Missing A Gcse Due To Illness

[winkyridg]

My daughter missed 2 of her GCSe's due to illness and her School are saying she wont get her results unless she pays £40 for the exams she missed, is this right or are her School trying to pull a fast one?

[rockyracoon]

My kids school made it quite clear that we'd be charged for any missed exams. Whether they can refuse to give you the results of the ones taken is another matter.

[novalis]

Write direct to the exam board(s) concerned with full information, i.e. Centre name and number and candidate name nd numver explaining the circumstances and enclosing a copy of any medivcal certificate/evidence. AQA's address is Devas Street, Manchester. M15 6EX. I am afraid I do have EdExcel'sor OCR's address to hand. The school cannot withhold her results. Please let us all know how she got on in 16 days time.

[fiction-factory]

I think the school might be saying it will withhold certificates or at least not invite to the presentation evening - some schools insist students return all books and pay any outstanding bills

[fiction-factory]

Was a medical certificate provided. Schools do get frustrated when students simply fail to turn up but do understand that some may be ill and have medical certificates

[winkyridg]

No medical certificate was supplied, surely if we owed money for non attendance of an exam it should be paid to the exam board and not the School?

[fiction-factory]

No- the school will have paid the exam board and now wants the money back. If someone doesn't turn up for an exam it spoils the school's results in the league tables and have consequences for the teachers who are measured on whether they (their classes) achieve set targets

[bednobs]

i am not an education person, but it seems right to me - how else will they make sure people pay what's owed?

[fiction-factory]

Having thought about it again it is possible that the school will withhold the results. The school has paid for the exam entry and they get the results so could in theory decide not to pass them on to you.

[rockyracoon]

I suppose it comes down to a matter of ownership. To be honest though, I think the easiest thing to do would be to pay up. Does your daughter need them for a college or sixth form place.

[sherrardk]

I'm pretty sure the school is in the right here - they will have taken a v dim view of missing external exams without a doctor's note.

[jourdain2]

If exam missed because of illness you should only have to provide a medical certificate. This is fair enough as the school still has to pay the cost of her exam. Once certificate is produced the fees will be waived.

[zebo]

A certificate should have been provided at the time of the missed exam. Do they do aegrotat awards at GCSE, where an award can be made based on other work submitted, depends on the subject I think.

[sherrardk]

If you just miss an exam then you get 0 (or you used to) but they make allowances for sickness (where it's documented). You'd be amazed by the number of students who just don't show up.

[jourdain2]

A re-sit would be the answer, I think, zebo.

[sherrardk]

The majority of schools only offer re-sits in Maths and English, at a cost to the student and only if they enter sixth form. Some colleges might offer re-sits.

[jourdain2]

It's changed for the worse since I left teaching then, sherrardk. :(

[sherrardk]

Jourdain - I left 8 years ago but did a lot of work with the exams officer (think they were training me to replace him), the whole thing is an expensive nightmare.

[jourdain2]

sherrardk :) xx So sad though.

[Mosaic]

As an examination centre the school has to pay for officiating and envigilating staff, plus heating, lighting, and furniture. A pupil who has a gehuine medical emergency - and whose parents have a good working relationship with school admin - will be accommodated as far as possible. It is possible to predict which pupils will do a no-show, and most schools also contact home directly in these circumstances and will even go and fetch a pupil if necessary. If the school didn't contact you, that's odd. I'd ask about that.
Sometimes you see parents prefer a cheap family holiday to their child's public exams, and then try to pull a fast one afterwards.
End of the day, £40 for sitting two exams is a bargain. Invest in your child.