Consider This

[00:00:00] John and Anna really look like Kirstie and Phil from relocation, relocation, relocation

[00:00:27] No! Location, location, location, location

[00:00:30] Ah, no

[00:00:36] I don't know who that's more of a compliment to Anna

[00:00:39] I mean, it's a compliment to both of us

[00:00:43] So it's quite funny just watching you both on the screen

[00:00:46] doing, having this conversation

[00:00:48] And not selling a house

[00:00:50] Yeah, yeah, yeah

[00:00:51] For once we're not selling houses

[00:01:07] Hello and welcome to The Exam Man podcast

[00:01:09] I'm your host John Gaston and I'm here with Sophie Gaston

[00:01:13] Hello John, how are you? Good week?

[00:01:15] Yeah, it's a good week

[00:01:17] Now how do I do this?

[00:01:19] Okay, so today is Wednesday the 15th of May

[00:01:22] So I've been going for nearly a week

[00:01:25] now and it's been a challenging week

[00:01:30] I think there's been a lot to deal with

[00:01:34] I realised that in the last couple of podcasts

[00:01:36] I've failed with my football analogy

[00:01:39] Someone pointed this out to me the other day

[00:01:41] that I said I was going to do this

[00:01:43] and I just haven't

[00:01:44] I was sort of hoping that no one would notice

[00:01:46] But I do have one this week

[00:01:49] because on Monday night

[00:01:52] I came home from a hard day's

[00:01:55] examining and I was really, really exhausted

[00:02:00] Was that the I need a pizza, hurt pizza now?

[00:02:02] evening or something?

[00:02:04] Yeah, yeah, it was like, yeah

[00:02:06] I need calories

[00:02:08] I need to sit down and all I wanted to do really

[00:02:11] was just to kind of lie down and watch

[00:02:14] a football match at Aston Villa against Liverpool

[00:02:17] on Monday night

[00:02:19] and I swear it was five minutes into the game

[00:02:22] and I fell asleep

[00:02:24] and then I woke up in the second half

[00:02:26] and Liverpool were winning like 3-1

[00:02:28] and I was like, oh this game's done

[00:02:30] and just fell asleep again

[00:02:33] and then didn't think anything of it until the next morning

[00:02:35] until I went in and a couple of the ladies in the office

[00:02:38] were asking me how I was the night before

[00:02:41] and I said I was so tired I fell asleep

[00:02:43] and I was like, I was trying to watch the football

[00:02:45] but it seemed like a bit of a nothing game

[00:02:47] so I just fell asleep

[00:02:49] and they said it was one of the best football matches they'd ever seen

[00:02:52] and it finished real

[00:02:54] So yeah, I was so exhausted I couldn't even

[00:02:57] It's not really a football analogy then

[00:02:59] it's just missed football

[00:03:01] It's just a genuine football story

[00:03:03] It's not an analogy at all

[00:03:05] Simon's been feeling the same way as you, isn't he?

[00:03:08] Yeah, yeah, he's been in touch

[00:03:11] since his interview which went down really well

[00:03:14] and of course we loved talking to him

[00:03:17] because he seemed so calm

[00:03:20] looking forward to these arms

[00:03:22] but he's got in touch with us since then

[00:03:26] and I think he's had a similar experience

[00:03:28] to the rest of us over the last few days

[00:03:32] Hi guys, it's Simon here from Moncton

[00:03:37] I've just had a chuckle listening to myself

[00:03:42] on the podcast that we recorded several weeks ago

[00:03:46] feeling very relaxed

[00:03:49] So it's the end of week one

[00:03:52] I've just done biology

[00:03:54] I've got my final speaking test session this afternoon

[00:03:59] which is Mandarin

[00:04:01] and it's been a busy old week

[00:04:04] It's interesting, John, what you were saying about exams not going well

[00:04:10] possibly when you don't anticipate any problems

[00:04:13] I had that situation on Wednesday

[00:04:17] We're trying to get a secure download

[00:04:21] from the Cambridge exam board

[00:04:23] which I've not had to do before

[00:04:25] It turned out to be problematic

[00:04:27] some hours right up until minutes before the exam was due to start

[00:04:32] and then we had a technical issue with some brand new Chromebooks

[00:04:36] that decided not to behave the way that all our other Chromebooks worked

[00:04:41] So although we have a backup

[00:04:44] I had a slightly anxious Wednesday afternoon

[00:04:47] just really hoping that the four students who were processing

[00:04:52] that we weren't going to lose their work into the ether

[00:04:56] but we didn't and so it was all good

[00:05:00] But yes, a little bit more stressful than I anticipated

[00:05:05] Prior to that during the week

[00:05:08] slightly frustrating that one of the exam board

[00:05:13] upload systems was misbehaving

[00:05:16] which meant uploading speaking test audio files

[00:05:20] just took far longer than it should have done

[00:05:23] but other than that it's all good

[00:05:26] So I'm not going to go into a huge amount of detail here

[00:05:31] but there have been some issues that have affected exams

[00:05:34] on a kind of national scale since the end of last week

[00:05:38] It looks like most of them have kind of started to get resolved

[00:05:42] but it has been quite a stressful week for exams officers

[00:05:46] people running exams as sort of reflected in what Simon said

[00:05:51] But Sophie and I were talking about it earlier in the week

[00:05:55] and we were sort of saying that obviously it's been a stressful time for us

