KS4 Assessment
St. Michael’s Catholic Academy is an Examination Centre (Number 41111).
Mrs Clare Humble is the Head of Centre who is accountable to the awarding bodies for ensuring that the centre is always compliant with the published JCQ regulations and awarding body requirements to ensure the security and integrity of the examinations/assessments.
Dr Adrian Frank is the Exams Officer who is responsible for ensuring that the exams management and administration process is run effectively and efficiently and in compliance with the published JCQ regulations and awarding body requirements.
Students take public examinations in the Summer Term during a time between the start of May and the end of June. Public exams are timetabled in common time slots agreed by all exam boards under the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Some subjects also have None-Examined Assessments (coursework or controlled assessments). The examination boards for each subject are listed below
Mock Examinations
In Autum and Spring of year 10 pupils complete in class assessments using GCSE style questions at then end of each unit of study. The grades students achieve across these tests are reported through the whole school data collections each term.
In Autum and Spring of year 10 pupils complete in class assessments using GCSE style questions at then end of each unit of study. The grades students achieve across these tests are reported through the whole school data collections each term.
In the summer term of Year 10, students will undertake their first set of mock examinations. This process is designed to closely replicate the conditions of formal public examinations, with students completing GCSE or equivalent papers under exam conditions in the main hall. Full access arrangements will be provided for pupils with additional needs.
The primary aim of the mock examination programme is to familiarise students with the structure and expectations of formal assessments. Additional mock exams will take place in the second and fourth half terms of Year 11, during the autumn and spring terms. By the time students sit their final examinations in the summer of Year 11, they will be well-prepared and confident in the process.
Mock examinations also provide valuable diagnostic data for teachers and curriculum leaders, informing future teaching and revision strategies. For subjects with tiered entry—such as Mathematics, Science, French, and Spanish—mock exam results will help determine the appropriate tier for each student. These decisions are typically made in January of Year 11, following the autumn mock exams.
Access Arrangements
Students requiring access arrangements must be referred to the SENCO Mrs. Victoria Abbs for assessment. Following each assessment and mock examination teaching staff should carefully consider whether students may require additional support and refer any concerns to the SENCO. Students who are assessed by the SENCO may qualify for access arrangements such as extra time, word processors and electronic readers. Students with access arrangements sit examinations in the assembly hall or music room. For all public examinations including for vocational qualifications all access arrangements must be accepted by the examination board before students sit the examination.
Results
Mock examination results are typically reported separately from whole-school academic reports, in accordance with the mock examination calendar. Results are usually issued three to four weeks after the examinations to allow sufficient time for marking, moderation, data processing, and report production.
Students receive their results during a designated Mock Results Day. On this day, they are invited to the hall to collect their results in sealed envelopes, mirroring the experience of receiving formal examination results. While students may review their marked papers in class prior to this event, they will not be informed of their grades until Results Day.
For GCSE subjects students are awarded a grade from 1 to 9 where 1 is the lowest grade and 9 is the highest grade.
- Grade 1 is a pass
- Grade 4 is a good pass equivalent to an old style grade C
- Grade 5 is a higher level pass
- Grades 7 is equivalent to an old grade A
- Grade 9 is the top grade achieved by only a few percent of students in the country.
For vocational subjects such as Retail, Health & Social Care, I Media, Sports Studies and Travel & Tourism students are awarded the following grades. The table below show how the vocational grades relate to GCSE grades.
KS4 Controlled Assessments and Coursework
Year 10 Assessments