Exams summer 2021

Here is some general information for everyone with exams in summer 2021.

Guide to getting through exams (pdf) – published by the Student Advice Service

Timezone woes

If you are in a timezone where your exams fall during the night, please email tutorial@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk urgently. We will alert the Faculty to this, and they may be able to make an alternative arrangement. (NB this will not be possible in all cases.) If you have already informed your Faculty directly about this, you do not need to email Tutorial as well.

Blind Grade Number (BGN)

This is your anonymous candidate ID and you will need it for every exam. To find out your BGN, please look in your CamSIS self-service. If you are borrowing papers from another Tripos you may have different BGNs for different exams, so please check yours carefully.

Exam Confirmation Forms

If you have any in-person exams, there is a yellow Exam Confirmation Form in your pigeonhole. You should take it with you to all your in-person exams. It shows the date, time, venue, and your Blind Grade Number. If you have NOT received an Exam Confirmation Form in your pigeonhole despite having in-person exams, please email tutorial@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk ASAP.

If all your exams are online (Moodle or ProctorExam), you don’t have a form.

Extra time etc

If you have been granted Exam Access Arrangements (e.g. extra time) for reasons of a disability or medical condition, you should have received your automated letter from Tutorial via email on Monday 10 May. If you believe you should have such Arrangements but have not received a letter from me, please email tutorial@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk ASAP. If you have in-person exams, there is a copy of the EAA letter with your Exam Confirmation Form.

Your exam timetable

Your Faculty should have sent you information about your exam timetable and the exact arrangements for each exam. For most courses you can check your exam timetable on your CamSIS self-service, and also online at the CambridgeStudents website. Please contact your Faculty if you have any questions about your timetable or other arrangements.

 If you experience a technical problem during an online exam

  • If you are late uploading your paper due to technical problems, email your College Tutor and Tutorial@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk giving full details, as soon as you are able. The Tutorial Office will report this to the University exams team on your behalf.
  • If you are unable to upload your work at all due to technical problems, email your paper immediately to onlineexams@admin.cam.ac.uk. Then email your College Tutor and Tutorial@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk giving full details of the issue, as soon as you are able. Do not email your completed exam paper to your tutor or the Tutorial Office. You should email it to the address above only if you were unable to upload it online, not for any other reason.
  • If you experience any other technical problems, please do not panic! Complete the exam as best you can, then inform your tutor and the Tutorial Office as soon as you are able. There is a procedure for almost every problem, and once we know what has gone wrong, we will take the appropriate action to follow up.

 If you are unwell

If you fall ill before an exam and are unable to take the exam, email Tutorial@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk and your Tutor, letting us know what happened. We will report this to the University exams team on your behalf. Please let us know whether you hope to sit your remaining exams, or whether you will still be too unwell.

If you fall ill during an exam and are unable to finish, upload or hand in all the work you have done, even if it is incomplete. Then email Tutorial@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk and your Tutor, letting us know what happened. We will report this to the University exams team on your behalf. Please let us know whether you hope to sit your remaining exams, or whether you will still be too unwell.

If you have to isolate due to covid-19

  • If your exam is due to take place via Moodle or ProctorExam, you can sit it as normal while isolating.
  • If you cannot attend an in-person exam due to being in isolation, you will sit it using the approved online format instead. You need to tell us urgently as soon as you go into isolation so that we can arrange this. Please do the following:
  1. Inform Reception as usual by calling 01223 336250.
  2. Ring the Tutorial Office on 01223 336252. If we don’t pick up, leave an answermessage. Give the exact dates of the in-person exams you cannot attend.
  3. Send the same information by email to tutorial@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
  4. The Tutorial Office will apply to switch your exams to the approved online format, and will let you know when this has been done.
  5. (Vets and medics – if you miss an in-person exam due to covid isolation, you will have to sit it at the next available opportunity – your in-person exams do not have an online alternative.)

If you do not show up to an exam

Please be aware that, for both technical and fairness reasons, College will not be informed this year if you fail to show up for an exam (online or in person).

When you will get your results

You can check when the class list is due to be published for your subject at the CambridgeStudents website.

For further information

You can read all of this but in more detail in the University’s Guide to Examinations 2020/21.

Additional information for students living in Cambridge

  • You can collect a free pair of earplugs at Reception, if you are worried about noise – first come first served.
  • We can provide a sign for your door / corridor saying “Quiet please – exam in progress”. To order one, please email us, and allow 2 working days for these to be put in your pigeonhole. You can also make your own signs.
  • You can book a room in College to sit your exam
    • Teaching Rooms 1&2; Michael Murphy room, Terry McLaughlin room: book via Reception, in advance or on the day (subject to availability)
    • Okinaga Room, Huddleston Room, Benet House Meeting Room: you MUST book in advance, because the Conference Coordinator only works part time. To book a room, send a completed booking form to coordinator@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
  • We have sent the exam timetable to the Facilities Manager and the Housekeeping Manager, to avoid disruption from works or the College Housekeepers. The Housekeepers will still clean shared kitchens and bathrooms in your household during this time.
  • Please be aware that it is not possible to guarantee absolute silence around College, and you should expect a normal level of ambient noise across the site. However, we are asking all students to keep the noise down between 9am-5pm, to prevent disruption.

And finally – GOOD LUCK! Do remember to look after yourself as well as you can during this period (eat / sleep / exercise / downtime), so that you’re in the best position to focus despite all the hurdles that everyone has faced this year.

Best wishes from all in the Tutorial Office