[00:05:59] but of course whenever things are a bit awry with exams

[00:06:03] it obviously has a knock-on effect on students as well

[00:06:06] So we thought that this week we would focus on

[00:06:10] what happens when students have things that go wrong in exams

[00:06:14] but also to talk about what happens for students

[00:06:18] who may be having a really hard time for various reasons

[00:06:22] around the time that they're taking their exams

[00:06:25] So today we're going to have a bit of a chat and address those issues

[00:06:30] So we are going to talk about special consideration today

[00:06:35] What's the definition of it? What is it?

[00:06:38] Special consideration?

[00:06:40] Oh you put me on the spot

[00:06:41] I mean I know broadly what it is

[00:06:44] Alright, so I have got a kind of working definition here

[00:06:48] which comes from one of the exam boards Pearson

[00:06:50] who says that special consideration is

[00:06:54] a post-examination adjustment that compensates candidates

[00:06:58] who are suffering from a temporary illness or condition

[00:07:01] or who are otherwise disadvantaged at the time of the examination

[00:07:05] So basically it's the recognition of difficult circumstances

[00:07:11] for a student at the time they do their exams

[00:07:13] and then a kind of adjustment that happens to the student's outcome

[00:07:20] which kind of takes that difficulty into account

[00:07:24] That's interesting because I always thought until this moment

[00:07:28] that it was about circumstances that might have happened

[00:07:34] leading up to exams but it seems to be during the exam period

[00:07:38] only, is that right?

[00:07:40] It extends to a period kind of before the exams

[00:07:44] but what it doesn't take into account is sort of things that have happened

[00:07:48] a long time ago

[00:07:50] So if in the middle of last year you had an accident

[00:07:56] or a family member died

[00:07:59] if those things are not imminent when you're doing your exams

[00:08:04] so for example if you've had an accident, if you've recovered

[00:08:07] and the injury that you suffered is not in any way causing you issues now

[00:08:12] then you'd be unlikely to be successful for a special consideration application

[00:08:19] Do you get applications from kids who like, I just didn't fancy it today

[00:08:26] or I overslapped because you must get some great applications for this?

[00:08:32] Yeah, I mean you do get a mix I would say of ones where you're kind of like

[00:08:38] yeah this is a realistic application and then others that get put forward to you

[00:08:43] that are like, you know there stand no chance of being successful

[00:08:47] and in those cases we would push back and say

[00:08:50] that this really wouldn't fit the criteria for special consideration

[00:08:55] I think one important thing to emphasise right now

[00:08:58] is that schools and exams teams do not make the decisions about special consideration

[00:09:03] Who does? So the exam boards decide whether or not a candidate is eligible for special consideration

[00:09:09] All we do is we put the applications forward

[00:09:13] So one thing I'd give to any new exams officer

[00:09:21] is just to always say that we can't prejudge the outcome of a special consideration application

[00:09:27] so you cannot prejudge whether it will be accepted

[00:09:30] So when do students find out? Is it literally results?

[00:09:33] Yeah, it's when they've been granted it

[00:09:35] Oh wow

[00:09:36] So well no that's not strictly true

[00:09:40] So you can find out whether or not your application has been successful

[00:09:44] quite soon after you made the application

[00:09:46] but you won't find out what impact

[00:09:49] Okay that makes sense

[00:09:50] It's had on the outcome until results

[00:09:53] because obviously you're not meant to know anything about results until results come out

[00:09:57] So just getting back to what I was saying about new exams officers

[00:10:01] I would always say that you can't prejudge the outcome of a special consideration application

[00:10:06] either in terms of whether it will be accepted

[00:10:09] or in terms of if it is accepted

[00:10:12] what kind of adjustment will be made

[00:10:16] and it's really important to be clear with people

[00:10:19] before you put an application in that that is the case

[00:10:23] because people will ask you questions about like

[00:10:26] oh, will this be accepted?

[00:10:29] what will I get from it?

[00:10:32] and basically you're not in a position to answer either of those questions

[00:10:35] You may have a fair idea

[00:10:37] you may have a very strong hunch as to whether it will be accepted

[00:10:41] into what sort of adjustment will be made

[00:10:44] but you should never commit to that

[00:10:46] because it isn't your decision, it's the exam board's decision

[00:10:49] And can parents and students themselves apply for it?

