parents and students are notified of this policy and procedure via the newsletter and through family interviews.

Procedure:
Students should make appeals as soon as possible, and they must be made at least two weeks before the end of the last externally assessed paper in the examinations series. (Therefore the appeal must be made before a date in mid-June for the summer series as presently timetabled.)

1. Appeals should be made in writing to the Associate Headteacher who will investigate the appeal. If the Associate Headteacher was directly involved in the assessment in question, the appeal is made to the Headteacher who will appoint another senior member of staff to conduct the investigation.
2. The Headteacher  or other appointed member of staff will decide whether the process used for the internal assessment conformed with the requirements of the awarding body and the examinations code of practice of the QCA. This will be done before the end of the examination series. (Currently the end of June for the summer series).
3. The student appealing will be informed in writing of the outcome of the appeal, including any correspondence with the board, any changes made to the assessment of the work, and any changes made to improve matters in future.
4. The outcome of the appeal will be made known to Headteacher.  A written record of the appeal will be kept and made available to the awarding body at their request.  Should the appeal bring any significant irregularity to light, the awarding body will be informed by the Headteacher.

Scope of Procedure:
After work has been assessed internally it is moderated by the awarding body (examinations board) to ensure consistency between centres. Such moderation frequently changes the marks awarded for internally assessed work. That is outside the control of Cowes High School and is not covered by this procedure. If a student has concerns about it, the examination officer should be asked for a copy of the appeals procedure of the relevant examination board