Assessment: Guidance for Students and Parents/Carers  

It is the aim of Seahaven Academy to make the examination experience as stress free and successful as possible for all candidates. 

Assessment is a key part of education as it helps students to demonstrate their learning, provide feedback on the errors they’ve been making and help provide opportunities to improve their performance with each assessment. It also helps teachers to guide their teaching to assist with students learning.  

At Seahaven Academy informal assessments take place throughout the academic year, with formal assessments taking place at the end of Term 2/start of Term 3 and Term 6.  The end of year assessments taking place during Term 6 will cover the work that has been taught for the year and will provide clear feedback and information about your child’s level of understanding and strengths from the academic year. It also allows teachers to ensure any gaps in knowledge are addressed to ensure students have a broad knowledge base as they progress through school.  

To ensure student's feel full prepared, revision is key to student success.  Guides and videos on Revision Support and Revision Techniques are on our website to support our students. 

- Revision Support - Revision Techniques -

Additionally year group knowledge organisers are created to help students consolidate their learning of content covered in lessons, assist with home and help them prepare for exams and assessments. 

Core Subjects: Year 7  - Year 8  - Year 9  - Year 10 - Year 11 

Foundation Subjects: Year 7 - Year 8 - Year 9 - Year 10 - Year 11 

Additional Support and Guidance for the Year 11 February PPE Exams can be foud here

A number of these assessments will take place in the formal exam room to help prepare students for the GCSE exams that will take place at the end of their time at Seahaven Academy. 

For all exams the following rules must be followed: taken from JCQ GCSE guidelines 2023

• Be on time for all your exams. If you are late, your work might not be accepted.  

• Do not become involved in any unfair or dishonest practice during the exam.  

• If you try to cheat, or break the rules in any way, you could be disqualified from all your subjects.  

• You must not take into the exam room: (a) notes; (b) an iPod, a mobile phone, a MP3/4 player or similar device, or a watch. Any pencil cases taken into the exam room must be see-through. Remember: possession of unauthorised material is breaking the rules, even if you do not intend to use it, and you will be subject to penalty and possible disqualification.  

• If you have a watch, the invigilator will ask you to hand it to them.  

• Do not use correcting pens, fluid or tape, erasable pens, highlighters or gel pens in your answers.  

• Do not talk to or try to communicate with or disturb other candidates once the exam has started.  

• You must not write or draw offensive or obscene material.  

• If you leave the exam room unaccompanied by an invigilator before the exam has finished, you will not be allowed to return.  

• Do not borrow anything from another candidate during the exam. 

The following equipment should be brought to every exam: 

• 3 pens – black 

• 3 pencils 

• Ruler 

• Pencil sharpener 

• Rubber 

For certain exams you will also need the following: 

• Compass 

• Protractor 

• Calculator  

• Coloured Pencils 

• Highlighters for use on question papers but not in answers 

Exam Process and Procedure:  

For formal exams taking place in the main exam hall, the following process will take place:  

• Students will be taken to the main hall prior to the start of the exam 

• A member of staff will complete an SOS (Secrets of Success) briefing to give key messages about the assessment/exam 

• Whilst in the main hall students will sit in the exam seating plan and then sent to the Sports hall or the LRC. 

• Students will need to place their bag in the allocated area and only take into the exam hall the following items:  Pen, Pencil, Ruler, Rubber, Pencil Sharpener. Specialist Equipment for exams will be provided by the school. Should a water bottle be taken into the exam hall, then this will need to be a clear bottle with no label or writing on it.  

• As soon as students enter the exam hall then they will be under exam conditions and should be silent. If they need any assistance, then they should raise their hand and an exam invigilator will come and speak with them 

• Students will be dismissed at the end of the exam by a member of staff 

How can parents support? 

Assessments and Exams can often be stressful. Here are some tips to help your child say stress free during this time:  

1. Talk about it – reassure them that feeling anxious or nervous about is exam is normal. Get them to focus on what they have been doing and to talk through how the exam or assessment has gone. 

2. Practice at home- work through practice papers at home and talk about what will happen during each exam 

3. Be positive – speak positively about the exams, to help them be confident and relaxed to avoid stress and anxiety 

4. Put things in perspective – remind them that it isn’t the end of the work if they don’t do as well as they’d hoped, the outcome doesn’t define who they are or mean that they won’t succeed. 

5. Look after yourself – young people pick up on stress from adults around them. Try to keep as calm as possible to support their well-being. 

Further advice on supporting students through the exam period can be found here:  

• NHS Advice on preparing for exams 

• Youngminds A guide for young people Exam Stress 

• Dfe – Coping with exam pressure – a guide for students