I may be in a minority, but the facility to leave a theory exam after 40 minutes really annoys me. I think it must be so disruptive for the higher grades to have to sit through loads of candidates walking out every few minutes.

Also I once had a grade 1 pupil, who despite my previously telling her, thought she had to get up and leave after 40 minutes because others did (she was only 8). She still got a distinction, so she must have finished, but I've got quite a crop of young ones entering this summer and I can see it happening again. I also have some impatient pupils who, no matter how much I insist they stay in and check the paper, will leave at the first possible opportunity and lose marks through silly mistakes. I can't persuade their parents not to be there after 40 minutes because they don't want to risk the child walking out and no-one being there.

OK, so the time allowance might be generous for some candidates. But so what? At worst you have to sit and twiddle your thumbs for half an hour.

I probably sound a bit grumpy but this issue has annoyed me for years and I wondered if I am the only one.

Wouldn't restless people sitting around for an an hour or so be potentially disruptive too?
You also get the distraction of people leaving at the end of an hour and a half and 2 hours along with the half hour to go warning and instructions for each set of grades to finish by the invigilators.
The bast you can do is to drill your candidates into sitting and concentrating until they have finished and checked their papers. My theory teacher used to tell the children she taught that if they left before the end they'd better get a distinction...
If they really can't stay on task until they've done then maybe they are not yet mature enough to be taking the exam?

I've always been a big believer in staying till the end, and making use of every minute, no matter how often I go over the paper. In both my G5 and my G4 exam, I noticed a stupid mistake in the closing minute or two and just had time to put it right on both occasions, even though I'd checked the paper several times, particularly in the G4 exam.

However, in my G5 exam this time, I was sharing a table with a young boy who did nothing but fidget and play with the items in his pencil case all the time he was in the room. It was totally distracting, and I couldn't wait for him to leave, which he did after about 45 minutes. I suspect he'd been told that he wasn't to leave until somebody else did because he kept looking round and then as soon as someone else made a move, so did he. If he had remained in the room for the whole period, I would probably have failed my exam as there was no way I could concentrate on anything important whilst he was there. Because of this, I am wholly in agreement with allowing candidates to leave early, and I've never found it particularly disruptive when they do, certainly not as disruptive as having a table-mate who would rather be anywhere else but in that room

Having taken grades 6 to 8 in the last few years, I was always very pleased when most of the other candidates left the room - the fidgeting, sniffing, humming (yes, really!) etc was incredibly distracting. However, on the latest occasion, the invigilators started chatting the minute there was just me left! I found it incredibly difficult to maintain concentration for the whole exam time, and felt that I would not have gained any more marks by staying longer.

BE QUIET right now everyone!!

I don't want to read this post about noisy people in theory exams

BECAUSE ......

my grade 7 one is on Saturday and now I can't get that image of the shuffling, pencil case twiddling, humming irritating student out of my head - and what's more I know they are going to sit right NEXT to me

When I did my theory exam this year, there were four different rooms and we were seemingly mixed at random, i.e. all of the rooms contained G1-5 (no higher exams). By using lots of rooms, everyone got a double-desk to themselves. There were people who left early, but the spacing meant that one person moving around didn't really disturb anyone.
BUT, the previous time I took a theory exam (2002?) we were split by room. 1-2 in one room, 3-5 in another, and the couple of higher grades got a room to themselves. I was a 3, and I left pretty early - and from where I was sat I could see a lot of the 1-2 people did too. But it meant that them leaving early didn't particularly disturb anyone else. On the other hand, that time we were sharing desks, so when I snuck out early I tried not to disturb the poor G5 sitting next to me (luckily they had the foresight to put the lower grade person on the aisle!)

The thing is, there is never going to be a way to suit everyone Yes, you need enough space to have a desk per person. I think you do need people to be allowed to leave early, either that or provide them with something to read/be occupied quietly with for the rest of their exam. Also bear in mind that you're going to get disturbed anyway, when the grades with shorter exam time than you get told to finish (unless they are in a different room!)

I just took my Grade 7 in February. We were in a school where the heating had gone off at 4.30, and the exam started at 5.00. It got progressively colder, until I was doing my paper with my coat on. I left after just over an hour, as I had finished, and checked. I think if I had been duty bound to stay the full 3 hours, I would have come out with hypothermia!

I finished my G5 paper in half an hour and then spent 15 minutes checking before I left. If I'd had to sit through the whole thing I would have gone mad with boredom! I think that it is good that people can leave early - it means those who wish to concentrate on checking until the end can without bored people like me staring aimlessly around the room.

A bit off topic i know, but i did my A level mock theory/composition paper with a steel band practising in the room below. Now that really is distracting!

Sharon

But don't people have to stay to the end of GCSE's etc? I was never allowed to leave my O levels early and I don't remember anyone being allowed to disturb anyone.

