Unsecure chicken perches

[Cinnamon]

My daughters college cancelled all exams yesterday,which means that she could not take her Psychology AS, along with the rest of the pupils.I believe a couple of science based exams were due to be taken yesterday too.

 

I have just had it confirmed that she will have to sit it with the summer wave of AS exams......which means that she misses out on a possible resit this year.

Pupils who sat yesterdays exam & got a poor grade can ALSO take the summer one as a resit.My girl has now lost this opportunity

 

On top of that it gives her an extra subject to study for in the summer,& means she will get less study time for the second part of her Psychology exam,which is sat in the summer.

 

Its made me mad.

We could have got in yesterday,& I think that the exam should still have been sat by any pupils who could get in.

It would have probably been a struggle,but she had revised so hard - all now wasted - that I would have got her there somehow.

 

I know the weather is no ones fault,but if only they could have postponed the exam for a week or something........................

 

I bet a fair few Omleteers have youngsters in the same boat?

[Old Speckled Hen]

I should imagine over half the country is in the same boat and it shouldn't have been impossible to delay the exams by two weeks surely.

It's such a shame.

 

I didn't know you could resit your exams to get a better grade.

Does that mean doing the year again at school?

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Sarah, I have smallies (10 & 13) so didn't experience the stress etc involved with exams & adverse weather conditions, however I fail to see why the examining boards didn't postpone the exams until next week for sake of argument so that hopefully all candidates could attend in safety.....I'm sure that most of those who did attend had a nightmarish journey to school/college, whether to take or to adjudicate.

 

I understood that one of the reasons for not having a second date to sit these papers was the risk of cheating...not a risk if they all sat it together on another date surely

 

I'm sure someone will have the flip side of the story, but I did feel so sorry for the students who, through no fault of their own have now got to sit these papers in the summer.

 

Sha x

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

That's so infuriating when she's done all the work and endured all the stressy anticipation. Have you complained to the head?

 

Someone I know went shopping with their parent and aunt instead of doing an exam because it was 'too icy' to go to school. I've had to count to twenty not to say too much.

 

Schools' attitudes to exam sitting today all round seem incomprehensible to me. In my day, you got in come hell or high ice.

[dancing cloud]

As I have no children, I have no personal contribution except to send much sympathy to all those pupils disadvantaged and ask the question that no one on the news seems to have asked, so who's brilliant idea was it to set exams in winter?! Surely, even in these days of global warming, this was always going to happen? Snow, ice, winter ...

 

Being now officially middle-aged (45 next month), I don't remember schools closing in snow or ice - though I do remember walking home 7 miles in the snow when I was 11, as the bus could go no further (I'm not suggesting that was a good thing!).

 

Too late for this year, but here's hoping lessons are well and truly learned (pun very much intended !).

[Lewis]

We have to go for exams, regardless of the weather.

 

I agree, its not fair to force revision on people for weeks and then not allow them to take the exam

 

Exam boards can't really postpone an exam I don't think, because people all over the world are taking them so some people do them a couple of hours ahead/behind the others. If they move them to 2 weeks later its probably going to to clash with another exam and it could be expensive for them to send out new papers to everyone, re-arrange exam rooms and invigilators.

 

I thought they had a paper B in case the first is leaked or there is a problem with it and that could be sat a few weeks later, but not sure

 

You can do retakes if you want to, we have to pay for them at school.

I got a B in Biology AS last year, with a high B (1/2 marks off an A) and a low B in 2 separate modules ... I'm retaking the lower grade module next week and if I can bring it up it can sometimes bring the grade up

[TAJ]

From what I understand all the exam boards work together to plan out the timetable as people use different exam boards - the qualifications agency say it would be impossible to postpone as there are a series of exams of a 2 month period and it would be impossible to set new national dates at this late stage.

