Year 11 Exam Information for Parents and Carers

John Cabot Academy Woodside Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 8BD

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Dear parents and carers

Year 11 have continued to impress us as a year group. Their commitment, resilience and dedication to their studies have been impressive and they have always listened to advice and been open to the support offered. We would like to wish them every success as they move on to the next phase of their education and know that the attributes that they have built over the past five years will stand them in good stead for whatever path choose in the future.

Thank you also for your support of the school and your child. This has been a team effort and this final stage requires we all continue to work well together. With this in mind, we have tried to include all the information about the upcoming exams.

Please have a look at our plans and support that is in place for Year 11 during the exam period and the final arrangements for our celebrations. We appreciate that there is a lot of information in this letter, so if you are still not sure on any aspect covered here, please do reach out to the Yr11 team.

Expectations during exam period: Mon 16 May – Tues 28 June

Uniform – normal JCA school uniform is expected during the exam period for every examination. Students must ensure they maintain high standards throughout.

Attendance and punctuality – morning exams begin promptly at 9:00 and afternoon exams start at 13:30. This means that students must arrive at school for 08:35 as usual so that they have time to get to their exam in a calm and ordered manner. Students are expected to attend JCA full-time during their exam period and when not taking exams, they will be in their normal timetabled lessons.

Final dates and arrangements for the end of Year 11

Leaving date – Year 11 will finish attending their timetabled lessons on Friday 17^th June and will only then be expected into school for exams and exam support sessions as shown below. This is to ensure students receive high quality teaching for as long as possible in support of their exams as well as their potential future students.

Leavers’ Assembly – this is on Friday 24 June – from period three, 10:40 onwards after the Statistics exam.

If students are not in school for the statistics exam, they should arrive at school in their uniform at 10:40 for their final assembly. This will finish by 12:10 and students will need to leave the school site at this time.

Pre-exam Support – There will be support sessions before and after school each day in support of upcoming exams and this timetable is shown below. Students will need to arrive to the main reception at 8:00, sign in, and will be directed to the support spaces available.

Half Term

After this point, students only attend exams and support sessions.

These are designed as final advice and it is imperative that students are revising independently at home too.

Revision support – school and home

School 

We have a revision site Link that students have access to as well as paper resources, their exercise books and folders with revision work and online resources such as Seneca, BBC Bite Size and also Dr Frost for Maths.

Teachers have planned very carefully to make the most of lessons leading up to exams, and when students have completed a course – they will be able to spend time revising in that lesson.

Home support – please support your child by ensuring they have a quiet place to revise, where possible, and that they avoid any distractions during their revision time like television, mobiles, and other electronic devices.

Students may also need help with manging their time between preparing for exams in the short-term and ensuring they are also preparing for exams that are further away. This requires a timetable – which they have all been given in tutor time and remembering that they need to chunk up their time into 25-minute slots.

Exam Equipment 

Students are expected to have a clear pencil case with equipment needed for their exams – including basics such as black pens, pencil, rubber, highlighters as well as maths equipment such as rulers, a compass and protractors as well as a scientific calculator.

Exam Routines

Morning exams will be starting at 9:00 promptly and students will need to be in the correct space by 8:40 to ensure we are not delayed in any way.

Afternoon exams will be starting at 13:30 promptly and students will be directed to their space from 13:10. Students with a PM exam will be supported with an earlier lunch from 12:40 so that they have time to eat prior to their afternoon exam.

Any students arriving late to an exam will be held and will enter with any other students who have missed the start as a small group to minimise disruption to those who have already started their exam.

Sports hall

Students will be lining up on the Astro court by the sports hall and will enter the hall in rows according to the seating plan of each exam. They must ensure they have turned off their mobile phone, removed watches and headphones and placed them in their bags prior to entering the exam space. Once they enter the exam space, they must remain silent and must not leave their seat without permission. Their exam papers may be voided if they do not follow the examination rules set by JCQ.  Any breach of the rules will be reported to the relevant exam board.

Separate venue

If students take their exam in a separate venue – they should assemble in the outdoor space between A and B wing at 8:40am / 1:10pm. This will be on their timetable, and they should be used to these routines from the mock exams, however, if they are unsure, they should speak to a member of the year 11 team.

They must ensure they have turned off their mobile phone, removed watches and headphones and placed them in their bags prior to entering the exam space. Once they enter the exam space, they must remain silent and must not leave their seat without permission. Their exam papers may be voided if they do not follow the examination rules set by JCQ.

Water, breakfast and snacks

Students should bring a refillable water bottle to school – this must not have any labels on it. They cannot eat in the exam space but should ensure they have had a good breakfast and snacks, if needed, for maintaining energy levels across the day.  Students should avoid energy drinks as these are likely to have a detrimental effect on a student’s ability to perform in an exam.

Sleep

It is important that for the exam period, students do not spend hours into the night, cramming for an exam the following day. They should build an effective bedtime routine so that they are able to get the appropriate amount of sleep required to be able to maintain energy levels across the next day.

Illness

If your child is significantly unwell or has COVID during the exam period, you must contact us immediately. We have a process which will be followed.

A reminder of key dates:

Exams begin on Monday 16 May and the final exam is on Tuesday 28 June

Students must attend school and all lessons until Friday 17 June

They will then attend for exams and revision sessions only – 17 June to 28 June

Leavers’ Assembly – Friday 24 June at 10:45am-12:10

Prom – Friday 1^st July

This letter can also be found on the website and can be translated if needed via

Many thanks for your continued support and this crucial time,

The Year 11 Team

Annie Massey Chris Titterington Steve Church Lorene Archibald