Exam rooms in UK schools run to a common set of rules issued to every candidate before the series. They cover what may be brought in, silence and communication, timing, lateness and illness. Schools give each candidate the current notices; the version your school issues is the one that applies.
Why there are shared rules at all
Every candidate in the country sits the same paper under the same conditions. That is the whole basis on which a grade can be compared between one pupil and another, one school and another, and one year and the next. The rules exist to protect that comparability — not to catch people out.
Explaining it that way to a nervous fifteen-year-old helps more than a list of prohibitions. The rules are the reason their grade will be worth something.
What candidates are told before the series
Schools issue candidates a set of standard notices ahead of exams — commonly covering the rules for candidates, information about coursework or non-examination assessment, and warnings about the use of social media and mobile phones. Pupils are usually asked to confirm they have read them.
These are worth reading properly, once, as a family. Ten minutes in April removes most of the anxiety in May.
Equipment: what to bring and what not to
The safe default is: a clear pencil case containing only what is needed, and nothing else.
Typically needed:
- black pen, plus a spare that writes the same colour
- pencil, sharpener, eraser
- ruler
- for maths and science: a calculator of a permitted type, plus compasses and a protractor where relevant
- clear water bottle with any label removed
Typically a problem:
- any phone, smartwatch or earbuds, whether switched on or not
- notes of any kind, including writing on hands, arms, labels or rulers
- a pencil case that is not transparent
- unauthorised material inside a calculator case, or a calculator type not permitted for that paper
Two rules of thumb worth teaching a teenager: if it can store or transmit anything, leave it outside; if it has words on it that you did not need in the room, take it off.
Phones and watches
This is the single most common cause of avoidable trouble, and the reason is simple: for a possession offence, whether the device was used is often not the point — having it is enough.
The practical habit that prevents nearly every case is to make the phone's place a decision taken at home, not at the door of the exam room. Leave it in a bag before setting off, or hand it in wherever the school directs. A phone that never enters the building cannot be forgotten in a blazer pocket.
Smartwatches deserve their own mention because pupils genuinely forget they are wearing them. Many schools now ask for all watches to be removed and placed on the desk, or banned outright, precisely to remove the judgement call.
During the paper
- Silence from the moment the room is under exam conditions — which usually begins before the paper starts and continues until every candidate has left.
- No communication with other candidates, including gestures.
- Raise a hand for anything: a problem with the paper, feeling unwell, needing the toilet. An invigilator will come.
- Nothing leaves the room — no question papers, no answer booklets, no rough work — unless an invigilator says so.
- Write in the answer booklet as instructed, and keep rough work where the instructions say to keep it.
Candidates may not leave early in many circumstances, and where they can, it is at the invigilator's direction rather than the candidate's choice. Extra time in the room is never wasted; going back over a paper is worth marks far more often than pupils believe.
Lateness and illness
Both are handled, and neither is automatically a disaster.
Late arrival. Go to the exam room anyway. Schools can admit late candidates within defined limits and will follow the correct process. What makes lateness worse is not arriving — going home is the one genuinely bad option.
Illness on the day. Contact the school immediately, before the exam if possible. Where a candidate is ill, injured or affected by other serious circumstances, there is an established route — special consideration — through which the school applies to the exam board on their behalf. It requires evidence and it has deadlines, so the school needs to know at the time rather than after results.
Illness during the paper. Raise a hand. Do not simply leave the room. Invigilators need to record what happened for any later application to be credible.
Malpractice, plainly
Malpractice covers anything that undermines the integrity of the exam: taking in unauthorised material or a device, communicating with another candidate, copying, removing exam material from the room, or disclosing paper content — including on social media — before the series is over.
Consequences are decided by the exam board and range from a warning to loss of marks, loss of the paper, or loss of the qualification. That is worth stating once, calmly, and then not repeating: the aim is a pupil who is careful, not one who is frightened.
The honest reassurance to give is that the overwhelming majority of cases are carelessness, not cheating — a phone in a pocket, a note left in a pencil case — and every one of those is preventable by a two-minute check before leaving the house.
A workable pre-exam routine
- Pack the clear pencil case the night before.
- Remove the phone and watch at home, or bag them to hand in.
- Check the paper's date, time and room against the timetable.
- Arrive early enough that lateness is not a variable.
- In the room: read the front cover instructions before starting to write.
Frequently asked questions
What can my child take into a GCSE exam?
The usual set is a transparent pencil case containing black pens, pencil, eraser, sharpener and ruler, plus a permitted calculator, compasses and protractor for the relevant papers, and a clear water bottle with the label removed. Phones, smartwatches, earbuds and notes of any kind should stay outside the room. The school issues the definitive list for its own arrangements — follow that.
What happens if a candidate is caught with a phone in an exam?
It is treated as a possession offence and reported to the exam board, whether or not the phone was used. Outcomes are decided by the board and range from a warning to loss of marks or loss of the paper. The practical prevention is to leave phones and smartwatches at home or hand them in before entering the building, rather than relying on remembering at the door.
What if my child is ill on the day of an exam?
Tell the school immediately. Where illness, injury or other serious circumstances affect a candidate at the time of an exam, schools can apply to the exam board for special consideration on their behalf, but this needs evidence and must be done within the deadlines for that series. If a candidate falls ill during a paper, they should raise a hand rather than leave, so the incident is properly recorded.
Can a candidate arrive late and still sit the paper?
Often yes. Schools can admit late candidates within defined limits and will follow the correct procedure, which may include reporting the lateness to the exam board. The important thing is to go to school anyway rather than assuming the exam is lost — turning back is the one choice that removes all remaining options.
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