Policies & School Information — Tolworth Girls' School & Sixth Form

Tolworth Girls' School acknowledges that to function properly we need to collect and use certain types of information about staff, students and other individuals who come into contact with the school. We are also obliged to collect and use data to fulfil our obligations to the local authority, Department for Education and other bodies. The school aims to ensure that all personal data collected about staff, students, parents, governors, visitors and other individuals is collected, stored and processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the expected provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) as set out in the Data Protection Bill. The Data Protection Officer (DPO) is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the school's data protection policy, monitoring the school's compliance with data protection law, and developing related policies and guidelines where applicable.

The school's DPO is Mr Perry, Senior Assistant Headteacher who can be contacted on dpo@tolworthgirlsschool.co.uk.

In this section of the website, you will find the policies and privacy notices that relate to data protection at the school. Please click on the document you would like to view below:

Data Protection Policy

Privacy Notice for Parents/Carers

Privacy Notice for Students

Privacy Notice for School Workforce

Privacy Notice for Governors and Volunteers

Privacy Notice for Job Applicants

Marking & Feedback

The key purpose of marking and feedback is to promote learning and reduce the 'gap' between what students know or can do and what they need to know or do to make further progress. From January 2015 teachers will be marking work a little bit differently to how they may have marked it in the past.

All students have been given a copy of the documents:

Feedback and Marking

This has been written to help students understand the feedback they can expect from teachers, and to help them understand what they need to do in order to benefit from this feedback.

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Homework

Homework / independent study is any work or activity which students are asked to do outside lesson time either on their own or with parents or carers.

Homework should not prevent students from participating in after school activities such as sport, music or clubs. Time must be planned to allow completion of homework and other activities.

The Purpose Of Homework / Independent Study is to:

To encourage students to develop the confidence and self-discipline to work on their own.
To consolidate and reinforce skills and understanding.
To extend school learning, for example through additional reading.
To enable students to devote time to particular demands such as GCSE controlled assessments.
To support the home/school relationship

Homework Policy

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Exam Information

Welcome to the Examinations Department

All communication from the Examinations Department will be via your school email account so please ensure you regularly check your inbox.

Entries

Students who are regularly attending lessons will be entered for your first attempt at an exam or assessment by their class teacher. If you wish to enter an exam that is not part of your curriculum (such as home language exams) or you wish to re-sit an exam (GCSE Maths/GCSE English/BTEC units etc.), you must contact the Exams Office and make payment by the deadlines:

University Pre-Interview Admission Tests - September 20th

Autumn 2022 series - September 25th

January 2023 series - October 10th

Summer 2023 series - January 20th

Entries can be made after these dates (excluding university exams), however late fees consisting of double and triple fees will be charged.

Please email exams@tolworthgirlsschool.co.uk with the details as soon as possible so charges can be arranged through ParentPay.

Only students in years 10 and above will be considered for qualifications not part of their curriculum.

Timetables

Personalised public exam timetables will be emailed to you once entries have been made for the relevant series. Please check all your subjects, tiers (where relevant) and personal details. The correct spelling of your legal name must be used for public exams and on any coursework/NEAs submitted as part of an official qualification.

Any required changes to your personal details must be accompanied with original legal documents. You must inform the school urgently if any changes need to be made.

Nationwide Contingency Plans – Afternoon of 8th June, Afternoon of 15th June and Whole Day of 28th June 2023

In addition to the dates on your personal timetable, be advised there is a contingency exam afternoon scheduled for June 8th and 15th, and a whole day for June 28th. This will only come into effect on the orders of JCQ should sustained national or local disruption arise during the Summer 2023 examinations series.

This means all exam candidates must be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until June 28th 2023.

Clashes

Many students will have clashes - this is normal. Some exams are designed to be sat back to back, such as GCSE languages. Others will require whole day supervision. Check the clashes in your exams’ email and contact the exams office if you require further clarification.

Please click here to open - Clash Situations - Summer 2023.pdf

Mocks/Internal Exams

Any questions relating to internal and mock exams should be directed to your Head of Year.

On The Day

If you are sitting exams, tests or assessments, it is your responsibility to bring all necessary equipment in good working order, follow and abide by the regulations and ensure your school ID is worn at all times. We will not loan out any pens/pencils/calculators etc.

The start time as listed on your timetable is when the exam gets underway; you must arrive at least 15 minutes beforehand otherwise you might not be allowed to sit the exam.

Under no circumstances are you permitted to bring in a mobile phone, internet/Bluetooth enabled device or watch (analogue/digital/smart) into an exam venue. Please place these items in your locker before attending any assessment.

If you do not have access to a locker, you must hand any unauthorised items to Student Reception before making your way to the exam venue. There is no excuse for having any unauthorised items and any incident of malpractice will be reported to the awarding body.

All JCQ regulations can be found at the bottom of this page.

Results

Whether results are sent to your school email account or you collect in person, staff are available to assist with any queries you may have.

Autumn 2022 (sent to your school email account)

GCSE re-sits (6th form) - January 12th

- January 2023 (sent to your school email account)

Cambridge Nationals & Technicals - March 16th

BTEC Firsts & Nationals (6th form) - March 24th

BTEC Technical (Yr 11) - April 7th

Summer 2023 (collect in person)

You might need to discuss results with staff and request scripts/reviews to secure sixth-form/college/university places.

Staff will only be accessible on the results days in August and therefore any late queries will not be processed until the new term in September.

A-level/L3 vocational - August 17th

GCSE/L2 vocational - August 24th

Post-Results Services

Once results are released, you can request scripts or reviews of marking. There are charges for many of these services and awarding bodies impose very strict deadlines.

If you wish to access any post-results services, please email exams@tolworthgirlsschool.co.uk from your school account with the details within 7 days of the official release of results. Only you can request these services – not your parents/guardians. Payment for post-results services must be made via ParentPay.

Certificates

Results you collect in person or have been sent to you via the school’s MIS are provisional results slips. The official qualification and grade is supplied in the form of a certificate. You will need to produce these certificates for college/university and at job interviews.

These are usually available to collect from the school 4 months after the official release of results.

Please email exams@tolworthgirlsschool.co.uk to arrange a date and time to collect.

Do not turn up without having first booked an appointment. You will need to bring photo identification with you.

Please ensure you make arrangements to collect your certificates within 12 months of availability as the school is permitted to destroy any that are unclaimed. To receive replacements, you would need to contact the awarding body directly and pay their charges which are approx. £50 per certificate. Always check with the school first before contacting the awarding bodies.

Information, Rules and Regulations - advice to students

You must read all the Rules and Regulation documents that apply to the type of examinations you are taking. These documents have been written to help you. Read them carefully and follow the instructions. If there is anything you do not understand, ask your teacher.

Any malpractice could lead to disqualification.