Exams Information
Examinations are an inevitable part of school life. At Herschel we aim to make the experience as stress-free as possible.
In order to increase familiarity and hopefully reduce anxiety, all learners complete formal examinations from Year 7.
We hope the information contained here is helpful. However, should you need any help or advice please contact our examinations team.
Best of luck to those taking examinations over the coming months. We are all rooting for you and look forward to celebrating your success in August.
Mr Schroder Examinations Officer & Data Manager – RSC@herschel.slough.sch.uk
Mr Rodriguez Examinations and Data Administrator - JRD@herschel.slough.sch.uk
From Mr Devereux 7th April 2020
Since the Secretary of State for Education announced that the 2020 exam series in England would be cancelled to help fight the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the exams regulator has develop a process which fairly recognises students’ work and makes sure they get their grades in time to progress. They have set out details about how GCSEs, AS and A levels will be awarded this summer and published further guidance for teachers, students, parents and carers.
For this summer’s awards, schools and colleges are being asked to provide centre assessment grades for their students. These should be fair, objective and carefully considered judgements of the grades schools and colleges believe their students would have been most likely to achieve if they had sat their exams, and should take into account the full range of available evidence.
The school is in the process of confirming the arrangements, however, more information is still needed from examination boards before the school can set out its approach.
Information for Year 11 and 13 students
Please find at the bottom of the page guidance and a letter from Ofqual confirming the arrangements for the GCSE and A Level results this summer. You will note from page 2 that:
‘Your school or college is not required to set additional mock exams or homework for your centre assessment grade, and you won’t be disadvantaged if you were not set, or were unable to complete, any work given out after schools were closed.’
This does not mean that you can stop doing the work set by your teachers. You are currently still in education and we are still required to provide that education. The work will give you the foundations you need for the next stage in your education. All the research we have on the suspension of education tells us that the longer the break in formal education, the greater the learning loss. If you were to stop and not re-engage with formal education until September, there will be a very significant loss of learning and a much wider gap by September between you and your peers who choose to continue learning. Learning is also good for your mental health and wellbeing.
For re-sit students (Year 14), the process is far from clear and Ofqual will be releasing more information soon. It is likely the school will be unable to send an assessment grade to the examination boards due to lack of sufficient evidence of achievement to make an objective judgement. The advice at present is to continue to prepare for the newly scheduled exams that should be taking place in September.
| Name | Date | |
|---|---|---|
 Power to Perform recipe booklet |
15th May 2018 | Download > |
| Prepare to Perform Advice to Parents |
15th May 2018 | Download > |
| Examination Appeals and Non Examined Assessment |
13th June 2018 | Download > |
| Examination Guidance to Parents and Students 2019 |
12th March 2019 | Download > |
| Guidance for Summer 2020 grades |
7th April 2020 | Download > |
| Letter to students Summer 2020 grading |
7th April 2020 | Download > |