[00:10:53] It was always done by the schools

[00:10:54] No, it has to be done through the schools

[00:10:56] so we do it through the secure online systems

[00:10:59] that only we have access to with the exam boards

[00:11:02] So yeah

[00:11:04] Just another part of your job

[00:11:06] Another bit, another hidden bit that people don't really see

[00:11:10] I'm really important

[00:11:12] Really important

[00:11:14] So there are two basic types of special consideration

[00:11:19] So there's special consideration for a disadvantaged candidate

[00:11:23] So that is basically someone who does sit the exam

[00:11:26] but they're experiencing some disadvantage while they're doing it

[00:11:31] so they might be ill, they might have suffered a recent bereavement

[00:11:35] and that will affect in some way their ability to carry out that exam

[00:11:39] to the best of their ability

[00:11:41] So disadvantaged candidate is one type of special consideration

[00:11:46] and then the other type is absent candidate

[00:11:49] so when a candidate misses an exam completely

[00:11:53] special consideration can also be applied for

[00:11:56] Now absent candidate comes with certain conditions

[00:11:59] which is that you have to have completed

[00:12:03] another portion of the qualification

[00:12:06] to be granted an absent candidate special consideration

[00:12:10] So what that means for example

[00:12:13] would be say you were doing GCSE maths

[00:12:16] and there are three papers

[00:12:18] if you missed paper one

[00:12:22] and say you missed paper two as well because of a severe illness

[00:12:27] but you sat paper three

[00:12:29] you could then receive special consideration

[00:12:32] for your absences in papers one and two

[00:12:35] you have to have completed 15% at least of the qualification

[00:12:40] to be granted special consideration for absences

[00:12:43] Now special consideration for absences will only be granted

[00:12:47] in quite severe cases

[00:12:50] I get requests almost every year

[00:12:53] or enquiries let's say every year about

[00:12:55] well what will happen if my child misses an exam

[00:12:59] and obviously special consideration does exist

[00:13:04] for those situations in the most severe cases

[00:13:07] but our advice to parents is always

[00:13:10] you know the best situation is that

[00:13:15] the student sits an exam

[00:13:17] because again we can't prejudge the outcome

[00:13:20] we don't know whether or not a special consideration

[00:13:22] for absences would be accepted

[00:13:24] so we couldn't promise anything

[00:13:26] in terms of if a student misses an exam

[00:13:28] it all will be okay because it might not

[00:13:31] so we would always give the advice of

[00:13:33] unless it's an absolute impossibility

[00:13:36] that a student should do everything they can

[00:13:39] to sit the exam

[00:13:41] yeah so that's it basically

[00:13:44] that's how special consideration kind of works

[00:13:47] those are the sort of criteria for applying for it

[00:13:51] and we're going to hear from a parent now aren't we

[00:13:53] we are

[00:13:54] someone we know quite well

[00:13:56] someone we know pretty well

[00:13:58] you've known her for quite a long time

[00:14:00] I've known her forever

[00:14:02] my sister

[00:14:04] we are going to talk to her about her recent discovery

[00:14:08] of the existence of special consideration

[00:14:13] in unfortunate circumstances

[00:14:15] but yeah very pleased to find out about it

[00:14:20] and

[00:14:21] Charlotte and I are very excited to be joined

[00:14:26] by Anna this week

[00:14:28] who is a parent

[00:14:30] who has just been looking into

[00:14:32] arranging special consideration

[00:14:35] for her son, Jain

[00:14:37] can I just say

[00:14:38] so can I interrupt you so I can just say that

[00:14:40] I am excited about this

[00:14:41] but I'm also quite nervous about it as well

[00:14:43] what's wrong with our guest

[00:14:45] I can't believe I'm here

[00:14:47] I'm so excited

[00:14:49] I'm not my guest

[00:14:51] nothing wrong you know

[00:14:53] we've known each other for a long time

[00:14:55] yeah she does happen to be my sister

[00:14:58] my big sister

[00:15:00] and her son

[00:15:02] Jain who we're about to talk about

[00:15:04] who's just too cool to come on the podcast

[00:15:06] of course

[00:15:07] is my nephew

[00:15:09] who is 18

[00:15:10] and in the middle

[00:15:12] I'll just start to really hear his A level exams

[00:15:15] yeah so Anna

[00:15:17] I'm excited to have you here

[00:15:19] thank you for having me both

[00:15:21] it's a pleasure Anna

[00:15:25] I'm just going to interject as well

[00:15:27] that John and Anna

[00:15:29] really look like Kirsty and Phil

[00:15:31] from relocation

[00:15:33] relocation relocation

[00:15:35] no location location location

[00:15:37] location location

[00:15:39] sorry that's a

[00:15:41] schoolboy

