I asked for the last week of the exams for a reason, this year - three of my students are on school trips. My appointements came back as last week in June (Three weeks before the last week). Guess what, one student is away and the other two will have travelled back by coach from France the day before their date.

In the past the board has been good dealing with the odd problem but this is - a. the first time I've not got the week I wanted and b. the first time they have been unable to find me alternatives at the local centre.

I've been offered appointements over 30 miles away in two cases and 40 miles away in another in order to accompodate these pupils.

I asked for the last week for a good reason - if the board are going to give us a choice of weeks they need to honor it. We do pay through the nose for our 15 mintutes!

Finally - when I got my appointments I trried and tried to get through on the phone - in the end I had to sort it out using Email -which is much more stressful.

I'm sorry to say that I sense cut-backs.

But they don't! They only ask for the preferred week.

I am in exactly the same situation. I have been unable to speak to anyone. If I had I would accept an appointment 30 or 40 miles away, or even further - anywhere in the region would be okay. Today I managed to get through to the first line of defence - the automated message, which informed me that no more changes will be made, and if I wanted to speak to anyone about anything else the waiting time is 15 mins - i.e we are not even going to talk to you about the exam appointments!!

As to preferred week - this is a "get out ploy" as far as I can see. It doesn't matter what preferred week you put down, if the centre you want is doing its exams on another week then you will not get your preferred week. Even when you check before entering candidates when the exams will be in your centre, it still doesn't work. My centre asked for week 5 and 6 for exams - my candidate can only do week 6. I thought we'd probably be okay - the centre got week 5 only. Now I can't change it - jeopardises university entrance for my candidate! Even if I'd asked for week 1, 2, 3 or 4 I still wouldn't have got it!

Sorry for the rant - am at the moment trying to get added to the music service special visit - even that is not likely. I feel like crying.

This is true.

There have been a lot of problems this session - there are several other threads started already. I've never known it so bad. You're lucky to have been offered any alternative dates as they're advertising that the entire session is full and there is no chance of rearranging exams.

I'm encouraging pupils more and more to go for Trinity Guildhall. Each exam centre has a fixed week or two in which the exams will be held and you can stipulate any days which are impossible for your student. It's so simple - and you get more flexibility with the supporting tests.

Or a 'not before' option as well as 'last available date' though that one is maybe more open to misuse for those who don't plan to have students prepared by the start of the exam session.
Just somewhere to note unavailable dates could help. This and last available date should be taken notice of.
Where it's not possible to avoid unavailable dates it would be good if people could be informed and given the option to withdraw without payment.

I think that system is great, in principle, so long as they stick to it. Unfortunately, my two and only experiences of TG, the week of the exams turned out to be different from the one advertised and the local rep (who was useless) ignored my request about a day we couldn't make.

I'm sure that they have a horrendously difficult job to arrange all the exams. However, if they started offering the option to withdraw without payment then I'm sure that they'd soon have so many withdrawals that they'd realise the requirement to put in some sort of online booking system that permitted you to choose your day at the time of booking.

The problem is that so many teachers choose to enter pupils for examination in the summer term, which is full of exams, school trips, etc which need to be avoided. There don't seem to be nearly the same difficulties in the Nov/Dec or Mar/Apr sessions. I think you're right that the Board will have to introduce some kind of booking system, but then people will probably moan that they can't all have the last three weeks of the session, or the system will crash as everyone tries to be on the website in time to have a full choice of dates.

Is a booking system going to be more complicated to work when all centres are not equal?

DO you mean "of equal capacity"? They would need to be equal to the number of candidates applying to take the exam there at any one time under the present system, wouldn't they? Has anyone ever been turned down for an exam because there's no room at that centre?

In Cambridge we've always taken them at the music shop in King's Hedges Road, and although my one from yesterday had it there, my other seven, on July 4th, are being examined at one of the independent schools. So maybe they're overloaded here.

It's interesting, in the light of the number of people apparently switching to TG, or doing as I do, and choosing the route best suited to each pupil individually. (I shall be adding LCM come Chirstmas as well)

I was thinking more along the lines of running for the whole exam session.
With published exam dates you can't blame people who are not 'in the know' for thinking that this means exams run between these dates wherever you are.
TG's information is not as easy to find but the rep list does tend to tell you which dates exam are on at each centre.

