The Flagpole

As you will be aware, last week examination boards published guidance about the content of summer examinations for 2022.

All of the information provided by the awarding bodies will be shared with pupils and we will also be sending home a document to summarise the implications for all of our courses at Princethorpe College. This information will be shared with pupils by their individual subject teachers, but we wanted to provide a single point of reference for parents.

The format and nature of the guidance varies by both examination board and subject, but broadly speaking falls into one or more of the following categories:

1.    Notice of content which will not be assessed at all

2.    Notice of content which will form the main focus of papers

3.    Notice of content* which may be assessed for low-tariff or synoptic questions

*some of this content is not named explicitly but is instead indicated by its omission from other lists

At A-level there are very few cases of any content being entirely excluded.

For most subjects, we will be encouraging pupils to revise broadly at first and only to specialise on the named topics closer to the final examination; this will allow them to draw on a broad range of knowledge to link ideas together and so access the very highest marks. There will be some exceptions, but in most cases, this is likely to be the most fruitful approach, particularly at A-level, where subjects are assessed with a large degree of synopticity.

For February’s mock examinations, departments have already offered specific guidance about the content that is being assessed. As far as is possible, this will be broadly aligned with the published topics for the summer.

The second set of mock examinations for Year 11 and Upper Sixth will take place from Monday 28 February to Monday 7 March, using the Sixth Form Centre as the primary venue. This mirrors our plans for the summer examinations in light of the imminent Science building project. Timetables have been emailed to both parents and pupils.

This is a final opportunity for both Year 11 and Upper Sixth to test themselves and to learn from both successes and difficulties before sitting their public examinations in the summer. Departments will also brief all pupils on some of the likely content, in light of the guidance published by examination boards.

Please remind them to have exam-compliant equipment, including clear, unlabelled pencil cases and water bottles in preparation for these assessment.

Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 March 2022 - 6.00pm to 8.30pm

The Year 11 Parents’ Evening will take place on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 March 2022 from 6.00pm to 8.30pm. As you will be aware, the pandemic forced schools into conducting Parents’ Evenings online and this has proved to be a successful approach which we are continuing. However, after half-term, we will be trialling an alternative platform for these events, delivered by SchoolCloud. This is widely used by many schools and should make the booking and appointment process simpler. We will send out detailed information in advance of events and will gladly listen to your feedback on the new system.

Meetings will still be booked online and further details will follow on how to book the appointments.

It is hoped that all parents will be successful in gaining an appointment, however if this is not possible teachers may contact you via email to update you about your child’s progress.

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

Thursday 3 March 2022 - 6.00pm to 8.30pm

To support the progress of our Year 8 and 9s we will be offering face to face meetings in the Sports Hall with your child’s tutor to discuss progress and future targets in light of recent reports. It will be an opportunity for you to discuss all subjects and overall study skills. Importantly, targets will be made for further improvement in the second half of this year and therefore it is expected that pupils will also attend the meeting.

Parents will be given the opportunity to electronically book a 15 minute slot with their child’s tutor. Parents will also be able to attend a series of workshops on how best to support their child whilst at Princethorpe. An email will be sent out to parents with more information and booking details during half term.

Michael Spencer
Deputy Head – Academic

January 2022

Results for the January exams will be published on the following dates:

Thursday 3 March 2022 – All Maths Qualifications

Wednesday 23 March 2022 – BTEC Qualifications

Summer 2022

Pupils have checked their examination entries for this summer and these entries have been sent to the exam boards. Individual exam timetables can now be viewed on My School Portal by both parents and pupils under the heading Exam Timetable; room allocations will appear nearer the time.

Please note: For the IGCSE Spanish and French Exam, both the Listening exam and the Reading and Writing exam are timetabled to start at the same time on the same day. This is not a clash; the Listening exam will take place at the time shown and the Reading and Writing exam will follow immediately after.

An exam clash occurs when two examinations for different subjects are scheduled to start at the same time. If the total duration of the two examinations is 180 minutes or less, the exams will take place one immediately after the other. If the total duration exceeds 180 minutes one exam will be moved to the other session that day and pupils will be supervised in-between exams. I will notify pupils and parents by email of the timetable adjustment.

In some cases, a pupil may have three exams timetabled in a day. Again, the duration of the exams will determine the options open to the candidate, I will discuss these on an individual basis.

Any queries regarding an exam entry or an individual timetable should be sent to examinations@princethorpe.co.uk

Shellagh Dodds
Examination and Assessment Manager