[00:15:43] I don't know who that's more of a compliment to Anna

[00:15:45] it's a compliment to both of us

[00:15:49] so it's quite funny just watching you both on the screen

[00:15:52] having this conversation

[00:15:54] and not selling a house

[00:15:56] for once when I'm selling houses

[00:16:00] so this is Anna's podcast debut isn't it

[00:16:03] it is a virgin I am

[00:16:05] yeah but yeah very excited to have you with us

[00:16:08] thank you for having me

[00:16:10] I'm a little bit nervous because John is

[00:16:12] you've got a lot of history with him

[00:16:14] both me as well obviously

[00:16:16] but you and John have a particularly special relationship

[00:16:19] we do

[00:16:21] so as I mentioned

[00:16:23] we are talking about

[00:16:25] special consideration

[00:16:27] in exams this week

[00:16:29] yes

[00:16:30] and we've just been explained to everyone

[00:16:32] kind of what it is

[00:16:34] from the definition

[00:16:36] but also the perspective

[00:16:38] of exams officers

[00:16:40] who have no lots about it at the time of year

[00:16:42] and it would just be

[00:16:44] really interesting for our listeners to find out

[00:16:46] about the absolutely fantastic year that you've had

[00:16:50] there's light to you talking to John and I

[00:16:52] about what help may be available for you

[00:16:54] during this exam

[00:16:56] sure yeah yeah

[00:16:58] as much as you want

[00:17:00] yeah absolutely so hello

[00:17:02] I'm Anna

[00:17:04] I'm based in Wales and yeah Sophie's sister

[00:17:06] and

[00:17:08] John's sister-in-law

[00:17:10] and yeah lovely to speak with you guys

[00:17:12] yeah as Sophie alluded to

[00:17:16] I've had quite a

[00:17:18] stressful well

[00:17:20] last year but particularly the last six months

[00:17:24] and in the midst of

[00:17:26] all of these issues

[00:17:28] that I've been facing

[00:17:30] was the realisation that

[00:17:32] my 18 year old son was about

[00:17:34] to hit his

[00:17:36] A level final exams

[00:17:38] so obviously with

[00:17:40] Sophie and John's

[00:17:42] incredible background

[00:17:44] with education

[00:17:46] this was one of the topics

[00:17:48] thanks Sam why are you being so nice

[00:17:50] I forgot momentarily

[00:17:52] yeah so

[00:17:54] I obviously had

[00:17:56] some conversations with them

[00:17:58] about my concern

[00:18:00] about

[00:18:02] all the stressors that

[00:18:04] have occurred as a family

[00:18:06] for us and how that would affect

[00:18:08] my son's

[00:18:10] ability to focus

[00:18:12] with the A level

[00:18:14] exams looming etc

[00:18:16] and yeah I was very

[00:18:18] interested

[00:18:20] to find out because

[00:18:22] yeah I had absolutely no idea

[00:18:24] as a parent of two

[00:18:26] so my daughter is two years older

[00:18:28] so has gone through

[00:18:30] the school system

[00:18:32] and college and she's currently

[00:18:34] doing a university course as well

[00:18:36] but prior to this

[00:18:38] time speaking with Sophie and John

[00:18:40] I had

[00:18:42] no prior knowledge

[00:18:44] of there being such a thing as

[00:18:46] these

[00:18:48] I've completely forgotten

[00:18:50] the terms

[00:18:52] special consideration

[00:18:54] did you think basically that Jion

[00:18:56] would just have to kind of just suck it up

[00:18:58] absolutely until I told you

[00:19:00] exactly

[00:19:02] yes I mean it was pretty much

[00:19:04] just dropped into

[00:19:06] I have daily phone calls with Sophie

[00:19:08] and yeah

[00:19:10] I just dropped in

[00:19:12] that I was a bit concerned with his A levels coming up

[00:19:14] and that's when Sophie and then later

[00:19:16] John actually

[00:19:18] made me aware of the special

[00:19:20] considerations

[00:19:22] that were available

[00:19:24] like I said had never

[00:19:26] had previous need to

[00:19:28] even consider something

[00:19:30] like this but anyway

[00:19:32] Sophie explained things and John

[00:19:34] as well

[00:19:36] and that led to me approaching

[00:19:38] my son's college

[00:19:40] so we're in Wales

[00:19:42] so he's not in the school environment

[00:19:44] he's in a college environment doing his A levels

[00:19:46] over the last two years

[00:19:48] do you want me to carry on

[00:19:50] or yeah you're going

[00:19:52] okay so yeah

[00:19:54] I first put a call into

[00:19:56] his head of year

[00:19:58] probably I don't know

[00:20:00] about six weeks ago maybe

[00:20:02] what's her name and because you love

[00:20:04] to name drop it

[00:20:06] Steph

[00:20:08] Steph is

[00:20:10] yes hi Steph

[00:20:12] if she's even in a supermarket

[00:20:14] you'll know because she has

[00:20:16] named by the end of it and just

[00:20:18] yeah it's called

[00:20:20] it's called being friendly

[00:20:22] and then by Mike

[00:20:24] yes the Welsh

[00:20:26] the Welsh are very friendly

[00:20:28] it is a Welsh being

[00:20:30] are they friendly?