 

Most schools around here opened for at least exam pupils, though one big comp close Wednesday. On the news it was showing a leisure centre in South Wales where it had been turned into an exam hall for all those sitting as the schools were closed - a good back up plan. The schools knew the situation - they should have done more to make alternative arrangments - one in Pershore even had teaching staff going out in their own 4-by-4s to collect pupils that couldn't get in for exams.

 

The schools needed to plan for this a bit more.

 

Tracy

[Clur]

Being now officially middle-aged (45 next month), I don't remember schools closing in snow or ice - though I do remember walking home 7 miles in the snow when I was 11, as the bus could go no further (I'm not suggesting that was a good thing!).

 

Too late for this year, but here's hoping lessons are well and truly learned (pun very much intended !).

 

It's because if a school stays open and a large proportion of pupils don't make it into school and have to be marked absent, it goes against the schools OFSTED report as I understand it.

 

Don't get me started.....

[Lewis]

Being now officially middle-aged (45 next month), I don't remember schools closing in snow or ice - though I do remember walking home 7 miles in the snow when I was 11, as the bus could go no further (I'm not suggesting that was a good thing!).

 

Too late for this year, but here's hoping lessons are well and truly learned (pun very much intended !).

 

It's because if a school stays open and a large proportion of pupils don't make it into school and have to be marked absent, it goes against the schools OFSTED report as I understand it.

 

Don't get me started.....

Tis true apparently

... and if they open with ofsted due next week and get a 50% attendance, if they then shut at lunch time the day doesn't count as absent on the report

[Geoid]

If the college was closed, they should have set up places in other schools/sports centres etc. Shame on them.

[Happy chickens!]

That must be soooo frustrating. My older son has had science modules to sit - he wanted the snow to carry on so he missed them, until I explained he would still have to do them, in the summer with the other ones, so twice the work. I was very glad his school re-opened so we didn't have that worry.

 

I know there are good reasons why schools have had to close, but these exams are important - I don't think there are good reasons from the exam boards and do think they should have a back up for this kind of situation. snow in winter, mmmm what a surprise.

[Cinnamon]

Apparently all the staff & invigilators made it in too, which is a total waste of time

 

I will be emailing the principle I think.A friend of Devons walked down to college that morning & said there was only a dusting of snow (we had 3 inches here!), so there was no good reason apart from maybe the college being concerned about pupils not being able to get home afterwards.

 

The exam was just over an hour,so I would have sat in the car in town to wait for her to finish rather than drive back out again

[ubereglu]

Oh no, there were other AS exams held yesterday too-such as Physics, which is what I was doing.

 

I agree it's a bit ridiculous, but as the majority of students were taking the exam on the same day at the same time then it couldn't be delayed because of the risk of cheating.

 

I can understand why examining boards refused to move the exams, mostly because you have to employ people from outside the college to invigilate and the papers have to be marked from certain dates, this would then be a huge task to reschedule all of it. Plus the papers are then around for longer increasing the risk of one being stolen and copied etc.

 

Plus most lecturers have usually scheduled all of their time to teach the next module and so more time would be eaten up by that.

 

I just feel sorry for her really, but she's just going to have to take it in the summer as it's the way it works. At least she only missed one exam though.

[Patricia W]

Sarah, do contact the principal, that's what he is there for after all - and if you are still not happy, write to the governors.

 

But there is probably a very good reason for closing as the college will be penalised financially in the future if their students don't do well in their exams. So I'm guessing they didn't do it lightly.

 

 

I hope Devon does well in her other exams- I'm sure she will !

[chickenNutter]

Cinnamon, that's terrible! My son was also sitting Psychology AS on the same day and luckily his school was open.

 

Tell your daughter if it is any consolation the paper was an absolute stinker, and has rocked my son's confidence big time, so it may be in her interest to do it in the summer - these things some times happen for a reason - although I can commiserate also and hope it doesn't add too much pressure to her summer exams. I would contact the principal too.

 

Give her a big chickeny consolation hug from us!