Surely the answer to this whole issue is to make it clear to the parents / students that the exam dates are x to y, and the exam could potentially fall any time within those dates. If there is something else happening around that time that they really cannot avoid, then either they choose to take the risk, and do any re-arranging themselves if it needs to be done, or they don't do the exam in that session. It's rarely that important, unless perhaps someone needs a particular result for conservatoire entrance, in which case, presumably they would be happy to prioritise the music exam?

The only other way to guarantee a particular date is to organise a special visit, but this has to be outside the main exam period, so unless you want a very early or very late date, this may not suit either.

The majority of exam centres are private houses, and most people aren't prepared to allow the Board to take over their home for an unlimited time period, so situations can arise where the exam centre is fully booked.

Using an online booking system for people to book their own exam slots would create a whole new set of problems. Everyone would rush to book the after school (or whichever other preferred slots) over the entire exam period, probably leaving chunks of time free in the day. The Board isn't going to pay an examiner to turn up and examine just a few people, because that's all that booked for that day, or have one candidate at 9 o'clock and then no-one for an hour and a half etc.

Stop moaning people and get a grip!

In fairness, I think we've experienced an awful lot of problems this session - in fact, it's been utter chaos in many respects.

I always point out that these are the dates of the session and it could be any time within that. For most people, that's fine. In the past, I've needed to rearrange three dates and have been able to do this without problem. The main problem this session has been there's been no room for rearranging. According to the Board, the whole country is currently fully booked so it's not just individual exam centres which are full.

I needed to change an adult pupil's exam this session because they couldn't get time off work - it's exceptional circumstances because it's a new job and they don't have any holiday owing yet. They were prepared to travel to another centre but out of the five neighbouring counties, there wasn't a single free slot. In the past, I'm convinced we'd have been able to sort something out. I think it's for adult candidates where my concern really lies. It's not as easy for them to take time off work as it might be for children to take time out of school. If we were to repeat the problems of this session, I think we'd probably be excluding a good number of them from taking exams in the future.

The problems this time have been exceptional, so any moaning is fully justified I think.

Perhaps so, but don't you think there's rather a lot of people who expect everything to be arranged exactly to suit their particular convenience, and a reluctance to accept that sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles?

Not sure what's going on with the Board - is it just a clampdown, or some sort of crisis brewing? Only time will tell...glad I got my hassles sorted early on!

There will be 2 spaces free at the centre I use - but as I can't get through to speak to the AB and they won't talk to you anyway about the exam appointments then they won't know this. Perhaps we ought to do a swap Seer Green?

Surely this is an occasion to appeal to the common sense of your local rep?

Absolutely; I think one of the problems is these people impact upon those who have genuine reasons for needing to change. I'm certainly aware of teachers attempting to change exam dates simply because pupils are not ready in time - to my mind, this isn't on.

The only one I've asked to rearrange was a lollipop lady who was given a time around school finishing time.

Trinity - they book the exam centre well in advance so I know when the exam is before I even fill in the form.

LCM - the local rep organises the exams within the time slot they're given. I enclose a letter with my entry form if there are special request such as days that a particular candidate can't attend.

The only benefit of AB is a nice forum and I do like some of their books.

I have been involved with the AB exam system for many years and find this comment harsh, to say the least!

There certainly seems to have been a serious problem with the exam bookings this time round. Have there been more entries? If extra people have been drafted in to help in the exam office, what has gone wrong?

I have almost always found the summer series a pain - not because of the exam board, but because pupils go off on school trips, do serious exams that they cannot predict the dates for, and so on.

I make a strenuous effort to avoid the summer exams now, and use Easter instead - it's ok for the early grades and many of my pupils are this level (work in primary school). For example the ones who did a grade at Easter this year, are now gently working towards improving their skills for the next level and will be sent home for the hols with lots of scales to get under their fingers.

I decided I had to avoid exams this term (and did G8 probably a term earlier than truly comfortable) because I am getting married in the middle of the exam period and I only have tiny centres near me (1 -2 days' examining at most) making a move difficult to say the least. Suspect I wouldn't have been married very long if I'd've needed to come back early from honeymoon!

I am very fortunate in that my little group of pupils get examined more or less at the same time every year and our local rep does a wonderful job of organising the examiner's tour in this part of France. But I know she works terribly hard to get it all done. We can only have an examiner once a year and it has to be at a time when I can get enough pupils ready and be sure to have the school premises to myself for a day.

I can only imagine that the Board will from time to time have difficult periods and perhaps this was just one of them. But they do need to be careful not to get out of touch with what happens at the grass roots because they are not a monopoly any more - except perhaps outside the UK.