[00:20:32] well I am

[00:20:34] anyway

[00:20:36] anyway

[00:20:38] yes so I

[00:20:40] initially approached Steph

[00:20:42] via telephone or attempted to

[00:20:44] but she was on a school

[00:20:46] trip at the time

[00:20:48] in America but I spoke to

[00:20:50] a colleague of hers and just

[00:20:52] outlined a few of the

[00:20:54] issues that we'd been facing

[00:20:56] as a family

[00:20:58] she took note of this and

[00:21:00] told me that Steph would be in contact

[00:21:02] with me on her return from America

[00:21:04] so Steph Julie did

[00:21:06] return the call to me

[00:21:08] and yeah it was really really

[00:21:10] beneficial

[00:21:12] she spent about half an hour

[00:21:14] I tend to waffle but basically

[00:21:16] in a nutshell

[00:21:18] I highlighted

[00:21:20] to her two

[00:21:22] significant issues

[00:21:24] that we had faced as a family

[00:21:26] and directly

[00:21:28] my son

[00:21:30] who was under

[00:21:32] her watch

[00:21:34] had been facing so

[00:21:36] I mean I'll just briefly outline

[00:21:38] that

[00:21:40] there was a very

[00:21:42] quite a sudden and unexpected

[00:21:46] break up of my marriage

[00:21:48] and the next thing that happened

[00:21:50] was that I've had a

[00:21:52] medical condition for

[00:21:54] many decades

[00:21:56] that became more difficult

[00:21:58] to manage last year

[00:22:00] I got progressively more

[00:22:02] unwell

[00:22:04] and that led to me being

[00:22:06] hospitalised on the 23rd of December

[00:22:10] we're yes I imagined

[00:22:12] you were just making Christmas all about you

[00:22:14] it was indeed

[00:22:16] so we had

[00:22:18] the whole of Christmas and

[00:22:20] the New Year period

[00:22:22] ended up with me being hospitalised for five weeks

[00:22:24] which

[00:22:26] was a complete shock in itself because

[00:22:28] I anticipated I'd be in overnight

[00:22:30] and obviously

[00:22:32] that led to Jion and his sister

[00:22:34] being home alone

[00:22:36] basically and

[00:22:38] they're both adults

[00:22:40] but yeah my presence

[00:22:42] was well lack of presence

[00:22:44] was felt

[00:22:46] mainly yes you know

[00:22:48] laundry and grocery shopping and all the rest of it

[00:22:50] but I am a

[00:22:52] tyrant a control freak

[00:22:54] so that was really hard

[00:22:56] but yes so

[00:22:58] there was obviously a lot of concern

[00:23:00] about my health at that time and

[00:23:02] in the third week of my hospitalisation

[00:23:04] I ended up having

[00:23:06] surgery major surgery

[00:23:08] which I had to recover from

[00:23:10] and biopsies

[00:23:12] were taken during that procedure

[00:23:14] and

[00:23:16] one day after my discharge

[00:23:18] I had a call from my surgeon

[00:23:20] informing me that I actually had cancer

[00:23:22] that the surgeon

[00:23:24] had managed to

[00:23:26] successfully remove however

[00:23:28] it had spread to lymph nodes

[00:23:30] and because of lymph node activity

[00:23:32] they had to

[00:23:34] instigate a course of chemotherapy

[00:23:38] so I'm in the middle of this course

[00:23:40] of chemotherapy at the moment

[00:23:42] and it's to be quite frank

[00:23:44] a very very brutal treatment

[00:23:46] it leaves you incredibly

[00:23:48] fatigued

[00:23:50] lots of side effects etc

[00:23:52] so that's been really really tough

[00:23:54] so I think yes

[00:23:56] I mean Jions had to face

[00:23:58] major disruption to

[00:24:00] what was our family

[00:24:02] life

[00:24:04] mother who he's incredibly close with

[00:24:06] ended up seriously

[00:24:08] ill having surgery and getting a cancer diagnosis

[00:24:10] and also having to watch

[00:24:12] me now going through the effects

[00:24:14] of the chemotherapy is really tough

[00:24:16] so yeah I mean

[00:24:18] I just assumed

[00:24:20] well you know we're having a bit of a bad run

[00:24:22] of things over these six months

[00:24:24] and that's that

[00:24:26] kind of statement of the year

[00:24:28] but yes

[00:24:30] as I said earlier thanks

