STUDENTS at a Poole school forced to sit two taxing papers back-to-back are calling for special consideration from an exam board.
AS Level pupils at Poole Grammar School were given just minutes to recover between the two 90-minute exams last month.
Students said an hour’s break had been timetabled between the ancient history and politics tests.
But they claim an impatient invigilator rushed them straight through, then even began loudly packing up her belongings before the end of the second exam.
A student, who asked not to be named, said: “We were pressured into it. The second exam was due to start at 4pm but actually started just after 3pm.
“It certainly seemed like the invigilator was in a hurry.”
As well as dealing with the exhaustion of back-to-back exams, students were forced to endure the disruptive din of the school’s home time once the second paper was moved forward.
“The noise of the school emptying is appalling,” added the student.
The students involved are now asking exam board Edexcel to give special consideration to their papers for the disruption they suffered.
Ian Carter, head of Poole Grammar, said the gap between exams was at the school’s discretion.
But he added that special consideration had been requested for all the pupils involved in the exams because of the noise encountered.
Mr Carter said he was investigating if there had been a problem with the invigilator, who, though not a teacher, is employed directly by the school.
He added that most students would typically sit just one exam per morning or afternoon, but one of the exams being queried was a retake.
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