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Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd will give whatever
help
.jpg) we
can with examination information, finding an exam centre and
authenticating coursework,
but entering examinations is entirely the responsibility of
the student,
and the contract for sitting examinations is between the
student and the exam centre.
We are NOT an exam centre
and therefore although we can give information and guidance,
we cannot make your entry for you, or change an incorrect
entry. Please understand that we are not in anyway
associated with AQA or with your exam centre, although we do
have good contacts with many of them.
Virtual and Open learning Academy Ltd will take no
responsibility for late, wrong or missing entries, nor do we
have any influence over the charges made by exam centres.
The notes below are intended to give an overview of the
process. They are for guidance only and all candidates
should make their own enquiries with examinations boards and
individual exam centres. Please read the AQA Guide for
Private Candidates, which can be obtained from their
respective publications departments ( telephone numbers are
provided at the end of this web page ) or can be downloaded
from the relevant web sites ( see `Links' ). It is important
that you read these documents carefully before making your
entry. You will also find all the exam/coursework forms
in these publications.
The information below relates to examinations administered
by the AQA. Arrangements for examinations administered by
other boards may be different, and you should contact them
directly.
Examination Officers accept Private Candidates at their
own discretion and it is our experience that an
examination officer will usually look more favourably on
well organised candidates. We therefore strongly
recommend that students read the introduction to their VOLA
course pack very carefully before contacting an exam centre.
This will provide essential information about the syllabus,
specification code, entry level and units to be entered. Our
feedback from exam officers is that they like to help, but
that they are extremely busy, and one bad experience with a
candidate may mean that no others will be accepted again in
the future. Please do not spoil the chances of other
students in your area by upsetting an exam officer who has
attempted to help you. The guidelines below will be useful.
Very Important Guidelines for keeping your Exams Officer
happy:
-
Make sure that you know your syllabus/specification
number and unit codes, do not go along with no
information or the wrong information.
-
Once you have found a centre, do not keep pestering your
exam officer with questions which can be answered by
reading your coursepack, this web page, the exam board
web pages or the letters we send to guide you through
the exam process. If in doubt contact your VOLA Student
Adviser or your tutor first.
-
Make sure that you provide a reliable contact
phone/mobile number and address. Exams officers who
spend hours trying to contact a candidate get very
cross.
-
Do not be late for exams or fail to turn up without
telling anyone. If you are withdrawing from an exam or
are unable to get there on the day, please always tell
your exam centre as soon as possible . Exam officers get
extremely stressed if they have to delay an exam for
their own students while they try to make contact with a
missing private candidate.
-
Always pay your fees even if you do not sit the exam.
The exam officer will often have had to do as much work
for candidates who have withdrawn as for those who
actually sit.
-
Please treat your exam officer with courtesy and
respect. They are not obliged to help you and if they do
they are trusting that you will not take up a
disproportionate amount of their time.
-
Please say thank you.
Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd attempt to
guide all their students through the labyrinth of the exam
system using a series of simple steps, beginning in December
and aimed at those people sitting the following June.
We send out letters and various forms during January,
February and March, but if you ignore or lose them we cannot
help you. Students sitting for exams at any other time
than May or June should be aware that they will have to be
responsible for obtaining deadline dates and meeting exam
board requirements without our step by step instructions,
although we will of course do all we can to help with
arrangements.
PRIVATE AND EXTERNAL CANDIDATES
When Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd students sit
their exams they are referred to as Private Candidates.
Being a Private Candidate is also known as being an External
Candidate.
CLOSING DATES FOR SUMMER 2007 EXAMINATIONS
The closing date for GCSE examination entries is 21
February.
The closing date for AS and A2 level examination entries is
21 March.
Note: these are the dates by which AQA must have received
notification of your entry, not the dates by which you
should have applied to the examination centre. Please
ensure you contact your chosen centre well before the end of
January.
Late entries can be made but there will be a substantial
charge.
FINDING AN EXAMINATION CENTRE
Private candidates may enter for examinations through any
AQA registered school, college or centre willing to accept
them. AQA publishes lists of these centres by region. They
are usually sent out with the Information for Private
Candidate Guidelines and for AQA, can be accessed from the
link on this page. You may also feel free to contact them on
01483 506506 ( AQA ) and ask for details.
Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd will send a letter to
students in December explaining the usual way to find an
exam centre. There are many ways to do this and the best are
explained below;
You can use the exam board list of centres by region,
but remember these are only centres that may be
prepared to take you.
Look in the Yellow Pages under `Further Education' or
`Tutors and Tutoring', and then ring schools and colleges
that are convenient for you, even if they are not on the
exam board list.
Independent, Private Schools and especially
Private Tutorial Colleges are often more helpful than
overstretched state schools.
Your own old school or your child's school will often
take you but not other external candidates so they are
always worth trying, but make your connection clear before
asking.
Faith schools, especially if you are a member of that
particular faith are also often helpful.
