Dear Parents

Please read below the correspondence emailed today to your child/ward, regarding upcoming practice exams, concerning GCSE, IB & Year 2 A level students:

Curriculum Update - GCSE, IB and Year 2 A level Practice Exams

Dear Students

I hope this email finds you well. Now that we are well into the Spring term I thought I would take the opportunity to put together another curriculum update.

For students in their final year of study, we now start to prepare for final assessments, whether that be formal exams or assessed coursework. This is the time when it becomes even more important to put in place the study skills and strategies that the teaching staff have supported you with. Organisation and time management are particularly effective in managing the stresses and anxieties associated with these assessments. These techniques along with a range of other revision strategies were the focus of tutorials the week before Christmas and are still available on the Year 2 tutorial Google Classroom. The library also has lots of brilliant resources along with kind staff willing to sit and help you. I have also collated some resources that will be particularly helpful alongside the materials your subject teachers would have provided. Please revisit them as you prepare
for the upcoming practice exams.

Revision Activities to prep for exams

For Year 2 A level, IB & GCSE students our practice exam week is scheduled for the week commencing 3 February 2025. We do have some strike days that week but all exams are running and attendance is compulsory. It is so important to get as much realistic exam practice as possible so that students are well prepared for the final exams in May and June. Practice makes perfect as they say! Exam leave will be given all Year 2 A level (excluding Art subjects), and Year 2 IB lessons where there is an exam set. It should be noted that students studying either a vocational or foundation course will have lessons as normal with GCSE practice exams happening in class.

Please make sure you know where and when your exam is, and arrive in good time. The full details of your exam timetable will be on My Varndean under the exams tab. It is also important that students familiarise themselves with the Candidate Exam Handbook. We have also put together FAQs related to these practice exams which can be found further down the page. Please read through them carefully.

Students taking vocational courses (BTEC and CTEC) have now completed their January exams. The exams have gone smoothly with results being published for most subjects on the 21 March 2025. Internal assessment of vocational courses now continues as normal.

Please keep an eye on the updates section of our website which is where you can find all previous correspondence sent to parents/guardians and students: https://newsletter.varndean.ac.uk

That's all from me, good luck to those of you with exams and do try and make the most of all the study time that is available to you.

Kind regards

James Gordon
Deputy Principal

Practice Exam FAQ's

Do I still need to attend my lessons? All Year 1 lessons will be running as normal during the practice exam week. All BTEC and CTEC vocational classes will still run as normal. Year 2 students will not need to attend lessons in a subject that they have an exam in and can use the time to revise.

Where can I find details of the room I will be in for my practice exam? Room details will be on My Varndean under the exams tab. Room details for the exams will also be posted onto the exam's noticeboard located outside the main hall every morning. GCSE exams will take place in lessons.

What if the room details for my exam are not on My Varndean? You will likely be in a separate room - please check the exams noticeboard on the morning of your exam. Room details will be there. 

What if I have a clash? This will be identified on My Varndean and you will have an exam moved from the AM or PM session. You will have to be supervised between the exams. Full details are on My Varndean in the exams tab. 

I normally get exam concessions, will I still get these? Yes, you will. All exams concessions including extra time, reader, scribe etc. will be offered to you.

Who are these practice exams aimed at? All Year 2 A level students (excluding those doing Art and Design) and those students taking a GCSE this year. All Year 1 and Foundation students will continue to attend lessons as normal.

What is the purpose of these exams? The main purpose is to allow you the opportunity to practice in full exam conditions in preparation for the final exams in May. 

Do I need to attend my vocational subject lessons? All BTEC, CTEC lessons will run as normal during the practice exam week.

Do I need to attend my tutor session? All Year 1 tutor sessions will run as usual and staff will be offering 1 to 1 sessions. Students must attend these if they have been booked in.