Exam Contingency Plan

Colleagues

At the last meeting of the CAQC attention was drawn to the problems some centres have experienced with bomb threats over recent months and we discussed the possibility of issuing some further guidance to centres should they experience any emergencies during the examination period requiring protracted absence from the examination room, particularly the arrangements to be included in a centre’s contingency plan.

Whilst the matter was raised with the JCQ, it was decided that any advice over and above that already available in the JCQ guidance should be provided by individual exam boards.

The draft AQA notice is shown below and will be included in the Exams Update at the beginning of May; any comments you have would be welcome prior to its despatch – these would be needed by 22 April. We are aware that Pearson is also intending to issue a similar notice to centres.

With many thanks to Jovan for his assistance in drafting the message.

Kind regards

Hazel

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We are aware that there is a potential risk of emergency situations arising which may affect the delivery of examinations. Forward planning is essential in being able to cope with such events.

For this reason, awarding organisations joined with government bodies to develop a Joint Contingency Plan which has established set procedures to be followed in the event of widespread disruption to the examination system in the UK:

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exam-system-contingency-plan-england-wales-and-northern-ireland/joint-contingency-plan-in-the-event-of-widespread-disruption-to-the-examination-system-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland).