GCE & GCSE
Instructions for Conducting Science Practical
Examinations
Guidance for Examinations Officers
GCE
1400U50-1 Biology Unit 5 (Wales)
1410U50-1 Chemistry Unit 5 (Wales)
1420U50-1 Physics Unit 5 (Wales)
GCSE
3400U30-1 Biology Unit 3 (Wales)
3410U30-1 Chemistry Unit 3 (Wales)
3420U30-1 Physics Unit 3 (Wales)
3430U70-1 Science: Double Award Unit 7 (Wales)
3440U40-1 Applied Science: Single Award Unit 4 (Wales)
3445U50-1 Applied Science: Double Award Unit 5 (Wales)
3440U30-1 Applied Science: Single Award Unit 3 Foundation - Task Based (Wales)
3440UC0-1 Applied Science: Single Award Unit 3 Higher - Task Based (Wales)
3445U40-1 Applied Science: Double Award Unit 4 Foundation - Task Based (Wales)
3445UD0-1 Applied Science: Double Award Unit 4 Higher - Task Based (Wales)
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General advice across GCE/GCSE Science Practical examinations
These instructions are intended to be used in conjunction with the JCQ Instructions for
Conducting Examinations (I.C.E.) and the subject specific instructions supplied.
Receipt & Storage of Question Papers
Due to the timing of these examinations it will often be necessary for materials to be issued
before the receipt of entries. It is therefore important that preliminary entries are submitted by
10th October.
Upon receipt all materials, instructions and question papers should be stored in line with ICE
regulations. Access should only be granted in line with any subject specific instructions (as
referenced later in this document). When not in use all documents should be returned to the
secure storage facility. They must not be stored in classrooms, prep. rooms or anywhere other
than the centre’s secure storage facility. An appropriate log for checking-out / checking-in
these documents must be in place.
Accommodating candidates for the examination
Practical examinations must be held under conditions that will give all candidates the chance
to carry out their tasks and to display their true levels of attainment in the subject concerned.
Special care should be taken however, to ensure that display material (such as wall charts)
which might be helpful to candidates must not be visible in the examination room.
All the usual requirements contained within I.C.E. regarding warning posters, the provision of
clocks etc. should be followed.
Where it is intended to conduct an examination for any candidates at an address other than
the centre’s registered address, e.g. as part of a consortium at another registered examination
centre please email [email protected] detailing who the host centre is and the number of
candidates involved, in order to arrange for the correct issuing of question papers.
Incidents during the examination
Any issues involving the late arrival of candidates, emergencies during the examination, or
any incident of malpractice should be dealt with as instructed in ’ICE’.
Access Arrangements
Candidates with approved access arrangements for their written examinations may be allowed
the same arrangements during these practical examinations.
Modified Papers
Modified papers should be requested in the normal way via the JCQ website.
Monitor Visits
Monitoring visits will take place on a random sample of centres to ensure the practical
assessment unit is being administered correctly. We will contact each centre selected for such
a visit to clarify arrangements. For GCE examinations Lab books must be made available.
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GCE 1400U50-1 Biology Unit 5 (Wales)
1410U50-1 Chemistry Unit 5 (Wales)
1420U50-1 Physics Unit 5 (Wales)
These units comprise two tasks: Experimental Task & Practical Analysis Task
Experimental Task
Instructions to teachers/exams officers will be issued to centres in January, and may be
opened on receipt. The contents should not be divulged to anybody except those concerned
with the preparation of the assessment. This document should be stored securely by the
exams officer when not in use by the teacher.
Teachers may open the Setting up Instructions document one week before Test 1 to ensure
that the apparatus functions well enough for the candidates to complete the assessment fully.
In order to do this, teachers are encouraged to attempt the task, whilst preserving the
confidentiality of the assessment. This document should be stored securely by the exams
officer when not in use by the teacher. The full version of the examination paper will not be
available until the day of the examination
The vast majority of candidates will take Test 1. Test 2 should only be used in centres where it
is not possible to accommodate all candidates on day 1. Centres requiring Test 2 (for use on
day 2) must already have informed WJEC that this is the case. No candidate may undertake
both tests.
Centres must schedule the test as early as is possible on the appropriate date and where
more than one session is required on a single day, centres must ensure that candidates in
later sessions have no opportunity to communicate with those who have already taken the
test.
The examination must be invigilated by a person other than the subject teacher. The subject
teacher must be present in the examination room during the experimental task to deal with
any technical difficulties that may arise, including matters of safety and (where necessary) the
awarding of any teacher assessed marks.
Teachers need to ensure that the teacher assessed marks are recorded on the front of each
candidate’s paper. Guidance on the awarding of these marks will be provided in the “Setting
up Instructions” document. It is recommended that teachers complete the teacher assessed
marks after candidates have completed the practical.
Examiners will require teachers’ results for the test. These must be recorded clearly on the
“Information from Centres” form (which will be in the “Setting up Instructions” document). This
information must be sent to the examiner along with the examination papers.
Centres should ensure that each candidate has adequate working space and that the
candidates are set a reasonable distance apart. Each candidate requires uninterrupted access
to the allocated apparatus – one set of apparatus per candidate (except where indicated).
As soon as the assessments have taken place, the completed examination papers must be
securely stored by the exams officer before they are sent to the examiner. Teachers should
not be given access to the completed examination papers after the actual assessments have
taken place. Candidates do not require and must not have access to this test when completing
their practical analysis task.
Practical Analysis Task
The task should be completed under the same conditions as external examination papers. It
must be invigilated by a person other than the A Level subject teacher. Candidates must not
be given access to their experimental task when completing their practical analysis task.
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After the test
The candidates’ work must be stored securely by the exams officer until despatch to the
examiner. Both the experimental task and practical analysis task should be sent together to
the same examiner. Address labels and attendance registers will be supplied to centres in late
April.
Special Consideration
Applications for special consideration should be made online via the secure website.
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GCSE 3440U30-1 Applied Science: Single Award Unit 3 Foundation (Wales)
3440UC0-1 Applied Science: Single Award Unit 3 Higher (Wales)
3445U40-1 Applied Science: Double Award Unit 4 Foundation (Wales)
3445UD0-1 Applied Science: Double Award Unit 4 Higher (Wales)
Task Based Assessment
This task-based assessment will be externally assessed by WJEC. It is a tiered assessment
and will take place in the second half of the autumn term (November – December). It is
recommended that this should be in the final year of study.
Instructions to teachers/exams officers will be issued to centres in September and may be
opened on receipt. The contents should not be divulged to anybody except those concerned
with the preparation of the assessment. This document should be stored securely by the
exams officer when not in use by the teacher.
The question papers for all tasks will be made available to centres at the start of November.
The appropriate number of question papers for each group will be provided to the teacher by
the Exams Officer on the scheduled date of the assessment.
Candidates are required to submit one complete pack. Candidates cannot mix activities from
Pack A and Pack B. Foundation and higher tier packs are available, but candidates cannot
mix activities from foundation tier and higher tier packs. Candidates can achieve a maximum
of grade C on the foundation tier pack. Candidates must not sit both foundation and higher tier
packs.
The tasks should be supervised at all times by a member of staff responsible for teaching
GCSE Applied Science. Centres may use additional laboratories, provided that a subject
teacher is available to supervise all candidates at all times. Technical support should be
available in case it is needed.
Centres will need to record candidate attendance for each session. The centres’ MIS / SIMS
should be used to produce an attendance register. This register must include the centre
number, subject name and paper code details, the date of assessment, and list all candidate
numbers, names and indicate whether candidates were present or absent from the
assessment.
There is no requirement for centre staff to trial procedures before candidates conduct the task
based assessment as candidates are awarded marks for planning their experiment.
Centre staff should remind candidates that they are not permitted to discuss any aspect of the
assessment with anyone by any means of communication. Such actions will lead to a
candidate malpractice investigation.
Monitoring visits will take place on a random sample of centres to ensure the task-based
assessment unit is being administered correctly. WJEC will contact each centre selected for
such a visit to clarify arrangements.
The unit will be completed in four sessions (Single Award) or five sessions (Double Award)
each of 60 minutes duration.
Activity 1 will be completed in sessions 1-3 and involves planning an investigation, obtaining
results, analysis and evaluation activity 2 will be completed in session 4 and involves the
analysis and evaluation of given data. For Double Award Activity 3 should be completed in
session 5 and involves a risk assessment. At the end of each session the question papers
should be collected in and returned to the exams officer for secure storage. Teachers should
not be given access to the completed question papers after the assessments have
taken place.
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Activity 1
Candidates should work individually to produce their plan. It is permissible for candidates to
work in small groups of no more than three candidates to perform the practical
procedure provided their plans are sufficiently similar. Teachers should ensure that each
group has adequate working space and that the groups are set a reasonable distance apart.
Each group requires uninterrupted access to the allocated apparatus. This should be carried
out under a limited level of control, i.e. candidates may work with others to obtain results, but
they must provide their own responses to questions set. Teacher assistance should not
normally be required but may be given if an equipment failure occurs. Candidates should
complete the analysis and evaluation sections of Activity 1 under a high level of control, i.e.
candidates must work individually. This section is to be completed under formal
supervision with no teacher feedback or assistance.
If candidates fail to produce a suitable plan for Activity 1, it is acceptable for them to be given
a suitable plan by the teacher. Please include the teacher plans and details of the candidates
who have been given these plans on the ‘Information required from centres’ form which is
found in the Instructions to Teachers booklet
If candidates fail to obtain results for Activity 1, it is acceptable for them to be given
unformatted teacher results. Please include the unformatted results and details of the
candidates who have been given unformatted data on the ‘Information required from centres’
form.
Candidates must not have access to Activity 1 after they have started Activity 2.
Activity 2 (and Activity 3 for Double Award only)
This must be carried out under a high level of control, i.e. candidates must work individually,
be set a suitable distance apart and be under supervision. No teacher feedback or
assistance is allowed. This could be carried out in the laboratory or in an examination hall. It
is permissible for Activity 2 to be supervised by a member of staff responsible for GCSE
Applied Science, although centres may choose to use external invigilators. At the end of the
session the question papers should be collected in and returned to the exams officer for
secure storage.
After the test
Teachers should not be given access to the completed Question Papers after the
assessments have taken place
Despatch of assessments checklist
Centres must check:
• that there is an assessment for every candidate marked as present on the attendance
register ,
• that the candidate names and numbers on the assessments match the details on the
attendance register
• that the “Information Required from Centres” sheets for all the completed tasks are
included with the assessments.
• that tasks for each Applied Science qualification are packaged separately.
• that the register is enclosed and a copy made and retained within the centre
All completed assessments should be despatched to WJEC/CBAC, Unit A16/A17, Gwaelod Y
Garth Road, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, CF37 5XF by the
date stated in the instructions to teachers document and in the timetable.
Special Consideration
Applications for special considerations should be made by submitting a JCQ form 10.
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GCSE 3400U30-1 Biology Unit 3 (Wales)
3410U30-1 Chemistry Unit 3 (Wales)
3420U30-1 Physics Unit 3 (Wales)
3430U70-1 Science: Double Award Unit 7 (Wales)
3440U40-1 Applied Science: Single Award Unit 4 (Wales)
3445U50-1 Applied Science: Double Award Unit 5 (Wales)
Practical Assessment
The practical assessment will be externally assessed by WJEC and will take place in the
window specified in the examination timetable booklet during the first half of the spring term
(January – February). It is recommended that this should be in the final year of study.
Candidate will have to submit the number of tasks indicated in the table below.
Marks for the Practical Assessment may be carried forward during the life of the specification.
Each task will be completed in two sessions each of 60 minutes duration - a Section A and a
Section B. Section A and Section B will be two separate question papers.
Qualification Unit Number Section A paper Section B paper
Biology Unit 3 (3400U30) 3400U30-1A 3400U30-1B
(One task) 3400U30-1C 3400U30-1D
Chemistry Unit 3 (3410U30) 3410U30-1A 3410U30-1B
(One task) 3410U30-1C 3410U30-1D
Physics Unit 3 (3420U30) 3420U30-1A 3420U30-1B
(One task) 3420U30-1C 3420U30-1D
Science (Double Award) Unit 7 (3430U70) 3430U70-1A 3430U70-1B
(Two tasks) 3430U70-1C 3430U70-1D
3430U70-1E 3430U70-1F
Applied Science (Double Unit 5 (3445U50) 3445U50-1A 3445U50-1B
Award) (Two tasks) 3445U50-1C 3445U50-1D
3445U50-1E 3445U50-1F
Applied Science (Single Unit 4 (3440U40) 3440U40-1A 3440U40-1B
Award) (One task) 3440U40-1C 3440U40-1D
Instructions to teachers/exams officers will be issued to centres in September and may be
opened on receipt. The contents should not be divulged to anybody except those concerned
with the preparation of the assessment. This document should be stored securely by the
exams officer when not in use by the teacher.
Setting up instructions will be issued later in the Autumn term and must be stored securely by
the Examinations Officer until the date on which it may be opened. Again, this document
should be stored securely by the exams officer when not in use by the teacher
The question papers for all tasks will be made available to the centre in January.
The appropriate number of question papers for each group will be provided to the teacher by
the Exams Officer on the scheduled date of the assessment.
Section A - Obtaining results
Learners will be permitted to work in small groups, of no more than three candidates.
Teachers should ensure that each group has adequate working space and that the groups are
set a reasonable distance apart. Each group requires uninterrupted access to the allocated
apparatus – one set of apparatus per group. Section A should be carried out under a limited
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level of control and should be supervised at all times by a member of staff responsible for
teaching GCSE Science. Centres may use additional laboratories, provided that a subject
teacher is available to supervise all groups at all times. Technical support should be available
in case it is needed.
If candidates fail to obtain results for Section A, it is acceptable for them to be given
unformatted teacher results. WJEC will not provide these results, they should be generated by
the centre when they trial the task. Please include the unformatted results and details of the
candidates who have been given unformatted data on the ‘Information required from centres’
form which is inside the “Setting up Instructions” document.
Section B - Analysing and evaluating results
This must be carried out under a high level of control, i.e. candidates work individually, set a
suitable distance apart and under supervision. This could be carried out in the laboratory or in
an examination hall. It is permissible for Section B to be supervised by a member of staff
responsible for GCSE Science, although centres may choose to use external invigilators.
Candidates must have access to their Section A question paper, as they need the
results obtained in the first session to answer the questions in Section B.
Centre staff should remind candidates that they are not permitted to discuss any aspect of the
assessment with anyone by any means of communication. Such actions will lead to a
candidate malpractice investigation.
After the test
Teachers should not be given access to the completed Question Papers after the
assessments have taken place.
Despatch of assessments checklist
Centres must check:
• that there is an assessment for every candidate marked as present on the attendance
register ,
• that the candidate names and numbers on the assessments match the details on the
attendance register
• that the “Information Required from Centres” sheets for all the completed tasks are
included with the assessments.
• that tasks for each Applied Science qualification are packaged separately.
• that the register is enclosed and a copy made and retained within the centre
All completed assessments should be despatched to WJEC/CBAC, Unit A16/A17, Gwaelod Y
Garth Road, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, CF37 5XF by the
date stated in the instructions to teachers document and in the timetable.
Special Consideration
Applications for special considerations should be made by submitting a JCQ form 10.
