When are mock examinations taken at Ashbourne?
Ashbourne holds a “mini-mock” week every half term. Usually this takes place in the penultimate week of each half term. The first mini-mock session of this academic year took place in the week beginning Monday 12th October. The next mini-mock examination week will take place in the week beginning Monday 30th November. There is a further mock examination in the week following the Easter Break.
Who has to take a mock examination?
Every student at the College is expected to sit a mock examination in every subject they study every half term. The examinations take place during normal class time and will be announced in advance by subject teachers. Art subjects (graphic design, photography, textiles and fine art) do not have mock examinations.
What happens if a student fails to attend a mock examination?
If a student does not attend class at the time of their mock exam, they will be asked to sit the paper in their free time at the earliest possible convenience. However, we expect students to make every effort to sit their papers at the scheduled time and persistent failure to attend mock exams is treated as a serious breach of College rules and will be treated as a disciplinary matter. The Director of Studies oversees the process of mock-exam completion.
What happens if a student does not pass their mock examination?
Students are expected to pass their mock examinations. Any student who does not achieve a pass grade will be asked to repeat their mock examination. This re-take is designed as a learning exercise and, in most circumstances, students will be allowed to use notes and books to help them to complete the re-take. However the grade recorded and reported to parents and guardians will usually be the original grade.
Do students have to revise for their mock examinations?
Yes. We expect students to take these examinations very seriously and they should revise for them. Regular revision and testing of progress throughout the year is a key element of eventual exam success.
Are there any circumstances in which students do not have to take a mock examination?
The simple answer to this question is no. However, on occasion we may suggest that certain groups of students do not need to sit a mock exam in certain sessions, for example if a subject at a particular time of year is entirely coursework based (as is sometimes the case in Media Studies) or students have been sitting a large number of public examinations (as is often the case in the Spring term). This will be at the discretion of individual subject teachers. However, students should always assume they are to have a mock examination in every subject, unless told specifically that they do not have one. Art subjects (graphic design, photography, textiles and fine art) do not have mock examinations.
What is the standard of the mock examinations?
As far as possible examinations are set to full examination standard using past-paper questions and will be marked to examination standard.
How are grades awarded?
As papers are marked to examination standard, grades are awarded based on the standard scale for A-level (A*, A, B, C, D, E or U) or GCSE (A*, A, B, C, D, E, F, G or U). The grade boundaries can vary from subject to subject and even within subjects, however the letter-grade awarded allows for standardization across subjects.
What are students tested on?
In mini-mock week students are tested on the material studied in the previous half term’s lessons. In the Easter mock week (after the Easter break) students will sit full examination papers in each subject in preparation for the summer public examination session.
Do students take a mock in every subject each time?
Yes. Art subjects (graphic design, photography, textiles and fine art) do not have mock examinations.
Can students take their mock papers home to complete?
On rare occasions teachers may, at their discretion, set a ‘take-home’ mock if it is appropriate to do so. However this is very much the exception rather than the rule and students should not presume they are able to complete their mocks at home.
Will students have more than one mock exam if they have more than one teacher in a subject?
This is left to the discretion of the teachers in individual departments. Sometimes teachers will decide as a department to only set one paper per subject. It is more usual for each teacher to set an exam based on the work they have covered with the group.
Why do students have to sit so many mocks for maths?
Maths at Ashbourne is taught unit by unit and teachers will tend to set a separate mock in every unit. A-level maths is made up of four compulsory ‘core maths’ units (C1, C2, C3 and C4) and two applications units. Usually students will take one unit of statistics (S1) and one unit of mechanics (M1) although it is possible to take other maths units in place of these such as S2 (extra statistics), M2 (extra mechanics) or decision maths (D1). Further maths is made up of a further six units which must include at least two ‘pure’ maths units (FP1 and FP2).
Does the College use mock examination results to make predicted grades for students’ university applications?
Mock exams are one of a number of factors we use to make predictions for students but we will also consider homework, potential to improve, general attitude and work ethic, previous results, commitment and so on.
What if a student achieves a grade below the standard we expect in a mock exam?
At the discretion of the individual teacher, students will be asked to repeat the mock examination. They may also be reported to the Director of Studies to explain their poor results. The Director of Studies may then choose to take further action.
