increase in costs reduces private candidate exam opportunities

The future of exam taking in the UK

The private candidate site is interested in the future of GCSE and A level exams.

Whether the candidates are in school or private candidates.

No system can serve all candidates fully equally. We know there is going tobe some discrimation for the smaller sections of candidates. This would be the private candidates. We would love to see every candidate to be treated as a private candidate. As schools increasingly find it hard to accomadte extra ordinary requirements that are typical of private candidates.

The big change in schools over the past 20 years has been the rise of mobile phones.. There were no camera phones in pupils pockets.

Now camera phones are everywhere. With it the opportunity for cheating has sky rocketed.

A photo of exam paper can be sent across the networks in seconds. Immediately the integrity of the public GCSE or A level exam is exponentially threatened at the point of exam taking.

Exam boards have responded by increasing the pressure on schools for complex security arrangements and increasing the costs of running the exam centre. while schools have reduced the chance of pupils who need extra arrangements such as access arrangements taking exams.

From physically disabled to needing extra time.

More private candidate pupils missing their opportunity to take exams and in part fall out of exam taking all together.

The Private candidate web site was set up to help with the guidance for private candidates. For those who understand that their schools if they are in one do not always have the right answer.