Guidance notes for transferred candidates 2023 / 24

The host centre must:

• comply with the JCQ publication Instructions for conducting examinations before, during and after the examination(s);
• comply with the regulations governing the secure storage of question papers and other confidential materials.

Please read the following guidance notes before completing an online application.

• The awarding body’s regulations should be checked for any restrictions on transferred candidate arrangements which may apply to private candidates.
• Examination officers should seek advice from the appropriate awarding body if they are uncertain as to the acceptability of the transferred candidate arrangement.

Acceptable reasons for requesting transferred candidate arrangements are: 

• A diagnosed medical condition which prevents the candidate from taking the examination(s) at the entering centre. A specific reason must be stated when processing an online application.
• Pregnancy.
• A candidate has moved house after entries have been made.
• A candidate has been excluded or suspended from the entering centre.
• A candidate is in the armed forces and has transferred to another base.
• A candidate is representing his/her club or country at an international level in a recognised sporting event.(Centres must have appropriate supporting evidence, i.e. an official letter from the organisers of the sporting event, signed and dated on headed paper, which makes specific reference to the candidate. An awarding body reserves the right to request such evidence.)
• A candidate is taken into custody or is sentenced.
• A candidate is subject to witness protection, leading to his/her re-location, or a child protection order. (Please specify when processing an online application.)
• A candidate who is taught at a different centre to that which made the original entry, e.g. a consortium arrangement.
• A candidate is a distance learner, registered with a Distance Learning Provider, which has been approved by one or more of the JCQ awarding bodies for general qualification examinations. The candidate has been entered for a GCE or GCSE specification with a non-examination assessment component. The Distance Learning Provider is unable to conduct the specification’s written examination components. (Further information on distance learners may be found within Appendix 3 of the JCQ publication Instructions for conducting non-examination assessments.)
• A candidate has entries in different subjects involving more than one centre, leading to a timetable clash in an examination session. (A transferred candidate arrangement will be accepted up to the published deadline for the series concerned. Online applications received after the published deadline will be at the discretion of the awarding body.)NB Acceptable reasons for requesting a transferred candidate arrangement are subject to the candidate(s) transferring to an examination centre approved by one or more of the JCQ awarding bodies for general qualification examinations.

Unacceptable reasons for requesting transfers are:

• A candidate in Wales sitting examinations below Year 11 or a candidate in Northern Ireland sitting examinations below Year 12 since a further assessment opportunity will be available to candidates.
• A candidate’s personal arrangements such as a wedding or holiday arrangements.
• School field trips, exchange visits, work experience or gap year.

This list of acceptable and unacceptable reasons is not exhaustive. An awarding body reserves the right to use its discretion when accepting or rejecting an online application for a transferred candidate arrangement.

• These arrangements cover externally assessed timetabled written components for the following qualification types:– AEA

  – AQA Applied General qualifications

  – AQA Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 Technical qualifications

  – AQA Level 2 Certificate in Further Maths

  – AQA Level 3 Certificate in Mathematical Studies

  – BTEC Firsts

  – BTEC Nationals

  – BTEC Tech Awards

  – Cambridge Nationals

  – Cambridge Technicals

  – Edexcel Awards

  – Edexcel International GCSE

  – ELC

  – FSMQ3

  – GCE AS and A-level

  – GCSE

  – OCR Level 3 Certificates

  – Health and Social Care, and Childcare (Wales)

  – WJEC Level 1 and Level 2 General qualifications

  – WJEC Level 1 and Level 2 Vocational Awards

  – WJEC Level 3 Applied Certificates and Diplomas.

• Non-examined components, i.e. GCE coursework components, GCE/GCSE non-examination assessment components, portfolios and practical components are specifically excluded from transferred candidate arrangements. On-demand tests are also excluded from transferred candidate arrangements.
• GCE AS, A2, A-level Modern Foreign Language Speaking Tests – where a candidate has moved from one part of the country to another or is in hospital, an online application for a transferred candidate arrangement must be submitted to the relevant awarding body.Where a host centre accommodates a candidate for a GCE AS, A2 or A-level MFL Speaking Test, contact must take place between the host centre and the entering centre. The host centre must familiarise themselves with the subject specific instructions prior to conducting the Speaking Test.

