Entry closing
3. Special requirements
■Cambridge English Language Assessment will always try to make arrangements for candidates with special requirements (e.g. extra time or adapted papers).
■You must tell your centre as soon as possible if you have any special requirements because they need to send the application to Cambridge English Language Assessment 8–12 weeks before the exam (depending on what is required and which exam you are taking). Some exams may need up to 6 months’ notice. 4. Taking the exam
■The centre will give you information about where and when your exam will be held. You must make sure that you arrive at the right time and that you bring the pencils, pens, etc. that you need for the exam.
■Candidates must bring a photo ID on the day of the test. The ID must be an original national ID, valid, current and not expired (i.e. passport or national ID card). You must tell your centre when registering if you are taking your exam for UK visa or immigration purposes as there are extra regulations the centre must follow. If you do not have a national ID because you are too young, you must notify your centre of this when you register for an exam. The centre will then provide you with a Candidate Identification form that you must fill in before the exam day and bring with you to the exam. If you do not bring your ID or the Candidate Identification form to the exam, you will not be allowed to take the exam and you will not receive a result.
■If you are aged 18 or over and from a country where there are no compulsory national IDs, and you do not have a passport or national ID, please ask your centre what to do.
■The centre will give you a copy of the Notice to Candidates which tells you how you must behave in the exam. You must read it carefully. If you do not follow the instructions, you will be stopped from taking the exam, or you may not receive a result.
■The use of offensive, rude or racist language in your examination answers will not be accepted. Your examination will not be marked or a result given if the examiner finds language of this nature. Cambridge English Language Assessment’s decision on this is final.
■You will be asked to fill out a Candidate Information Sheet. Cambridge English Language Assessment uses this information as part of its research and development programme to improve the quality of the exams. The information you give is treated anonymously and is strictly confidential.
■You may be asked to complete a short ‘anchor test’. Cambridge English Language Assessment uses this information as part of its quality control programme. The ‘anchor test’ will not affect your exam result.
■We may also record your Speaking test as part of Cambridge English Language Assessment’s quality control procedures.
■If you are taking the following exams: Cambridge English: Preliminary, Cambridge English: First, Cambridge English: Advanced, Cambridge English: Proficiency, Cambridge English: Business Certificates, Cambridge English: Legal, Cambridge English: Financial, a photo will be taken of you on the test day as an extra way of checking your identity. This list is subject to change. For KET and Skills for Life, you must tell your centre whether you wish to use you result for visa purposes, so the centre can offer you a test day photo service. This photo will only be visible on the Results Verification website www.cambridgeenglish.org/verifiers and you choose who can view it by sharing your candidate ID number and secret number. For more information, contact your centre.
■If you do not feel well on the day of the exam or think that your work may be affected for any other reason, tell the supervisor immediately. If appropriate, the centre will report this to Cambridge English Language Assessment for consideration when deciding your result.
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Speaking tests (including Skills for Life Speaking & Listening tests)
Please ask candidates to arrive at the test venue at least 30 minutes before the test.
Cambridge English: Young Learners Entries System
Please note that Confirmation of Entry documents are not required for Cambridge English: Young Learners exams, but you might want to give the Cambridge English: Young Learners leaflet to parents before the exam, available from the support website.
2.10 Amending a candidate’s name
If a candidate’s name is spelled incorrectly, you can amend it on the entries site. You can do this until the final amendment date (this date will be on the site).
Please also note:
• If you submit a change after the entry closing date, the change will not be included in the personalised exam materials.
• If you make the amendment within two weeks of the exam date, it will be included in the statement of results. • If you send a candidate name amendment on an answer sheet or attendance register, it will not be processed.
You must use the entries site for this.
• If you want to make a change after the final amendment date, please email your request to the Helpdesk, who will pass your request to the Exams Processing team.
You can register candidates and amend their names much closer to the exam day, as you will be printing your own personalised answer sheets. However, make sure you have given yourself enough time to generate Confirmations of Entry and test day photo files.
Any amendments to candidate names must be made on the entries site within one week of the exam day. This is because we release the results within two weeks of the exam day. If you miss this deadline, the statement of results won’t reflect the change.
2.10.1 Changes to syllabus and exam session
Changes between different exams, e.g. from Cambridge English: First D251 to Cambridge English: Advanced D261, are not allowed, nor are candidates allowed to transfer from one exam session to another, for example from June F0 to June F2. The exception to this rule is Skills for Life; see below.
If a candidate wishes to sit a different exam session, you can withdraw the original entry and add the new entry for the correct exam session. You will be charged the relevant fees for this change. Information on fees can be found in the Exam Fees booklet which is sent to all centres every year.
Skills for Life candidates can change their level or date of sitting. These changes must be made on the Entries System. If these changes are not made on the Entries System, there might be delays in the issue of results.
2.11 Transferring entries between centres
If a candidate wants to transfer to another centre, the original centre will need to withdraw their entry before the entry closing date, and the candidate will then register directly with the second centre.
If the withdrawal is made after the entry closing date has passed, we are unable to issue a refund unless it is on medical or compassionate grounds.