We also keep a data base of every exam centre that has taken
our students in the past, and although we cannot guarantee
that there will be a centre in your neighbourhood, we can
usually help you to locate the closest. Please see the
post code map in the links section and then contact your
Student Adviser if you are still having difficulty.
Note: Please read the guidelines for keeping
your exam officer happy before contacting centres. Be
prepared to make quite a lot of calls to different centres,
not every centre will offer every examination. You should
check that your chosen centre offers the examination(s) that
you wish to sit. If they cannot accept you, it may well be
because they do not have students of their own sitting your
particular exam.
EXAMINATIONS WITH NO COURSEWORK
Exams with no coursework or oral components are the easiest
to arrange. You will only need to pay the fee, submit an
exam entry form, satisfy the exam centre of your identity
and provide your address and contact details. There are no
other forms required.
EXAMINATIONS WITH A COURSEWORK COMPONENT
Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd students sitting
examinations with an optional coursework component
are always expected to choose the written examination paper
and not the coursework option. For examination
purposes, it is always easier for private candidates to
avoid coursework if possible. However, if coursework is
compulsory, this will be made clear in your course pack.
There are various ways of examining and marking coursework,
depending on your learning provider and this can cause
confusion at exam centres. Please inform your exam officer
that any coursework submitted by Virtual and Open Learning
Academy Ltd students is marked by AQA moderators. It
is not marked by Virtual and Open Learning Academy
Ltd tutors or anyone at your exam centre. Your exam officer
will therefore be asked only to post your coursework on to
the same AQA moderator as used for their own students.
Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd will deal with all
other aspects of your coursework, ie authenticating,
providing the correct paperwork and collecting it in time to
meet deadlines. We follow the procedure detailed below,
please read it carefully.
STAGE 1: INITIAL ENTRY
Students should complete the exam entry forms provided by
their exam centre before the deadline set by each individual
centre. This usually involves going to the centre in person
to establish your identity, sometime in January.
When coursework is involved, students must submit a
`Private Candidate Coursework Information Form` at the
same time as they make their exam entry. This can be
downloaded from the web, but if you are sitting your
examination in June, Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd
will send you a copy of this form in early January. It
must be given to your exam centre when you fill in your
examination entry forms and the centre should send it to
AQA. If you do not receive this form please inform your
student adviser before the end of January. A separate
`Private Candidate Coursework Information Form' is needed
for each subject. Please note, sometimes exam officers are
not clear about what to do with form, if this is the case
please make sure that you send the completed form direct to
Coursework Processing, AQA, Devas Street, Manchester, M15
6EX. Do not keep it until you send in your final
coursework, this will cause problems.
Completing the Private Candidate Coursework Information Form
Sections 1 and 2, complete and check your subject
entry code or Component code carefully. (We will send this
information to you in January)
Section 3, tick option "(3)"
Section 4
Name: Insert the name of your tutor (authenticator)
Address: Insert your tutor's home address and phone number
Authenticator's Occupation: Virtual and Open Learning
Academy Ltd Tutor
Relationship to Candidate: Tutor
"Arrangements made", please write something along the
following lines:
I
have had regular contact with my tutor since (* state the
date you began your course) and I am following the
guidelines relating to coursework, as set out in my Virtual
and Open Learning Academy Ltd distance learning materials.
Prior to beginning my coursework, I discussed/ will
discuss*, the suitability of my chosen topics with my tutor.
A draft of my coursework was/ will be* submitted to my tutor
for general feedback.
*
Insert as applicable
Section 5, complete
Section 6, signature and date
Note: AQA reserves the right to confirm with
your tutor that the arrangements described above have been
strictly adhered to.
Providing you have had sufficient contact with your tutor
over several months, have submitted at least four Tutor
Marked Assignments, followed the guidelines in your course
materials and completed your coursework in time for our
deadline, your coursework will be authenticated ( i.e.
confirmed as having been produced by you and not anyone else
) by your tutor and then marked by the exam board in due
course. If you have not followed these guidelines, then your
tutor has the right to return coursework to you, without
authenticating it. Please note that Virtual and Open
Learning Academy Ltd tutors reserve the right to refuse
to authenticate any coursework at their own discretion.
Any student who is considered to be using unacknowledged
material from the internet will be automatically refused
authentication.
Coursework is marked by an AQA appointed moderator, not your
tutor. This means that coursework has to be submitted much
earlier than your written exam and that, unlike internal
students, your mark will not be available until final
results in August.
STAGE 2: SUBMITTING COURSEWORK; FORMS AND PROCEDURE
In late January or early February, Virtual and Open Learning
Academy Ltd will be sending you a letter asking for details
of your examination centre and candidate number, this will
be called the `Permission Form'. This form is extremely
important. With your signature on this form we can make
enquiries on your behalf with your exam centre or with the
board and should you encounter any problems at a later date
we will be able to help. Without this form, we cannot help
you.
