EXAM DAY PROCEDURE

Please wear the correct uniform as appearance and presentation are part of the exam procedure and WILL affect your marks.

When coming to the studio for your exam, please ensure that your hair is correctly dressed before you arrive (unless you have made alternative arrangements for someone else to dress your child’s hair).

1.        Unless you are taking your exam in the first 60 minutes of a session, please ring the studio approximately 45 minutes before your exam time. Please arrive 25-30 minutes before your exam is due to start in order to prepare yourself and help us sort out the paperwork for you.

On Exam Day, neither the Principal nor Reception have any control over the exam session once it is underway. When time tabling for exams, we use the timings given to us by the IDTA. These times are only APPROXIMATIONS. An examiner may keep candidates in the exam for more or less than this time!

a)       If the exam session is running early you will be requested to arrive at the studios earlier than your allotted time.

If you miss your exam time because the session is running early, then at the discretion of the examiner, you may be allowed to take the exam later in the day on your own. Unfortunately, fees cannot be refunded, but may be carried over to the next session, if appropriate.

b)       If the exam session is running late, you will be told how late it is running and you will be requested to arrive at the studios at a later time.

However, should you choose to arrive early, then please be prepared to wait patiently.

If you decide not to come, or to leave before you take your exam because the session is running late, then your fees will be forfeit

2.       The Principal decides which children go into an exam, and whether they go in alone or in a group. If events occur on the exam day which require a change of group/partner then it is THE PRINCIPAL who will decide which group/partner will change. This will not alter your child’s exam mark. The Principal’s decision is final.

3.       Before you enter the Studios please be considerate and switch all mobile phones off. The studio sound system picks up the incoming or outgoing signals from your phone as very loud beeps! This is exceedingly off-putting for the children who are in the exam at the time, and annoying for the examiner.

4.       On arriving at the studios, please book your child in at Reception. Studio 2 is usually used for exams – so please be aware of the noise level outside this studio. Other lessons may be in progress, so please avoid interruptions in these studios.

5.       Come to the studios already dressed, with your hair done correctly. Put the correct dance shoes on once you are inside the studios

6.       If there are no lessons in progress, Studio 3 will usually be available to wait in (please bring something to do while you wait. ie colouring books & pencils, NOT felt tip pens etc. Please do not let students have fizzy drinks and chocolate or anything that will mark their uniform).

7.       Approximately 15 minutes before their exam, students will be checked to ensure that they are dressed correctly and that all ribbons and laces are tucked in. If their hair is incorrectly done, then it will need changing. Appearance is of the utmost importance, and marks can be gained or lost for their overall presentation.

8.       Students will be given a coloured/numbered badge and asked to wait outside Studio 2 with their teacher.

9.       When it is their turn to go into the Exam Studio, students will be taken in by their teacher

10.     Once the exam is over the children will be free to go if they haven't got any more exams to do.

Parents are NOT encouraged to wait as this increases the number of people on the premises and adds to the stress levels of the students.

We would like to make exam sessions as stress free as possible for the children, so please work with us and follow our examination procedure. If you have any questions on any of the above, please speak to Reception or your teacher.

If any student/parent feels that they are unable to comply with these procedures, we would recommend that you withdraw your child's exam entry as soon as possible. This decision will not affect in any way whatsoever the student’s progress and standing within the dance school. They will continue to progress through the grades on the principal's recommendation when they reach the required competency to do so.

If you have any comments, then please address them to Miss Karen, or arrange to see me at a mutually convenient time.

Thank you.

Karen Oates
Principal