The entering of students for examinations is entirely the responsibility of the purchaser of the courses. The notes below are intended to give an overview of the process. They are for guidance only and all candidates, or those entering them for examinations, must make their own enquiries. The Open Learning Academy cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions.

The information below relates to examinations administered by the examination board AQA. Arrangements for examinations administered by other boards will be different and you should contact the relevant board.


Private Candidates

Note: A candidate may not enter as both a private AQA candidate and an internal AQA candidate at the same centre in the same examination series.

Guidance for Private Candidates booklet

• Students sitting their examinations as private candidates must contact AQA and request a copy of the Guidance for Private Candidates booklet. Alternatively, this information may be downloaded from the AQA website, www.aqa.org.uk. Go to Administration, then Procedures, then Private Candidates.

Closing Dates for Summer Examinations 

• The closing date for AS, A2 and A level examination entries is usually March 21st.

Examination centres

• Private candidates may enter for examinations through any AQA-registered school or centre willing to accept them.
• AQA produces a list of centres willing to accept private candidates. A list of participating centres within a particular county can be requested by applying to the Private Candidates section at the Manchester AQA office. 
• Contact information for AQA offices can be found at the end of this web page.

• Students sitting examinations with an optional coursework component are expected to choose the written paper option and not the coursework option.
• If coursework is a compulsory component of the examination, students must submit a Private Candidate Coursework Information Form, which can be found as an appendix to the Guidance for Private Candidates booklet. A separate information form is needed for each subject. 
• The completed form(s) must be submitted to your chosen examination centre at the time of making your entry. 
• Providing you have had sufficient contact with your tutor and have followed the guidelines in your course materials, your coursework will be authenticated by your tutor and assessed by the exam board.

• Complete Sections 1 and 2
• Tick c) in Section 3
• Section 4 
  • Authenticator Contact Information
    
  Name: Insert the name of your tutor
  Address: c/o Open Learning Academy
  4 Kings Meadow
  Oxford
  OX2 0DP
  Telephone: 01865 304834
  • Authenticator's Occupation
    Private Tutor
  • Relationship to Candidate
    Tutor
  • Arrangements
    I have regular contact with my personal distance learning tutor and I am following the guidelines relating to coursework as set out in my distance learning materials. Prior to beginning my coursework, I discussed/will discuss* the suitability of my chosen topics with my tutor. A draft of my coursework was/will be* submitted to my tutor for general feedback.
    
    * Insert as applicable
     
• Complete Section 5 and then sign and date the form.

• The final version of your coursework should be sent by post to the Open Learning Academy together with a Private Candidate Assessment Form, which will have been supplied to you by AQA.
• The coursework and the form will be sent on to your tutor who will initial each page of your coursework (in confirmation of the fact that it is your own work) and complete the relevant section of the Private Candidate Assessment Form.
• The documents will be returned to you by post and should be submitted to the Examinations Officer at your chosen centre.
• The closing date for the submission of coursework may vary from centre to centre and subject to subject, and you should make your own enquiries. It is your responsibility to make sure your coursework is completed, authenticated and submitted before the closing date.

• The work you submit for assessment must be your own unaided work.
• Any materials (e.g. books, leaflets or information from the Internet) used in the completion of your coursework should be acknowledged in the work itself.
• To present material copied from any source without acknowledgement will be regarded as deliberate deception and may result in your disqualification.
• In order to authenticate your coursework your tutor must have had sufficient contact with you to recognise that the work is of a standard comparable to other material you have submitted. You should also have discussed your chosen topic(s) with your tutor prior to starting your coursework and, subsequently, submitted a draft of your coursework to your tutor.

• Current entry fees are shown within the Guidance for Private Candidates booklet.

• All students should ensure they have a copy of the specification (syllabus) for their course/s. The specification sets out the subject content and assessment criteria for each course.
• Completing past papers will give you valuable exam practice. Accompanying mark schemes are also available, enabling you to mark your own work. Please note that the Open Learning Academy cannot mark past papers unless they form part of an assignment within your course materials.
• If you are completing past papers you might also like to read the Examiners' Reports on the papers. These often identify common errors that were made by candidates.
• Specifications, past papers, mark schemes and Examiners’ Reports can be ordered through AQA's Publications Department (address at the end of this webpage) or downloaded free of charge from AQA's website, www.aqa.org.uk.

• Internal candidates must sit their examinations at the school or learning centre at which they are enrolled. If they sit their examinations at any other centre they will be classed as private candidates.
• The school or learning centre must be an AQA-registered centre.

• Students sitting examinations with an optional coursework component are expected to choose the written paper option and not the coursework option. The Open Learning Academy is unable to offer coursework guidance where coursework is optional.
• If coursework is a compulsory component of the examination, schools and other learning centres may authenticate and assess the coursework of candidates, provided they are prepared to accept all responsibility and are satisfied that they can meet the requirements of the syllabus and the exam board. 
  
• AQA is satisfied with our monitoring procedures. Centres may authenticate coursework with the agreement of the student's Open Learning Academy tutor. Our tutors cannot, however, assess and mark coursework. 
  
• Students should make enquiries at their own centre regarding the closing date for the submission of coursework. 

• The work you submit for assessment must be your own unaided work.
• Any materials (e.g. books, leaflets or information from the Internet) used in the completion of your coursework should be acknowledged in the work itself.
• To present material copied from any source without acknowledgement will be regarded as deliberate deception and may result in your disqualification.
• In order to authenticate your coursework your tutor must have had sufficient contact with you to recognise that the work is of a standard comparable to other material you have submitted. You should also have discussed your chosen topic(s) with your tutor prior to starting your coursework and, subsequently, submitted a draft of your coursework to your tutor.

• Responsibility for the payment of fees is at the discretion of the centre.

• All students should ensure they have a copy of the specification (syllabus) for their course/s. The specification sets out the subject content and assessment criteria for each course.
• Completing past papers will give you valuable exam practice. Accompanying mark schemes are also available, enabling you to mark your own work. Please note that the Open Learning Academy cannot mark past papers unless they form part of an assignment within your course materials.
• If you are completing past papers you might also like to read the Examiners' Reports on the papers. These often identify common errors that were made by candidates.
• Specifications, past papers, mark schemes and Examiners’ Reports can be ordered through AQA's Publications Department (address at the end of this webpage) or downloaded free of charge from AQA's website, www.aqa.org.uk.