[00:24:32] to Sophie and John

[00:24:34] they pointed out this

[00:24:36] special consideration

[00:24:38] so yeah I highlighted

[00:24:40] these issues to Steph

[00:24:42] his home tutor

[00:24:44] said

[00:24:46] mainly that she was really really pleased

[00:24:48] that I had made contact and that it was

[00:24:50] really important

[00:24:52] that the staff at the college

[00:24:54] were aware of any of these

[00:24:56] circumstances because

[00:24:58] they naturally can affect

[00:25:00] a student's

[00:25:02] abilities

[00:25:04] well just

[00:25:06] ability to engage

[00:25:08] as well as normal hey

[00:25:10] and yeah I mean she

[00:25:12] didn't allude to any particular

[00:25:14] issues I mean she

[00:25:16] endorsed that Jion was

[00:25:18] you know an overall

[00:25:20] he's a legend he is

[00:25:22] but overall

[00:25:24] a good attentive student

[00:25:26] his attendance

[00:25:28] had been largely fine

[00:25:30] he'd missed the odd day

[00:25:32] or the odd lesson and that could

[00:25:34] be attributed to

[00:25:36] having to see me in hospital etc

[00:25:38] but yeah no she didn't have any

[00:25:40] major concerns

[00:25:42] about how he was functioning

[00:25:44] yeah exactly

[00:25:46] exactly

[00:25:48] and what she said was that

[00:25:50] the information that I'd

[00:25:52] given her would be

[00:25:54] collated

[00:25:56] and into

[00:25:58] some sort of written form there was some sort

[00:26:00] of written

[00:26:02] breakdown of

[00:26:04] what I'd discussed with her

[00:26:06] and that that would be

[00:26:08] forwarded for consideration

[00:26:10] when it came to the time of the

[00:26:12] Ion's A level exams which

[00:26:14] we've just hit now

[00:26:16] this has given him a bit of reassurance

[00:26:23] that

[00:26:25] yeah you know he has gone through

[00:26:27] a bit of a tough time to say the least

[00:26:29] and that wouldn't be ignored

[00:26:31] and you're bossing him around the house

[00:26:33] constantly

[00:26:35] so yeah

[00:26:37] he's no special consideration

[00:26:39] men need

[00:26:41] direction

[00:26:43] I mean you do it to me

[00:26:45] when I'm with you as well

[00:26:47] that's actually true

[00:26:49] people need direction

[00:26:53] I love it

[00:26:55] one of the things that's interesting

[00:26:57] is when you listen to everything

[00:26:59] that obviously you've gone through

[00:27:01] and you Ion

[00:27:03] as a result of everything that's happened

[00:27:05] has also gone through

[00:27:07] it's special consideration

[00:27:09] as a thing that seems quite small

[00:27:11] in the sense that

[00:27:13] he's been through so much

[00:27:15] and what you get potentially out of

[00:27:17] special consideration isn't a huge amount

[00:27:19] but at the same time

[00:27:21] what you say is

[00:27:23] great in a way that it does just provide

[00:27:25] that sense of reassurance

[00:27:27] that sense of like

[00:27:29] understanding that you're having a hard time

[00:27:31] and it will have an effect

[00:27:33] on how you're going to do

[00:27:35] at least a bit will be done

[00:27:37] to try and like

[00:27:39] reflect that

[00:27:41] the work that you've done before

[00:27:43] because he's worked hard

[00:27:45] he's a smart boy

[00:27:47] isn't he?

[00:27:49] he has taken it seriously

[00:27:51] and it would have been

[00:27:53] it's just nice to know that he has that

[00:27:55] behind him and the support of his college

[00:27:57] absolutely

[00:27:59] and hopefully as it helped

[00:28:01] you relax a little bit

[00:28:03] because I remember we were talking about it

[00:28:05] back when you came out of hospital

[00:28:07] and you were quite worried about him

[00:28:09] and I just love him

[00:28:11] he's my nephew

[00:28:13] but he'll be fine

[00:28:15] but you were really worried about it

[00:28:17] at that point

[00:28:19] as it helped you relax a little bit

[00:28:21] and go into exams with everything

[00:28:23] because you've got quite a lot of other things

[00:28:25] has it helped you to relax about that?

