Monday 7th November 2016 Dear Year 11 Parent, Guardian or Carer, Yr 11 Mock GCSE Exams Monday 9th January – Friday 27th January 2017 Mock GCSE exams for all Year 11 students will take place from Monday 9th January. These are formal exams that will take place under formal exam conditions in preparation for their GCSEs later in the year. Please find the Mock Exam Timetable enclosed with this letter. Your child has already been given a copy. As explained at the Expectations Evening, not every subject has scheduled a mock exam. In subjects where students have spent the Autumn term focusing on completing controlled assessments, such as Catering and Classical Civilisations, they will not be expected to sit a mock exam. In the March Mock GCSE Exams students will sit a mock exam in every subject. We have also not scheduled mock exams for GCSE Mathematics. This is because students will have sat 3 mock papers for their Autumn 2 assessment. Pearson, the exam board we are using for Mathematics, has agreed to provide detailed analysis and support to teachers if these are completed before Christmas. This support will be invaluable to teachers in determining how best to support your child and as such we will not be scheduling an additional mock exam in January. The dates of the GCSE Mathematics mock exams are as followed: Monday 21st November Mathematics Paper 1 (1h30m) 9am start Friday 25th November Mathematics Paper 2 (1h30m) 11.30am start Thursday 1st December Mathematics Paper 3 (1h30m) 11.30am start Please make sure your child is aware of the importance of these mock exams. They are essential practice for the actual GCSE exams next summer. Additionally, results in these exams will guide teaching staff as to how much additional teaching and intervention time your child needs to be ready for the GCSE exams in May-June 2017. The better your child does at this stage, and the closer to target grades, the less time your child is likely to need to spend in intervention lessons before or after school, and in the school holidays. During the mock exams please try to avoid taking your child out of school due to medical or other appointments wherever possible. Also please try to avoid time off school due to sickness unless your child is really quite ill. It is much better if a student takes the exam at the scheduled time with all the other students as it can be quite difficult to schedule catch-

up sessions for exams missed – these may have to take place outside of school hours – before school or in the evening. The student will only be given marks if the exam is taken. In the actual GCSEs there are no opportunities to catch up on exams missed – unless there is medical evidence to show the student was too ill to take the exam the student will lose all the marks for the missed paper. If you have any questions about these mock exams please do contact the school. Yours sincerely,

Mrs Morey Vice Principal