Procedures for the Part A Membership Examinations

The Examination

Admission to Exam Hall
Candidates will be invited to enter the examination hall about 10 minutes before the examination is due to start. Candidates should ensure that the name and examination number on the front of their answer folder are correct. Coats and bags must be left at the back of the examination hall. Valuables should not be left in the examination room between Papers. The Faculty cannot accept responsibility for any items that are lost or stolen.

Late Arrival
Candidates should make every effort to arrive at the examination centre in good time, at least fifteen minutes before the examination is due to begin. Those candidates who arrive late, but within thirty minutes of the start of the examination, will be admitted to the examination but will not be allowed any extra time. Candidates will be expected to explain their late arrival to the invigilator who will record this in their report. No candidate will be admitted to the examination after the first thirty minutes have passed.

Misconduct
The invigilator may stop the examination of any candidate suspected of misconduct during the examination, and if necessary confiscate any unauthorised materials and expel the candidate from the examination room. Alternatively, the invigilator may annotate the scripts of a candidate to provide additional information to the Examiners.

Examples of serious offences include:

  • possession in the examination room of any unauthorised materials

  • helping or receiving help from another candidate

  • consulting any materials outside the examination room during periods of absence while the examination is in process

  • continuing to write after the invigilator has asked all candidates to stop writing at the end of each Paper

Leaving the Exam Hall
No candidate may leave the examination hall during the first thirty minutes. Candidates will be allowed by the invigilator to leave the examination hall (one at a time) for a short period after the first thirty minutes to go to the toilet. After the finish of the examination, answer folders and calculators must not be removed from the examination hall.

Illness During the Examination
If a candidate feels unwell during an examination the invigilator must be told immediately. If the candidate cannot continue they may leave the room. If the candidate wishes the Board of Examiners to be informed of their illness they must complete and return the Extenuating Circumstances Form [PDF] within three days of the examination. Candidates are advised that marks and pass/fail decisions are unlikely to be changed as a result of notification of illness at or about the time of the exam. It may be possible, however, at the discretion of the Education Committee, for an additional attempt at the examination to be allowed.

Finishing the Exam
Candidates finishing the examination before the scheduled time will be allowed to leave the room, except during the last fifteen minutes. Answer folders must be given to the invigilator before leaving. Candidates will not be readmitted. When the examination has ended, the invigilator will tell candidates to stop writing. Five minutes will then be given to ensure that all the pages in the folder have the examination number, question and page numbers correctly stated. Answers should be placed in the folder provided, the front of which must be signed. Only work which is inside the folder will be marked by the Examiners. Any work removed from the room may not be submitted and will not be marked by the Examiners.

Examination Preparation | The Examination | After the Examination | Appeals