[00:28:27] yeah for sure

[00:28:29] I'm quite

[00:28:31] I might not sound it now

[00:28:33] but I'm more than happy

[00:28:35] to discuss this

[00:28:37] and if it helps other parents

[00:28:39] and teachers, that's great

[00:28:41] but

[00:28:43] I'm quite a private person

[00:28:45] I don't like to broadcast

[00:28:47] my business

[00:28:49] when the iron is much the same

[00:28:51] however

[00:28:53] I think it's important

[00:28:55] to understand

[00:28:57] that you're not going to be

[00:28:59] disappointed

[00:29:01] because of this being pointed out by yourselves

[00:29:03] yeah

[00:29:05] I made an exception to that

[00:29:07] and I thought well

[00:29:09] if it's going to benefit him

[00:29:11] which will benefit me

[00:29:13] but yeah it did definitely give me some reassurance

[00:29:15] that

[00:29:17] what he's gone through the last six months

[00:29:19] isn't to be

[00:29:21] yeah

[00:29:23] however

[00:29:25] it's reassuring for me

[00:29:27] and I think for him

[00:29:29] that

[00:29:31] some consideration is given

[00:29:33] that it has been a particularly tough period

[00:29:35] like we all get in life

[00:29:37] but yeah

[00:29:39] it's just come at this pivotal time

[00:29:41] for his education

[00:29:51] I got the sense that

[00:29:53] it wasn't particularly unusual

[00:29:55] and that

[00:29:57] she had obviously come across

[00:29:59] obviously not identical

[00:30:01] to our social issues

[00:30:03] going on at the moment

[00:30:05] but other students historically

[00:30:07] and in the future

[00:30:09] having some

[00:30:11] out of college

[00:30:13] experiences

[00:30:15] that could be detrimental

[00:30:17] to their learning

[00:30:19] and achievements really

[00:30:21] so yeah that was reassuring too

[00:30:25] could I ask a question

[00:30:32] yeah go on

[00:30:34] you have explained to me previously

[00:30:36] but I'm blaming

[00:30:38] it on

[00:30:40] chemo fog

[00:30:42] which apparently is a thing

[00:30:44] can we use it forever

[00:30:46] yeah I'm going to use it forever

[00:30:48] absolutely

[00:30:50] you have used the menopause

[00:30:52] for about 25 years

[00:30:54] can I say that

[00:30:56] that is low

[00:30:58] you are treating menopausal

[00:31:00] in your late 20s

[00:31:02] yes John

[00:31:04] just remember that

[00:31:06] but currently the chemo fog

[00:31:08] I'm not retaining information

[00:31:10] as I would normally

[00:31:12] so you have previously outlined

[00:31:14] to me what this special

[00:31:16] considerations

[00:31:18] holds

[00:31:20] situation how that could

[00:31:22] be impracticable

[00:31:24] terms

[00:31:26] could you just explain that a little bit more

[00:31:28] so basically what they do

[00:31:30] the example is that

[00:31:32] they break

[00:31:34] the things that

[00:31:36] affect students

[00:31:38] the serious things that affect students down into

[00:31:40] basically like I think it's four or five

[00:31:42] categories and there's like

[00:31:44] the most serious is

[00:31:46] kind of like an immediate family

[00:31:48] family member drops dead during

[00:31:50] the exams

[00:31:52] and it's sort of like from there

[00:31:54] it's sort of down to the least serious

[00:31:56] which is

[00:31:58] I don't know things like

[00:32:00] I guess you have

[00:32:02] a tummy ache on the day of the exam

[00:32:04] or something like that

[00:32:06] and what happens is that

[00:32:08] depending on which category they put

[00:32:10] your issue into

[00:32:12] that will then determine

[00:32:14] what percentage increase you get

[00:32:16] on your examination

[00:32:18] oh really?