As well as the Permission Form, we will also send you a
`Private Candidate Record Form'. This form should be read
extremely carefully and has to be signed by both the you and
your tutor. DO NOT forget to attach a Private Candidate
Record form to your final coursework, without this form
correctly filled in and signed, you cannot submit your
coursework for marking. The boards are not flexible over
incorrect forms or missed deadlines. You are likely to
invalidate your entry if you do not follow the rules and
meet these deadlines.
The final version of your COURSEWORK and SIGNED FORMS should
be sent by special, registered or recorded post to your
tutor BEFORE THE 30th MARCH to allow time for authentication
and posting..
Keep a copy.
Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd can refuse to accept
responsibility for coursework received AFTER THE 30th MARCH
deadline.
If you have met all the requirements, your tutor will
authenticate the coursework, complete the relevant sections
of the form, and send everything to Virtual and Open
Learning Academy Ltd. We will then post your coursework to
your examination centre, who will pass it on to a board
appointed moderator for marking.
Note: please ensure that you always keep a copy of your
coursework, as Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd cannot
be held responsible for any loss of materials, and
unfortunately, every year someone, somewhere has a postal
scare. Do not let it be you.
Rules Relating to Coursework
The work you submit for assessment must be your own unaided
work.
Any materials ( e.g. books, leaflets or information from the
Internet ) used in the completion of your coursework should
be acknowledged in the work itself and on the Private
Candidate Record form. To present material copied from any
source without acknowledgement will be regarded as
deliberate deception, and may result in your
disqualification.
In order to authenticate your coursework, your tutor must
have had sufficient and regular contact with you over the
whole period of your studies. He must also have received
other material comparable to your coursework, which usually
means doing at least four TMAs, so he can say that to the
best of his knowledge it is your own work. This is very
important. Exam boards are becoming increasingly concerned
about coursework and will be doing more and more checking
up. Submitting 4 TMAs together in February/March is not
acceptable. You should also have discussed your chosen
topic(s) with your tutor prior to starting the coursework.
After this, try to leave enough time to submit at least one
draft before your final version and then be prepared to
answer questions from your tutor about your work.
Note: if your tutor has any concerns regarding the
authenticity of your coursework, he or she is obliged to
disclose them to Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd and
the board. There are now many tools available to check that
work has not been downloaded from the web.
Coursework should be presented on A4 paper and bound in the
top left hand corner with a treasury tag. DO NOT use any
extra plastic or other type of folder. Your coursework may
be typed or handwritten but please check with your tutor in
case there are any specific rules for your subject,
particularly English and Science GCSEs.
FEES
Current entry fees are shown within the Information for
Private Candidates booklet.
As a guideline only, for 2007 exams you will pay
approximately £25 to the board for most GCSE exam papers and
£12 for each single `A' level module/unit.
Note: in addition to the above, your centre will also ask
for an administration fee, which is entirely at their own
discretion and can be quite substantial, especially in major
cities.
PAST PAPERS AND OTHER SUPPORT MATERIAL
All students should ensure they have a copy of the board
published Specification or syllabus for their course( s ).
The specification sets out the subject content and
assessment criteria for each course. It also provides useful
clues about what the examiners will be looking for in your
exam.
Specifications can be ordered through the Publications
Department, or downloaded free of charge from AQA's web
site.
The links below will take you direct to AQA's subject
specifications often referred to as the syllabus
Past papers are only available from the exam boards.
Completing past papers will give you valuable exam practice
and we highly recommend you do at least one and preferably
several of them. Accompanying mark schemes are also
available, enabling you to mark your own work.
Past papers and mark schemes can be ordered through AQA's
Publications Department ( address at the end of this web
page ), but they cannot be supplied by Virtual and Open
Learning Academy Ltd because of copyright rules.
If you are completing past papers, you might also like to
read the Examiner's Reports on previous exams, again on the
relevant board website. These often identify common errors
which can easily be avoided if you are aware of them.
All major bookshops have numerous revision guides, many of
these are extremely good.
RESULTS
Unlike students taking internally assessed exams, Private
Candidates will not know their coursework marks before they
take their written exams. Exam centres will, however, be
able to give you a separate mark for your coursework
component when your results are published in August. You
should always ask for this as it is not unknown for
coursework marks to be omitted from final grades and it is
much more likely to happen to external candidates. Look
carefully for a # sign on your results slip. If there is one
always ask your exam officer to check your final mark very
carefully as it usually means that there is no coursework
mark included.
Your results will be sent to your examination centre, not to
Virtual and Open Learning Academy Ltd, on 16 August ( A
Levels ) or 23 August ( GCSE ).
You may either collect them in person from your centre, or
they will post the results to you the next day, if they have
a correct and current address. Centres are prohibited from
giving examination results over the phone.
If you wish to query or contest a mark, you must do so
immediately via your centre's exam officer. The rules
regarding this are very strict and you only have a few days
in which to lodge your query.
CONTACT ADDRESSES
AQA
Guildford
Office
Stag Hill
House
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 XJ
01483
506506
Manchester Office
Devas Street
Manchester
M15 6EX
0161 953 1180
www.aqa.org.uk
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