[Cinnamon]

Aw, thanks ChickenNutter

[Woodcat]

hey

 

I agree it's a shame that the school shut and she missed out. The only thing i would say is that while she misses out on the opportunity for resiting it in June (which she hopefully won't need) she still has two other chances and the revision that shes done won't not count because hopefully it will stick around in her brain and if she carries on going over it until June then she hopefully won't need as much time to devote to it.

 

When i took my As levels 3 years ago i didn't get the opportunity of doing any in January either. All of my stuff was in June and tbh i didn't find it that much harder than anyone around me. It also meant that while we'd finished going over stuff before Jan we had moved further on in the course and i understood things a little better and was able to look at the overall picture in the exam and got a better mark for it.

 

The chances are they did have a fairly good reason even if that wasn't broadcast i know that my old school had to close because the heating in the main building is awful (70s build no double glazing and half the window catches are broken and so the windows flap open in the wind) and on day even with the radiators scalding hot it was about 2 degrees in the classrooms. Not very much consolation to those who had to miss out on their exams though

 

I hope Devon does well in her next batch

[Busybird]

I too would be really annoyed with the school. My kids are too young for this to affect but their school opened for exam pupils only. The website advised those affected only to come in if they could do so safely (so no pressure to be there) and put out a request for staff to come in to support the exam pupils if they could walk to the site. The Head tried to drive in and got stuck but a parent rescued him in a 4x4

 

I was impressed with the efforts made to support the pupils while recognising the risks. Allowing people to make their own judgement on ability to travel made good sense as those with suitable vehicles, or the ability to walk, can get through a few inches of snow with care.

 

((hugs)) to your daughter

[Cinnamon]

I got a bit more info today.

Apparently it seems that although the invigilators got in,the exam head honcho could not,& it is that person who only has the authority to set the exam & open the room where the papers are kept.

 

They have now been put up in a hotel in Henley,so it doesn't happen again

[Clash City Rocker]

The "Brat's" school was open for anyone who had exams and every pupil managed to attend.

 

I wonder why teachers don't attend the school closest to their home in adverse weather.

It would be no different to a "relief teacher" taking charge of a class for a day or two.

[TAJ]

I got a bit more info today.

Apparently it seems that although the invigilators got in,the exam head honcho could not,& it is that person who only has the authority to set the exam & open the room where the papers are kept.

 

They have now been put up in a hotel in Henley,so it doesn't happen again

 

You would thought each school should have more than 1 authorised person in case of emergencies - snow or sickness. I say the Head should still take responsibility for not having a back-up plan.

 

Tracy

[ChrisP]

Although it's annoying, think on the positive side, that means that, as long as Devon starts revision a couple of weeks earlier in the summer, there's all this extra time to work on it and for the exam. The annoying thing (apart from not being able to sit the exam in Jan!) is that it might be on the same day as the other psych exam in June

[Guest]

Schools who stayed open were not penalised - the government allowed them to put down all non attending pupils as authorised absenses so as not to affect attendance figures. Half the kids in our school didn't attend and were marked down as being educated at home.

 

Staff who did not attend were not paid. Despite some of them living in far flung villages and it being dangerous for them to get there. The site was obviously safe as much to the amusment of a huge bunch of kids the head fell over and was covered in snow.

 

Those of us who were there had to teach classes which were half empty for 2 days running, meaning that come monday we were effectively teaching 2 seperate classes, those who had missed 2 days of school and those who hadn't. A parent complained when their child risked their safety to get to school and were shown a DVD.

 

Exams can't be rescheduled as was said earlier they are sat globally in some cases and have to be sat in the correct windows to prevent cheating. I've seen exam timetables clashing in year 12/13 and a kid has sat 2 exams in one day then gone home with a teacher to be kept incommunicado overnight before sitting an exam which clashed and should have been sat the previous day. Cheating has become rifer due to the internet so rules have gotten tougher. One school near us had power problems but stated they would still hold all public exams, if necessary they could have hired local church halls. Biggest problem round here has been venues, exams are usually sat in sports halls which are a so and so to heat at the best of times.