SQA Update
The main SQA examination diet will run from Monday 24th April to Wednesday 31st May inclusive. Arrangements for Study Leave this session are as follows:
- S4 Pupils with 3 or more National 5 Examinations and all S5/S6 pupils will have full Study Leave running from Monday 24th April to Wednesday 31st May Inclusive. Young people do need not need to attend school unless they have an examination or wish to attend a study session confirmed by their teacher through Google Classroom. Other times should be spent productively completing home study.
- S4 Pupils with 1 or 2 examinations will be entitled to the 2 school days prior to each examination as Study Leave. Young people who fall into this category should attend the Employability Programme being offered in the school at all other times. More information regarding this programme will follow in due course.
- S4 Pupils who do not have any formal exams should follow the Employability Programme. During the examination period these pupils will also be able to complete any remaining coursework/assessments to allow these qualifications to be achieved.
Exceptional Circumstances
In the event that a young person is unable to attend an exam in exceptional situations, contact should be made to the school on the day of the exam before 8:40am. In some cases the Examination Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service (EECCS) will support young people who are unable to attend an exam. This service will be available for young people in the exceptional situations listed below:
- A young person has been unable to attend an exam, or prevented from completing the exam, due to a personal circumstance beyond their control (such as a medical issue).
- A young person has been impacted during an exam by a disruption or another exam circumstance reported by the chief invigilator.
- A young person’s performance in the exam was impacted by a personal circumstance, or an unplanned incident on the day which was beyond their control.
A request to this service must be submitted within 10 days after the exam therefore absence or other disruption must be reported to the school on the day of the exam. We will then provide alternative assessment evidence to the SQA. SQA examiners will review this along with any exam materials that a young person completed to decide a grade.
Appeals
Appeals 2023 is a free service that a young person can use if they have genuine concerns about a grade. This year’s appeal service will have a different process to the one used last year as alternative assessment evidence will not be looked it. This year if a young person appeals against their grade, a senior marker will carry out a marking review of their SQA-marked assessments. Please note, this is not a re-mark.
A marking review checks that:
- All parts of an assessment have been marked.
- The marking is in line with national standards.
- The marks given for each answer have been totalled correctly.
- The correct result has been entered on SQA systems.
A young person should discuss their decision to appeal as soon as possible after getting their results. Please note that after being reviewed, result could stay the same, go up or go down. More information is available at www.sqa.org.uk/appeals.
Please note that a letter confirming this information along with a copy of your young person’s timetable and other SQA information will be sent to you the week beginning the 3rd April.
Craig Knight
Depute Headteacher