[00:32:20] and I think the maximum is

[00:32:22] 5%

[00:32:24] so it's not like I was saying just before

[00:32:26] it's not a huge amount

[00:32:28] but I think it is enough

[00:32:30] to like sort of you know it can make a difference

[00:32:32] well it can I mean you know

[00:32:34] correct me if I'm wrong

[00:32:36] and not in academia

[00:32:38] like yourselves

[00:32:42] very very achieved

[00:32:44] in my personal

[00:32:46] career I will say

[00:32:48] but definitely not academia

[00:32:50] would it be

[00:32:52] I've got in my head John and I'm sure you'll correct me

[00:32:54] but you know if

[00:32:56] a student was maybe hovering

[00:32:58] in the

[00:33:00] markers

[00:33:02] mind between

[00:33:04] a B and a C grade

[00:33:06] could this

[00:33:08] potentially you know if it was

[00:33:10] really on the cusp

[00:33:12] could it potentially tip them over to the B

[00:33:14] okay right if a student was

[00:33:16] awarded you know just purely on the marks

[00:33:18] they got from the exam like a high C grade

[00:33:20] close to the B board line

[00:33:22] and then they were given a special consideration

[00:33:24] as you know a significant

[00:33:26] special consideration uplift

[00:33:28] 4 or 5%

[00:33:30] then that yeah could certainly be

[00:33:32] the difference between you know getting a C

[00:33:34] or getting a B

[00:33:36] so in those circumstances it can

[00:33:38] obviously it can have an impact

[00:33:40] I think what it's not going to do is take

[00:33:42] a student who is you know

[00:33:44] who is really struggling

[00:33:46] to pass a qualification

[00:33:48] and sort of

[00:33:50] magically mean that they do

[00:33:52] it's not going to have that kind of effect

[00:33:54] but yeah it's

[00:33:56] yeah

[00:33:58] so it's

[00:34:00] it's a marginal uplift

[00:34:02] but it can be enough to make

[00:34:04] the difference to the final grade

[00:34:06] okay I did retain something new once said then

[00:34:08] that's good

[00:34:10] that's the only thing I'll leave it there

[00:34:12] I hope you're not suggesting that I'm boring you

[00:34:14] never ever

[00:34:16] never

[00:34:18] couldn't

[00:34:20] couldn't happen

[00:34:22] excellent

[00:34:30] it's good to make people aware of it

[00:34:32] isn't it because well I always say

[00:34:34] you know you're not born with the knowledge

[00:34:36] that's one of my catchphrases

[00:34:38] you know

[00:34:40] you have done a valuable public service here

[00:34:42] always

[00:34:44] most days

[00:34:46] okay

[00:34:48] take care bye bye

[00:34:50] apologies for

[00:34:59] a bit of low quality audio

[00:35:01] in that recording

[00:35:03] yeah you couldn't really hear

[00:35:05] me and Sophie very well

[00:35:07] that's probably not a bad thing is it for everyone

[00:35:09] no and we wanted to make Anna the star

[00:35:11] of the show as well

[00:35:13] which she loves

[00:35:15] my Anna is like a unique guest I don't think

[00:35:17] I'm a guest like Anna again

[00:35:19] there's no one else like Anna

[00:35:21] so just in terms of what she was saying as well

[00:35:23] about special consideration

[00:35:25] I thought her case is obviously

[00:35:27] it's quite complex

[00:35:29] isn't it

[00:35:31] she's obviously had such a terrible time

[00:35:33] but

[00:35:35] what's interesting in terms of special consideration

[00:35:37] is the fact that some of the things

[00:35:39] that have happened that have affected

[00:35:41] Yian

[00:35:43] will have took place quite a long

[00:35:45] time ago now you know well over

[00:35:47] sort of six seven months ago

[00:35:49] and

[00:35:51] obviously special consideration

[00:35:53] they make it clear that it's got to be things that are happening

[00:35:55] at the time of the exam

[00:35:57] but of course because of the ongoing nature

[00:35:59] of the situation

[00:36:01] there are things happening

[00:36:03] all the time that yeah

[00:36:05] right now that they're affecting

[00:36:07] so it's definitely one that you would

[00:36:09] you would want to submit for

[00:36:11] and hopefully they'll get the outcome

[00:36:13] that's such a huge job for

[00:36:15] the exam boards reviewing

[00:36:17] cases because you know so many

[00:36:19] must be really complex

[00:36:21] it must be a really good job

[00:36:23] I think you know they do

[00:36:25] there is a kind of guidance and criteria

[00:36:27] set out so a lot of the decisions are quite

[00:36:29] instant you know you can often

[00:36:31] get decisions straight away on special

[00:36:33] consideration but obviously yeah some

[00:36:35] cases are more complex and they take a bit

[00:36:37] more time. We'll link to some advice

[00:36:39] about the guidelines from

[00:36:41] JCQ. Yeah so although the

[00:36:43] exam boards make the decision JCQ

[00:36:45] sets out the guidelines

[00:36:47] in a document about

[00:36:49] special consideration and I think if you're a parent

[00:36:51] who's in a situation where you might be thinking

[00:36:53] about it it's well worth reading

[00:36:55] we might not have known like Anna

[00:36:57] that it existed until you needed it

[00:36:59] so yeah have a look at it if there is

[00:37:01] something going on in your child's life

[00:37:03] that you think it might. It's not

[00:37:05] I don't think

[00:37:07] and it can't be entirely comprehensive

[00:37:09] but it sets out

[00:37:11] some of the key reasons why

[00:37:13] you might seek special consideration

[00:37:15] and also tries to lay out the kind of rationale

[00:37:17] about how the different

[00:37:19] percentages of

[00:37:21] of amendments get

[00:37:23] awarded so yeah definitely a good

[00:37:25] read if you're in that position

[00:37:29] Okay so next week

[00:37:36] we're going to be talking to Hailey

[00:37:38] Oh yeah excellent this is

[00:37:40] a great chat isn't it that we had with

[00:37:42] Hailey who is one of the

[00:37:44] exam officers that we are

[00:37:46] following during the exam period

[00:37:48] the conversation we had

[00:37:50] ended up going off on quite the tangent

[00:37:52] because of the incredibly

[00:37:54] interesting role that she had

[00:37:56] before she became an exam's

[00:37:58] officer like you really

[00:38:00] though John isn't it?

[00:38:02] We're going to be talking a bit about that next week

[00:38:04] we're not going to get away with that. We'll save that

[00:38:06] so yeah we're

[00:38:08] quite interested though aren't we of like people

[00:38:10] who have done interesting and weird things

[00:38:12] before they became exam's officers

[00:38:14] Quite a lot of people have told us the funny things they've done before

[00:38:16] so yeah

[00:38:18] So if you want to let us know before

[00:38:20] next week about

[00:38:22] anything wonderful that you

[00:38:24] have done before you became an exam's

[00:38:26] officer then give us

[00:38:28] an email at john.gaston

[00:38:30] at examscreen.co.uk

[00:38:32] and we'll give you a shout out

[00:38:34] to the examman podcast

[00:38:36] we really really appreciate your

[00:38:38] support. Remember that you can

[00:38:40] access it on all the major

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[00:38:44] give us a follow

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