• Form JCQ/TC must be completed online, initially by the entering centre and then by the host centre. Once completed by the host centre, the form must then be submitted online. Form JCQ/TC is accessed via the Centre Admin Portal (CAP). CAP can be accessed via any of the awarding bodies’ secure extranet sites.
• A separate online application must be completed for each examination series.
• The host centre must be a registered centre for general qualifications examinations with one or more of the JCQ awarding bodies.
• When an awarding body has agreed a transferred candidate arrangement, it will send question papers, together with any supporting documents and materials to the host centre.
  (NB Centres may be sent a PDF version of the question paper on the day of the examination.)
• The candidate’s entry remains with the entering centre. The candidate will retain the centre, candidate and UCI/ULN numbers already allocated. If a candidate’s entry is to be changed, the awarding body must be contacted. 

Examination officers must not confirm transferred candidate arrangements until approval has been obtained from the awarding body

Requests must be submitted online as early as possible and no later than the dates below for the respective examination series:

Awarding bodies will not be able to guarantee arrangements if requests are received after the above-mentioned dates. Centres should contact awarding bodies for details of the costs of this service.

The entering centre must:

• provide the host centre with a copy of any pre-release material received unless the awarding body says otherwise. If the awarding body has stipulated that the pre-release material must be kept under secure conditions until the appointed time for the examination, the entering centre must contact the awarding body to request that such material is additionally sent directly to the host centre;
• be responsible for marking any internally assessed components and submitting internally assessed marks to the awarding body;
• make available for moderation purposes candidates’ work;
• process an online application for an access arrangement and/or order modified papers;
• provide the host centre with confirmation of the approval for the respective access arrangement(s). This will normally be a copy of the approval sheet printed from Access arrangements online;
• ensure that the host centre can facilitate the approved access arrangement(s);
• inform the relevant awarding body of an amendment to an entry after an online application for a transferred candidate arrangement has been processed; 
• inform the relevant awarding body if an approved transferred candidate arrangement is no longer required;
• at the time of the examination(s), either write ‘transferred to’ or ‘T’ (centre number) on the attendance register. This will inform the awarding body/ examiner that the script will arrive separately. Do not write ‘Absent’;
• inform the candidate that he/she will have to provide suitable evidence of identification to the host centre;
• forward to the candidate their results and certificates;
• request any post-results services such as late certification, Access to Scripts or reviews of marking;5
• pay for the transferred candidate arrangement. (The entering centre is responsible for the payment of fees and will receive an invoice from the awarding body.) 

The host centre must:

• comply with the JCQ publication Instructions for conducting examinations before, during and after the examination;
• ensure that where a person is appointed to facilitate an access arrangement, i.e. a reader or a scribe, he/she is appropriately trained and understands the rules of the access arrangement;
• check the identity of the transferred candidate;
• complete an attendance register for each examination, which must be sent to the awarding body/examiner with the script in the plastic envelope provided by the awarding body. If the candidate fails to attend, please write ‘Absent’ on the attendance register and send it in the envelope provided. A transferred candidate must not be added to any of the host centre’s attendance registers and the script must not be enclosed with those of the host centre;
• make sure that the entering centre submits any request for special consideration to the awarding body;
• make sure that should any actual, alleged or suspected malpractice arise, the relevant awarding body is informed as per the JCQ publication Suspected Malpractice in Examinations and Assessments.

Where a candidate is a distance learner, registered with a Distance Learning Provider, and has been entered for a GCE or GCSE specification with a non-examination assessment component, and the Distance Learning Provider is unable to conduct the specification’s written examination components the following arrangements will apply:

• The host centre must have been approved by one or more of the JCQ awarding bodies for general qualification examinations.
• The host centre will be responsible for conducting the written examinations and must comply with the responsibilities as listed above in Section 7.

AQA
Email: AQATransferredCandidates@aqa.org.uk

CCEA
Email: entries@ccea.org.uk
Tel: 028 9026 1262

OCR
Email: OCR.TransferredCandidates@ocr.org.uk

Pearson
Email: transferredcandidates@pearson.com
Tel: 0344 463 2535

WJEC
E-mail: entrylevel@wjec.co.uk
gce@wjec.co.uk
gcse@wjec.co.uk
pathways@wjec.co.uk