[AnonyMatt]

(Original post by antdac)
Im being really serious man, my teacher has been looking on the website all year and they had not of put the exam dates all year until a few weeks back. I dunno where you are looking, tell my teacher

There are and have been exam timetables for Summer 2009 since last August at least on every exam board's website.

[Muppety_Kid]

(Original post by AnonyMatt)
Exam dates have been available online since... well, almost a year ago!

If you're talking about French oral examinations, then the dates have also been available on the specification since it was published nearly a year ago.

If you're being really petty about the exact date that an external examiner would come in to assess you, then this is irrelevant because whether it's at the start of April or the end of April, it doesn't matter, your ability really isn't going to change much and you should know the content by now.
Unless you're treating these exams as a memory test.

I can corroborate what the other guy said about oral exam dates (the day the examiner comes) - see my other post.

However, I do take your point - a week doesn't make that much difference in terms of preparation. As with any other exam, by then you either know it or you don't, and with the best will in the world, there's nothing you can do at such a late stage.

As for treating the exam as a memory test, I'm not sure if you know what WJEC A2 French involves, but you've got to give a 5-minute exposé on a topic of your choice, there are a few questions at the end and some more on a news article you're given on the day. I'm not advocating "treating these exams as a memory test", but there's no harm in polishing the exposé beforehand, is there?

I think that's really what he was objecting to - there's less time to learn it *cough* by rote *cough*...

[Lucyyy]

8 minute break? How tragic! I remember a clash in my exams last June where I ended up with 2 physics and 1 history exam on the same afternoon. The examiners looked pretty damn pissed when we dared so much as ask to go to the toilet between the papers. But, I live to tell the tale, bladder intact. I understand it's frustrating, but exam clashes really are no biggie.

[AnonyMatt]

(Original post by Muppety_Kid)
I can corroborate what the other guy said about oral exam dates (the day the examiner comes) - see my other post.

However, I do take your point - a week doesn't make that much difference in terms of preparation. As with any other exam, by then you either know it or you don't, and with the best will in the world, there's nothing you can do at such a late stage.

As for treating the exam as a memory test, I'm not sure if you know what WJEC A2 French involves, but you've got to give a 5-minute exposé on a topic of your choice, there are a few questions at the end and some more on a news article you're given on the day. I'm not advocating "treating these exams as a memory test", but there's no harm in polishing the exposé beforehand, is there?

I think that's really what he was objecting to - there's less time to learn it *cough* by rote *cough*...

Yeah I'm just getting annoyed with the typical British attitude of moan about everything and moan about nothing.
I'm all for a good whine (no one I know does it better than me) but only when the opinion you hold is actually valid!

I've read the WJEC French AS and A2 specifications more than once too.
I didn't even take French at GCSE...

I was going to self teach AS and A2 over 2 years and take all 4 units in year 13, but thought better of it.

[dreadnaut]

this happens all the time, everywhere, for most students at one point or another

[RVallant]

Jesus christ, what a nice reception! :P

Fine, so this is "normal", I totally dispute that being normal, it damn well should not be as it defies logic completely.

And yes, I wasn't given a choice of a January exam, as far as I was aware we were to sit both modules in May, no specific date given but seeing how it was planned for both to be sat in May I don't see why it couldn't have been set so they were on different time slots.

Further, I'm aware it's not just me, it's crossed over into several other subjects (did I mention that in my OP?) in which case, there's no real need to bring out the flamethrowers and try burning my shorts.

8 minutes break in a FOUR hour exam slot is frankly stupid, regardless of the subject and woe beside me if the Media publish anything so remotely annoying as "A-levels are getting easier" when I ace both with an A grade, because frankly while I'm fully aware of my ability in both exams, I don't think they're by any means "easy" nor do I think pushing students into a four hour exam slot or ten hour exam slot as someone above just mentioned as anything remotely fair or easy or reasonable for the mind to cope with. Considering it's suggested people take a break on the hour, hour-half I would have firmly believed they would have empathised with that viewpoint.

However, fair play to the lot of you for 'getting over it' and sitting there and accepting it, it's nice to see that you don't really care about it, or don't like whining about it. Me? I'm happy to contest it, additional time provided included for an earlier time slot, I see no reason why anyone should accept off hand a four+ hour slot with barely time to take a piss, when they have the entire week and morning free to do the exam in.

Further, regardless of whether its standard practice or "good to go" whatever, I'm in full agreement with my own tutor and the Law teacher that it's not an agreeable thing to have done when there's so many blatant and obvious ways to solve the situation.

Back in the GCSE days did I do it like you guys/girls with 1 minute break between every five hour exam? No I did not, we actually had proper breaks in between the exams and each exam was slotted perfectly with no clash (for me, my entire class and the entire DRB class) between exams even though the majority of us took on more than enough GCSE's to have trouble with the timetables of the school week! Regardless of whether that's just a "better" school, a "better" exam board or even just me being in a "better" country, the situation stinks and in any other area (excluding obviously education, since yeah, we've long established this is normal practice) this would be considered a "balls up".

Still, thanks for answering my question I shall now fully agree that this is normal practice, wasn't a balls up and that the fault of the entire situation lies at my own apparent feet for not hassling for a January exam, I'll do that next year for sure!

=D

[prince_of_paupers]

(Original post by trachimbrod)
you could go and slap the beautiful building the lucifers work in near tesco extras in cardiff.

sounds quite normal though. for history resits some people had three exams straight after eachother with no break.

wjec are a bit dodgy. they gave us our results back late - really late - and apparently the biology course is around a third harder than many english exam boards. that might be bitter friends though!

how true is this, because I've heard it too and will be sitting WJEC AS Bio next summer... really apprehensive over this as I want to go for a degree in biology/biochemistry

[Ignoramus]

(Original post by foolsihboy)
This happens all the time.. Latin EVERY YEAR has the 2 AS and 2 A2 modules at the same time on the same day. Feel sorry for my mate, he's supervised for 3 lunches on the trott...

That didn't happen this year - at least, not at A2.

[AnonyMatt]

(Original post by prince_of_paupers)
how true is this, because I've heard it too and will be sitting WJEC AS Bio next summer... really apprehensive over this as I want to go for a degree in biology/biochemistry

It's not true.