General Qualifications Bulletin - International - Issue 52

Did you know that the most common form of candidate malpractice every exam series is the possession of a mobile phone?

According to data published by Ofqual, possession of a mobile phone accounted for 44.5% of all cases of student malpractice - 2,180 cases - in the summer 2023 series. This was an increase on the 1,825 cases seen in the summer 2022 series.

The JCQ awarding bodies have set out the agreed sanctions for the different types of candidate malpractice, including for possession of a mobile phone. These can be found in Appendix 6 of the JCQ Suspected Malpractice Policies and Procedures. You can see that the sanctions for possession of a mobile phone are severe, because we need to maintain the security and integrity of our exams:

• mobile phone in the candidate’s possession but no evidence of being used by the candidate – loss of marks 
• mobile phone in the candidate’s possession and evidence of being used by the candidate – disqualification

We really want to see a reduction in this form of malpractice, which has such a significant impact on so many candidates. Please ensure that you’ve taken the following steps to help your learners avoid committing malpractice:

• clear communication to learners and their parents about items prohibited in exams, including mobile phones 
• clear publication and display of the JCQ exam room posters 
• sharing the JCQ JCQ-Preparing-to-sit-your-exams-2023_24.pdf infographic with learners and their parents
• having a member of your centre’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) deliver a pre-exam series assembly, to clearly explain the expectations of learners and the exam rules 
• ensuring you have in place, and learners know about, a process for the safe collection and storage of their mobile phones during exams.

With the summer exam season fast approaching we want to make sure Exams Officers have all the information needed to help ensure a smooth series. Please read on for further details to support you and your team in the run up to, and during, the exam period. 

Instructions for conducting exams
If you are running examinations in 2024, it is important for you to stay up to date with the official exam regulations.

The JCQ have published the 2023/24 version of their Instructions for Conducting Examinations (ICE) document. We’ve also included this and links to all other regulatory documents in our support article that includes the JCQ ICE, BTEC ICEA and general regulations.

You can also access the Pearson Development Hub for bitesize on-demand training modules to refresh your knowledge.

Learner Work Transfer (LWT)
All learner work requiring digital submission, for both general and vocational qualifications, must be uploaded via the Learner Work Transfer platform (accessed via Edexcel Online). This will include samples for non-examined assessment moderation, BTEC moderated components and standards verification, plus BTEC external assessments. Explore our dedicated support articles for detailed guidance:

Learner Work Transfer overview & index

Support for GQ examination / moderation submissions

Languages speaking exams support
The window to conduct GCSE, A level and International GCSE MFL speaking exams is now open and closes on 17 May. For speaking exam support documents and training videos, please visit our April 2024 Languages Update.

Please ensure that your centre’s interlocutors and other staff involved in the delivery of MFL speaking assessments are familiar with the assessment requirements. 

Access arrangements and reasonable adjustments 
As part of your final planning for the summer 2024 series, please take the time to ensure that you have clear records processes in place to ensure candidates are able to make use of their approved access arrangements and reasonable adjustments. You could consider doing the following: 

• double-checking the list of learners with access arrangements with your SENCo
• ensuring that your seating plans clearly indicate which candidates have access arrangements (JCQ ICE 11.14)
• checking that the invigilators responsible for exams where access arrangements will be provided have been trained and are clear about the rules relating to those arrangements (e.g. how rest breaks can be given and supervised, the difference between a reader and a scribe, etc)
• ensuring that you have sufficient invigilators for your exams where access arrangements need to be provided, including a contingency if some invigilators you have planned to invigilate are unwell on the day.

Further guidance can be found in sections 11-14 of the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations.

As we think ahead to the summer series, we wanted to remind you of the requirements relating to reporting learner malpractice.