Well no, there are priorities and priorities. Congrats on the nuptials though!

The home page now says there have been a small number of cancellations but they still not looking at rearranging exam slots.

Do you think they'll change their mind nearer the time? Not sure what to do about my one and only entry who can't make her slot.

I would suggest you give your student/parent your applicant number, explain the situation to them, and leave them to continue phoning, otherwise you could spend a huge amount of time on this.. I suspect that persistence will pay off in the end, but delegate it to the person to whom it really matters!

Well, i just got through and said that I was having to withdraw my candidate because she can't make it. I said I was reluctant to do this in case the situation changed and they were able to offer an alternative date nearer the time.

So she took her out of the timetable but let her on the system as "unallocated" - this way they know there's a space on that day - and know that she still needs a space.

If everyone did this they'd have a clearer idea of what spaces are available and who still needs a suitable time?

I got through just now with only a 5 minute wait (I was 3rd in the queue)

This is good to hear. I have just sent a very long email almost begging them to let my Grade 8 candidate do his exam in week 6. The automated reply said that a reply would take about 10 working days - which is far too late. I'll try ringing agin tomorrow,. If I can't get through I'm going to send a letter - good old snail mail.

I don't think sending a letter will get an answer any sooner. They're obviously inundated - and it will take that long just to get through all the mail, let alone respond. Try phoning tomorrow.

Not necessarily the case- our rep often doesn't know the dates of one of the venues that is used until after the date we have to hand the forms in as it is a specialist music school and only certain dates are available for non school use etc...





...and when I was classroom teaching in school I had to get time off work to do my exam- the school was fine about it.... couldn't she get someone to cover for her?
If teachers want to control the timing of exams, they should group together with other local teachers and have a visit at their house.... I do that... i have several candidates to re-arrange, due to work/ school trips etc- but one of my pupils is missing her school trip to Thorpe Park to do the exam- the mum didn't give me the date in advance. so I couldn't avoid it- mum and pupil are fine about it- they know the score.....

One of my pupils announced he was going to be away during his exam time and he hadn't known of this when I sent the entry in. When I phoned the Board, although the person I spoke to was really pleasant and helpful and offered an alternative, this was in a town 30 miles away. My pupil was able to take up this offer, which was fine, as no alternative seemed to be available in our local centre.

I'm prepared to go anywhere within our region.

Have just got through!!!!!!!!!

Lovely man - very sympathetic and understanding. Took trouble to find me something. Am now booked in 2 separate centres for week 6 - the first is about 2 hours drive away, the other about an hour and a half in the opposite direction - but at the moment I don't care - I've at least got him in somewhere. They are on different days.

Why two?

So glad you were able to get through. I'm sure the people on the other end of the phone must be saints if they can be so lovely with the number of phone calls they must be getting.

Super ...but if this is the case, why are the Board still advertising that all appointments are full and they won't do any rescheduling

He's doing two Grade 8 exams - one in singing and one in piano.

Very pleased it is sorted out for you and I hope you (and your pupil) can relax a bit and get on with the exam prep rather than worrying about when/where you might be able to do the exam.

The automated message did say that they won't do any re-scheduling. I just ignored it and hung on anyway. I said I would go anywhere in the region, but it did take a long time for him to find anywhere that had a space.
I was tempted to leave it until next week to ring, on the basis that they might have got some more cancellations, but my nerves couldn't stand it - I was getting so stressed about it.

Glad it's sorted now. My pupil has begged to get the time off work so I think we're OK now.

Glad you've got yours all sorted out now. Hasn't it been a nightmare? I'm getting too old for this

Glad to hear you have a result, jm-hamilton!

Thank you Louise.

She's just e-mailed to say work have backed out and told her she can't have the hour off for it. I feel so cross, and so dissapointed for her. She's put so much hard work in these past months, but there's just nothing left I can do. All I feel I can do is write to the Board to formally withdraw her and hope that they suddenly come up with a magic (or at least creative) solution.

I do hope that your candidate's work are at least willing to put in writing that they are refusing to let her have the time off work so that she can can apply for a refund of the exam fee.

I know it doesn't really make up for not taking the exam but at least it would be something.

That's a good point - I will ask that.

Yes, that is a good point. Definitely worth asking.
Still, sorry to hear they will not play ball, Seer Green.

It's a shame that the employer doesn't appear to value adult education.

There's still nothing for my pupil...