I had a pupil taking a grade 2 saxophone exam last week, and the examiner did not have a copy of the syllabus. He had to ask my pupil what scales he knew. Surely the examiner should have a copy of the syllabus, instead I had to lend him my own copy for the remainder of my pupils.

If I had not had my syllabus, what would have been the procedure? Would the examiner have to give them full marks, it is not fair to ask young pupils what scales they have had to learn- some are obviously going to say C major (Nat being one of them!)


Any answers?

Each examiner should have a copy of the syllabus. How can they examine the candidates correctly without the requirements set out in front of them.

Maybe it is necessary to ensure that a copy of the syllabus's are available to the examiners at the examination centre instead of relying on them to bring a copy.

This is quite unacceptable. You don't say which board the exam was for, but I think you should lodge a complaint. Are you quite sure that the examiner did actually ask the question in the words your pupil said to you?

One of my students took grade 2 piano this time and played all alternative pieces, the examiner asked her 'which one was that' after she had played it, she then started to panic thinking she should have announced it

When an examiner goes to work he needs to bring everything with him - mark forms, sight-reading, aural, syllabi. There's not much point in a hairdresser going to work without her scissors, it's the same for examiners who have to bring the tools of their trade!

Examiners should be fully prepared for all the instruments they have to examine. So, not only was he not prepared to examine a grade 2 sax candidate, he wasn't prepared for the other woodwind instruments in the same syllabus. Luckily you had your syllabus with you. I wonder what happened to any other candidates after you left. I'd be inclined to contact the board and tell them about it.

Digby, it's quite unusual for an examiner not to ask the candidate which pieces they are going to play when they enter the exam room. Some examiners ask for the names to be written on a piece of paper. I usually ask my students to type out the names of the pieces in the order of performance and give it to the examiner when they go in.

Having done ABRSM stewarding for two mornings this week (don't ask me too many questions - this was my first time), I am amazed that the examiner was not aware of the syllabus. Our examiner had piles of exam music with him and had he needed a syllabus, there were plenty available in the waiting room, together with other publications to keep the nervous parents amused! It certainly seems bad that your examiner was unaware of the requirements. At our centre we had official ABRSM forms for the candidates to fill in, listing the pieces and their reference numbers in order of playing. Apparently these have been available for some time, but their use is optional and this is the first time our centre has tried them.

We always have forms at our centre that the candidates fill in to say what they are playing and they give this to the examiner when they walk in. Wish they used to do this when I did exams. I used to love playing in exams, but always got so nervous about having to say names of composers etc!!!!

Thank you very much for your replies. I shall make a comment to the board i think. I had to complain last time we had exams because the hall was double booked and so my pupils had nowhere to warm up, it was chaos. I've also complained about the steward not doing her job properly i.e. sending pupils in when exams were still going on (she's rather old and a little confused!). Oh dear, they're going to love me aren't they? We have those official forms too so the examiners have the pieces written down which is a good idea, i used to panic about saying things too.