The head of centre is required to report incidents of suspected learner malpractice that occur during the delivery of Pearson qualifications. We ask centres to complete JCQ Form M1 (www.jcq.org.uk/malpractice) and email it with any supporting documents (signed statements from the learner, invigilator, copies of evidence, etc) to the Investigations Processing team at candidatemalpractice@pearson.com. The responsibility for determining any appropriate sanctions on learners lies with Pearson.

Learners must be informed at the earliest opportunity of the specific allegation and the centre’s malpractice policy, including the right of appeal. Learners found guilty of malpractice may be disqualified from the qualification for which they have been entered with Pearson.

The only exception to the above is learner malpractice identified in relation to internal assessments before the learner has signed the declaration of authentication. In these cases, the centre can follow its own malpractice policy in resolving the matter.

Failure to report malpractice constitutes staff or centre malpractice.

Further information can be found in: 

• Centre guidance for dealing with malpractice and maladministration (pearson.com)
• JCQ Suspected Malpractice Policies and Procedures

You will have started receiving exam materials by now, but below is an update on despatch dates for the summer exam series.

Oral materials for your language oral exams and Pre-Release Material for GCE Music (9MU0/02) from 12 March onwards.

You can expect to start receiving standard and modified question papers from the following dates:

• General qualification exams taking place from 7 May and up until 22 May: from 15 April onwards
  
• General qualification exams taking place from 23 May and up until 7 June: from 2 May onwards
• General qualification exams taking place from 10 June onwards: from 21 May onwards.

You will be able to track your standard question paper despatch for General Qualifications via Edexcel Online.

Please ensure that appropriate colleagues are aware that question papers will be arriving soon and what they need to do with them. Question papers need to be carefully checked to ensure that you have received what you were expecting and that all question paper packs are in good condition. You should report any issues relating to question papers as soon as possible.

Whilst the vast majority of question paper deliveries marked for the attention of Exams Officers are made during normal centre hours, on rare occasions, a courier may attempt delivery when the main reception has closed, so papers cannot be stored securely. We encourage centres to inform staff to refuse these deliveries, and the papers will be redelivered.

Further information, guidance and tools can be found in: 

• Sections 1-2 of the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations
• JCQ Key Reminders Infographic updated 2024
• JCQ Infographic Paper Journey pdf
• Exam Materials Receipt Log – Point of Delivery
• Exam Materials Receipt Log – Exams Officer 
• An interactive training session on question paper security is available on our on-demand e-Learning page. 

The yellow label service will be in place for this summer series for centres in England to return scripts. Please read the yellow label service guidance for exams officers on the government website.   

Attendance registers
You can expect to start receiving attendance registers and labels from w/c 15 April onwards. Please note, for General Qualifications there are multiple attendance register despatches ahead of and throughout the series, so you will receive your attendance registers in staggered exam date order at least two weeks ahead of exam date. 

Each despatch may also contain registers for any late entries made since the previous despatch. Attendance registers for late entries may be delivered less than two weeks ahead of exam date. 

Availability of electronic copies of question papers
Our goal is to ensure that your centre's exams run as smoothly and as stress-free for centre staff as possible. To help us achieve this goal, we would appreciate you making checks outlined below well ahead of your centre's first exam.  

If your centre requires access to electronic copies of question papers in the May/June 2024 exam series, for example if you make a very late entry or need to print onto coloured paper, they will be available to download on the Secure Download Service (SDS). This also includes audio files and transcripts for listening exams. Our recommendation is that a minimum of two members of centre staff have SDS included in their Edexcel Online (EOL) profile.

If your exam staff do not already have SDS added to their EOL profile, they will need to contact us, and be available to receive a secure call-back from our Customer Services Specialist on your centre's main telephone number. Once this call has been performed successfully, access to the SDS platform will be added to their account.  

Please see the SDS support guide for further details: Secure Download Service (SDS)

If you have centre exams staff without access to SDS, they should contact us as soon as possible, and well ahead of the Summer exam series so that we can update their account.

