- If the total duration of three or more examinations to be taken in one day is more than 5 hours 30 minutes for GCSE examinations or more than 6 hours for GCE examinations (AS, A2, A-level), centres may wish to arrange overnight supervision. However, the candidate should be offered the opportunity to sit all the examinations on the scheduled day. The centre should submit a request for special consideration to the relevant awarding body for the final paper which has been taken.
- Where the centre allows the candidate to take an examination scheduled for the afternoon session the following morning†, the centre must always appoint a member of centre staff or an invigilator to supervise the candidate while he/she is on the premises sitting examinations. The candidate must be under centre supervision from 30 minutes after the awarding body’s published starting time for the delayed examination. The centre must ensure there is no contact with other candidates.
†If an examination from Friday afternoon is deferred, it must be taken the following morning, i.e. Saturday morning. - The supervision of a candidate on journeys to and from the centre and overnight may be undertaken by the candidate’s parent/carer or centre staff. The centre must determine a method of supervision which ensures the candidate’s wellbeing.
The supervisor must supervise the candidate from the time when he/she leaves the supervision of the centre until supervision of the candidate is transferred back again to the appointed person at the centre. - The overnight supervision arrangements must ensure that the candidate does not have advance warning of the content of the examination deferred until the following morning. This means the candidate must not meet or communicate with anyone who may have knowledge of the content. This includes any form of electronic communication/storage device, e.g. email, internet, online streaming services, social media and telephone. It also includes printed media, radio and television which could report key details of the day’s examinations.
- The Overnight Supervision Declaration form must be completed no later than 24 hours prior to the overnight supervision commencing so that those involved fully understand their responsibilities.
The centre and the supervisor must retain a copy of the form. - Overnight Supervision Declaration forms must not be enclosed with the scripts. The scripts must be sent to the awarding body/examiner in the normal way.
- All completed Overnight Supervision Declaration forms must be kept on file at the centre for inspection. Forms may be stored electronically or in hard copy paper format. They must be retained on file until the deadline for reviews of marking has passed or until any appeal, malpractice or other results enquiry has been completed, whichever is later. Forms must not be sent to an awarding body, unless specifically requested.
- The head of centre must be satisfied that the arrangements meet the awarding body’s requirements.2
- The awarding body must be informed immediately of any known or suspected contravention of these conditions.
- The awarding body may use appropriate means to check that these conditions have been adhered to and will act if there is evidence of any contravention. This could lead to the disqualification of the candidate(s) involved and could affect whether the awarding body would allow such arrangements to be made in the future.