If the registration at the new centre is made after the entry closing date, the candidate will be treated as a new entry and will therefore be charged the appropriate late entry fee. However, as there are plenty of alternative exam sessions available, it might be more beneficial for the candidate to register for the next available exam session, therefore avoiding any additional late entry fees.
2.12 Withdrawing entries
Withdrawals for medical reasons
If a candidate withdraws their entry on medical grounds or misses the exam because of illness, we will make a full refund of the entry fee provided a statement from a medical practitioner from the candidate is supplied to the
Please note that we no longer require copies of medical evidence to be supplied with the refund request, but the medical statements record will be checked during an inspection.
To submit a request, use the Withdrawal Refund Request form on the support website.
This covers Cambridge English: Key, Preliminary, Preliminary for Schools, First, First for Schools, Advanced, Proficiency,
Business Certificates, Legal, Financial, Delta, TKT and Skills for Life exams for both paper- based and computer- based
exams.
If the request is approved:
• the entry will be withdrawn from the Cambridge English database
• candidates will not receive a statement of results and on no account must the withdrawn candidate numbers be reused.
All requests for refunds must be submitted within four weeks of the exam date. Under no circumstances will we process refund requests received more than four weeks after the exam date.
Withdrawals for compassionate or other reasons
If you think there are exceptional reasons other than medical to request a withdrawal and a refund, complete the Withdrawal Request form with your supporting information, available from the support website. The case will be referred to the Refunds Request Panel for a decision. If you want to appeal against the panel’s decision, write to the Cambridge English Language Assessment Network Services Director via the Helpdesk, whose decision is final.
All requests for refunds must be submitted within four weeks of the exam date.
Once approved, the entry will be withdrawn from our database and the candidate will not receive a statement of results. You must not re- use withdrawn candidate numbers.
2.13 Cambridge English Candidate Identifier (CECI) for TKT and Skills for Life
The Cambridge English Candidate Identifier (CECI) is a unique number generated by Cambridge English Language Assessment when a candidate is entered for a Skills for Life unit or TKT module for the first time.
Once the candidate is confirmed the CECI number appears on the Online Entries website, as well as on candidate listings, statements of entry, statements of results and certificates.
It is essential that you record and keep the CECI number and inform the candidate, as all subsequent entries for further units will need to state the CECI number on submission of the entry.
The CECI number is available in electronic format and will appear if you search for an existing candidate. Failure to supply the correct number will result in delays to the processing of entries and could mean the materials are not supplied in time for the exam. In order to help the Exams Processing Unit manage the linking of candidate entries, you must always supply the candidate name, gender and date of birth with the CECI number.
In addition, for Skills for Life you must make sure that: • candidates have been entered for the correct date
• candidates have been entered for the correct level, especially Entry 1 and Entry 2 versus Level 1 and Level 2 • the Cambridge English Candidate Identifier number is entered if the candidate has previously taken a Skills for
•
you enter a ULN (Unique Learner Number) onto Online Entries if the candidate is to receive funding (see below)• you have submitted your ST form in advance of the 5- week deadline to receive confirmation of assessors and date(s) allocated for your Speaking & Listening tests
• you wait for confirmation of your assessors and dates before submitting entries on the Entries System.
Unique Learner Number (ULN)
The ULN is a 10- digit number given to candidates by the Learning Records Service (LRS), which populates their Personal Learning Record (PLR), creating an online, individual lifelong record of educational achievements. Candidates should provide their ULN at the point that they are registering with you to take the exam. Once you are ready to make your entries, you can submit the ULN information on the Online Entries website. If a candidate does not have a ULN, the ULN field on the entries website should be left blank. You must not add placeholder text, such as ’9999999999’ or ‘TBC’.
If the candidate entry information or ULNs provided at the time of entry do not match the data held by the LRS, the Cambridge English Entries team will contact you and ask you to supply updated candidate details (ULN, name, gender and date of birth) that match the details held in the LRS. You can update the candidates’ details using the Online Entries website. Incorrect ULN details will not prevent your entries from being processed, however we will not be able to send a candidate’s results data to the LRS until all details are correct and validated against the LRS record.
If you amend details using the LRS and make no changes to the candidate details held by Cambridge English Language Assessment we will not automatically check if the ULN has become valid. If you would like us to validate the ULN, please email the Entries Unit and we will check that our details now match those held by the LRS.
2.14 Candidates with special requirements
We make provision for candidates who find it difficult to demonstrate their ability in English because of special requirements. This includes candidates with a permanent or long- term disability, such as hearing/sight impairment, dyslexia, speech impediment or cerebral palsy or a short- term difficulty such as a broken arm or an ear infection.
Special arrangements must be made for these candidates so that, as far as possible, they can take the exam on an equal footing with other candidates. Contact the Helpdesk if you want advice on the most appropriate arrangements for a candidate. It is important to ensure that candidates with genuine needs receive the assistance they require, as to do otherwise would be discriminatory.
Special arrangements fall into two main categories, although sometimes candidates require a combination of both: 1. The need for modified material, e.g. question papers in Braille or large print, and specially adapted versions
of listening and Speaking tests. In these cases it is important that we are given sufficient notice to ensure that such material, where available, can be supplied in time. (See the Special Requirements Booklet, available from the support website.)
2. The need for administrative support arrangements only, e.g. extra time, use of a computer or other permitted