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can I use matador oil gel pens in my gcse exams

I have been using matador pens for 2 years now but I recently learnt that you can't use gel pens in GCSE exam papers. I just wanted to ask if anyone who has done the GCSEs before in recent previous years has used matador oil gel pens and knows if I can too?

Reply 1

JJ <3

I think it’s best to just use regular black ballpoint pens? If ur not comfortable with these then maybe start using them daily so u get used to it xx

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

I believe most GCSE rubrics state you need to write in black ball point pen. Gel pens and other colours and media are usually not suitable for various reasons (scanning poorly, prone to smudging, being erasable in the case of pencil, etc etc).

The may note that certain other media are suitable for specific questions on specific exam papers potentially (e.g. you may be advised to use colour or pencil for drawing diagrams or graphs in some exams, although I think a lot now advise to do it in pen).

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

gdunne42

Original post by jksW

You could go ahead and use any pen you like, your invigilators are unlikely to check, notice or snatch it from your hand and tell you that you can't (unless your exams officer is obsessively strict on use of pens)
BUT you are instructed not to. New exam regulations are only created to prevent signidicant problems that have occured in the past. If you do use a gel pen and there are any problems then that's all down to you.
So what could happen?
They can't test every possible pen and tell you what's ok and what isn't. Some gel pens have caused problems in the past with candidate responses partially lost due to ink that dries and flakes off, or due to exposure to light, heat or moisture in transit or by the mechanical handling of the scripts in the high speed document handlers used for scanning. Some ink can soak through the exam paper again making work difficult or impossible to read. They can't mark anything that is no longer readable.
Erasable pens can be a disaster, if the ink is erasable then between you and the person marking your answers on screen there is a risk that some parts of your answers could become unreadable.
Exam instructions tell you not to use gel pens - loads of candidates do - if you are one of them then you run a risk of lost marks if you are unlucky.