It is important that all exam staff can access SDS as we will not be able to send electronic question papers via Secure File Transfer (SFT) on the day of the exam without a secure call back to your centre’s main telephone number first. This could result in logistical challenges for your centre at a critical time in the day - with staff required to move between an exam hall and your reception/exam office. This may result in delays, including potentially impacting the start time of the exam in question. To avoid this please make checks to your exam staff EOL profiles (and specifically SDS) today. 

Accessing electronic copies of question papers
After consultation with Awarding Organisations, JCQ have now revised their timings for when electronic question papers are made available to centres, whether by Secure File Transfer or Secure Download Service.

These updates can be viewed in the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations booklet.

This has now been increased from 45 to 60 minutes before the published exam start time.

We have also updated our Secure File Transfer (SFT) and Secure Download Service (SDS) guidance to reflect this change. 

Availability of Audio Files
Audio files will be available on the Secure Download Service 24 hours before the exam (or the Friday before, if the test is on a Monday), and transcripts will be available one hour before. 

We will not set up scheduled audio file deliveries via Secure File Transfer (SFT). 

A level Maths (9MA0)
Please note, as in previous series A level Maths (9MA0) won't be included with other summer question papers, plans for your centre will be communicated in May. A level Maths (9MA0) will also not be available to download from Secure Download Service (SDS). Centres with entries who require an electronic copy will be able to request a copy via Secure File Transfer (SFT). Details on how you can request an SFT for 9MA0 will be shared with you in the communication being sent in May.

As we head towards the May/June exam series, we’d like to remind you how important question paper security remains to the smooth running of exams in your centre and for the wider cohort. 

Take a look at our bitesize on-demand training on question paper security. This training module covers the importance of question paper security, how to securely handle question papers from receiving the papers right through to returning the completed scripts to Pearson, and how to recognise and report a question paper breach.

Protecting the security of your students’ data and electronic question paper materials is absolutely critical and we are committed to working with you to keep this sensitive information secure. 

As you prepare for the May/June exam series, please ensure that all staff who need it have access to Edexcel Online and have a device suitable for use with our Multi Factor Authentication app. Please also ensure that accounts have been removed for any staff who have left or moved roles and no longer need access. 

Never use the same password for Edexcel Online that you use for other systems such as your email accounts. If you see any suspicious activity on your EOL account, please reset your password immediately and report the activity to Pearson. 

Please see the JCQ’s guidance for centres on cyber security for more tips on how to keep your accounts secure.

You can also visit the National Cyber Security Centre website for a range of practical cyber security advice and best practice designed for centres.

Our exams are delivered at the same time all around the world. The sessions are based upon a UK morning (a.m.) session and an afternoon (p.m.) session. You need to check the correct start times for exams in your country.

You must deliver your exams according to the examination start time guidance detailed on our web page. The examination start times documents give the start times for all exams by country/time zone for each series. You need to check the start times for your region for the summer series.

Please note that for the East Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Asia-Pacific regions, there are separate documents for UK exams and our international exams.

There are some permitted exceptions to exam start times, as detailed in sections 7 and 8 of the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations.

Where a timetable variation is used, candidates must be kept under examination conditions until the end of the scheduled exam time. Centres must ensure that invigilators have been trained on supervising candidates under clash supervision arrangements. More details can be found in section 7 of the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations.

Exams for AS Maths, AS Further Maths, A level Maths, A level Further Maths, A level Statistics, and International A level (IAL) Maths must not be moved to an earlier session – more information can be found in the JCQ guidance and in our support article.

If you are running examinations in 2024, it is important for you to stay up to date with the official exam regulations.

The JCQ have published the 2023/24 version of their Instructions for Conducting Examinations (ICE) document. We’ve also included this and links to all other regulatory documents in our support article that includes the JCQ ICE, BTEC ICEA and general regulations.

Our Key Dates Finder enables you to find all of the key dates for Pearson general qualifications and subjects in one place. Here are those taking place during May 2024.