Category: Exams and Results

Please use the above Coversheet for all coursework submissions. Submissions without the coversheet will be asked to resubmit.

If you are not sure on how to include the coversheet with your coursework, please speak to your teacher, or the Academic office.

The IELTS results are already starting to come out, mostly for the Computer Delivered tests at this point.

On the whole, I am very pleased to see significant improvements since the tests you took before you arrived. However, I know that some people will still be disappointed that they have not quite achieved the scores they need for university.

If you have missed the university entrance requirement, you have the following options:

1. Retake IELTS. This is the obvious simple solution. With a bit of extra time and attention, and another attempt, you can probably target the skill(s) that let you down and bring your score up. You would, however, need to pay for a second sitting of the exam yourself and organize your own transport to London. My recommendation is to retake the exam during the Easter break (1^st – 16^th April) as you will be relatively free then. However, you will normally have until August to meet all the university entrance requirements.

• Pre-Sessional Courses. If you do not think that you can meet the requirements by retaking IELTS, then you might want to consider taking a Pre-Sessional English course at your chosen university. These are language courses which run over the Summer before the main degree course begins in the Autumn. However, these can only make up a small difference and are much more expensive (about 10 times the price of an IELTS exam). On the plus side, I have never heard of anyone failing a Pre-Sessional.

• International Year One (IY1).International Year One (IY1) is a very intensive programme which some universities offer for International students who are nearly but not quite ready to start Bachelor’s level studies. Entrance requirements are between those for Foundation Years and for normal university entry, so a bit lower than standard requirements. It combines foundation-level courses with the core content of the first year of the Bachelor’s degree in a one-year intensive programme. After completing IY1, you progress to the second year of a Bachelor’s degree. However, not all universities offer this course, and it is only available for a narrow range of subjects. Applications for International Year One are by Direct Application.

If you have any further questions or would like some advice on what to do next, please do not hesitate to speak to me.

Thank you to those of you who attended the IELTS Booking meeting today, and especial thanks to those of you who have already told me the details of your booking.

As we discussed, we will be taking the exam together on Saturday 11^th February at London Central (16 Stukeley Street).

You can see the presentation slides below for your reference.

Please remember to tell me when you have booked and to give me the details of your booking. If I don’t receive these, your teachers and I will start nagging you in the coming weeks.

Specifically, please tell me:

• The Centre where you take your exam.
• The Date when you will take your exam.
• The Time when you will take your Speaking exam.
• Whether you are taking the Paper Based or Computer Delivered form of the exam.

Remember that you will need to contact the EF Office in your country for your reimbursement.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

I hope you are keeping well and getting well prepared as we enter the second half of term and the run-up to your Autumn Exams.

As you know, exam week will be Monday 21^st November to Friday 25^th November.

The overall layout of the week will be as follows:

• Monday 21^st November: Main Exam Session at The King’s Centre, Osney Mead (near the station).
• Tuesday 22^nd November: ALS Speaking exams in school in the morning.
• Wednesday 23^rd November: Fail notifications released by email at the end of the day.
• Thursday 24^th November: Art class presentations/Term 1 evaluation.
• Friday 25^th November: Retake exams in school and resubmission deadline.

I will send you more details, including a specific exam timetable, nearer the time.

As you know, your final assessments will be:

If you fail any of these assessments, you will have one opportunity to retake them on 25^th November. Retakes will be capped at a maximum score of 40% (a minimal pass).

We are expecting to release Term 1 grades the following week on Friday 2^nd December.

The Term 1 assessments combine to form approximately 1/3 of the grade for Year (9 month) courses and just over 1/2 of the grade for Semester (6 month) courses.

If you have any questions or doubts about what to expect from the Autumn Exam Week, please do not hesitate to speak to your teachers or to me.

I hope you’re keeping well and keeping a good focus as we enter the final push towards the end of your course and the final deadlines and exams.

Please see below the exam timetable for your upcoming Summer Term Exams.

The main session of all exams will take place on Monday 15^th August in iLab1.

If you fail any exams, retakes will take place at the same times and in the same place on Friday 19^th August. Please keep your schedule free on Friday in case you need to retake.

09:00-10:30	Specialist Modules (Chem, IBM, Psych)
12:00-13:00	Critical Thinking
14:00-15:30	Q&Q

Of course, you will not be allowed to take notes, books or electronic devices into the exam with you, nor will you be allowed to communicate with other candidates or anyone else apart from the invigilator during the exam. If you break these rules, you will be disqualified and score zero for the exam.

We will then need to mark, double-mark and moderate your exams. We aim to send you your results by Friday 26^th August. I have already contacted your Firm and Insurance universities to warn them about this timeline.

Naturally, we understand that this is an anxious and stressful time for you. If you have any concerns or feel worried or overwhelmed, do not hesitate to speak to either myself or the Welfare team.

It only remains for me to wish you the very best of luck. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me.