The UK exam boards recently released their key dates for the 2019/20 academic year, and highlighted the inclusion of a new feature: an exam board contingency day on 26th June 2019.

What is the contingency day?

It has been strongly recommended that schools should set aside the 26th June 2019, adding the date to students’ exam timetables in case a significant, unexpected event arises during the exam period that prevents a large number of students from taking an exam on its set date. Whilst there hopefully won’t be such a national or local disruption, students should make sure they have up to and including the 26th June blocked out and are available just in case an exam needs to be rescheduled.

You can find out more about the exam board contingency day on the Ofqual blog, here.

How can iSAMS support my school with the contingency day?

Having a flexible school management information system (MIS) has many perks – one of which is its ability to adapt to evolving circumstances such as this.

To ensure all candidates and staff members are notified of the contingency day so they can block it out in their calendars, iSAMS has the functionality to populate both each student’s individual timetable and the other timetables included throughout iSAMS’ modules.

Plus, as the iSAMS MIS is 100% web-based, timetables can be accessed by all relevant staff members and students regardless of where they are in the world. Furthermore, with our intuitive apps parents, students and teachers are able to view these timetables and receive important updates on-the-go directly via their handheld devices.

What about other exams support?

From exam entry right through to results day, we designed our External Exams Manager to give you complete control over all aspects of managing and administering external exams. Using a wide range of customisable options, this easy-to-use and effective module enables you to give individual candidates all the specific exam details they need. Plus, it’s fully integrated with our Parent Portal, so parents can view key exam information for each of their children.

The comprehensive system means you can submit forecast grades and coursework marks, designate the location of each exam and produce seating plans using a simple step-by-step wizard – all of which can be seen wherever and whenever it’s needed by each relevant member of the school community.