On a related point, one session I entered pupils for had grades 1 -4 in one room and 5+ in another. I thought this was an ideal solution, and like others have said, the potential for distraction was much less.

I think there are big differences between music theory exams and GCSE exams.

In theory exams, certainly the ones I've taken, there have been quite a number of young children, some of them very young. So whereas a GCSE candidate would be expected to have learnt some self-control by their mid-teens, it's very difficult for a very young child to sit absolutely still for 1.5 hours, particularly one who has never had to sit still before.

Theory exams seem to allow much more time to complete the questions than is strictly necessary. I'm not sure that that is the case with GCSE exams where candidates are less likely to finish a whole hour before the scheduled end of the exam.

And in GCSE exams, aren't the candidates always given separate desks with space between? This isn't the case with theory exams where candidates often have to share tables with other candidates (hence mixing the grades). In my case, I was squashed between two children without even enough space to fully open out the paper, and one of the children (the pencil-case fidgeter ) was only about 7-8 years old.

So I don't think the situations are comparable. Anyway, I can't see the situation changing

In my theory exam (grade 5) it seems I was lucky.
There were two rooms one for grade 4 and below and another for grade 5 and above.
There were single tables for everyone.
I didn't midn so much about people leaving, although it did make me a little nervous.
I think they should make people stay an hour instead of 40 minutes.

The one thing that bothered me slightly was that food and drink was allowed in the room, (i didn't know this until i got there) and there was often a little "tscchhh" when someone opened a fizzy drink or a random crunching.
To be honest I didn't think my exam room was too bad, at least it sounds better than some others.
x

I managed to finish my GCSE maths an hour early! And no, I wasn't allowed to leave even though it was obvious I would finish early (Having done AS maths in that year as well!) Theres always plenty of space between desks, even though we put more than one exam in the same hall. Some exams finish earlier than others and everyone else has to listen to them being told to finish, having their papers collected etc. Once I came in late to an exam after a clash, and the door slammed shut after me As I finished early, had started late and was the only one left by then, I was allowed to leave 1 minute early. Not exactly generous!

Having to stay the extra hour in maths did me no good. Having people leave while I was still sitting an examination hasn't harmed my results or anyone else's to my knowledge... I still think it is perfectly reasonable that people can leave early from theory exams, especially as said many of them are much younger than the average GCSE/A Level candidate!

I didn't know that candidates had to share tables. I can understand more now why if you have a higher and lower grade at the same table then you might want to let the lower one go once they'd had enough (though I think the hour suggestion was good). Wow, I've been entering pupils for close on 15 years and I'm amazed at what I still don't know!

I also didn't know that candidates were allowed food in the room. Two of my pupils have severe allergies. My own daughter is very severely allergic to peanuts and cannot sit anywhere near anyone with them. Another pupil of mine is very allergic to all manner of foodstuffs. Should I mention this when I enter them, then?

The set up in thne exam room varies from centre to centre.
You can always ask the HLR how the room is organised and if it's practical you may be in reach of another centre with a better exam room set up.

I sat my G5 theory in this fantastic room full of huge antique tables. Each one had about 10 of us on it, and we were all sat on these huge throne-like chairs. They weren't that comfy...

Sitting for over an hour after finishing an exam is enough to drive me mad though. I find that if you check your paper too many times, you get paranoid and start writing in mistakes.

Oh yes

My sister in law was driven mad (well not totally) by her son's school who allowed boys to leave their IGCSE exams (0 levels) early .
It became a silly craze / competition as to who would walk out first and it was definitely the 'cool' thing to do.
I recall her crossness at Mr Nephew when she found out he'd joined this latest fad

Oh the wisdom of teen boys is astounding sometimes


Musicman's Mum

I tried to contact the HLR after my last exam, initially by email via the ABRSM web site and then when I didn't get any reply, by direct email - which was bounced back as being invalid. So then I contacted the ABRSM and they agreed that the facilities in my exam room had been unfortunate and said they would contact the HLR themselves to suggest that adults/higher grades might be seated separately. But they also said that they would liaise with the HLR on my behalf about the matter of the alternative centres, rather than have me contact the HLR direct. I didn't pursue this because it seemed like a lot of trouble to go to when the exam is a long way off. Perhaps it's just teachers that can contact the HLR direct, or maybe there's just a hiccup with this particular HLR in view of the fact that her email address didn't seem to be valid.

When I wanted to know about the exam room set up and the location (including parking facilities) for theory exams I phoned the relevant HLRs and found them helpful.

I did my grade 5 theory when I was 10, and was drilled by my parents and my piano teacher not to leave early! Being an obediant child, I sat for the full three hours, the only candidate to do so - and the invigilator was nice enough to suggest to me that I walked to the window and back at about 2'30" in order to clear my head, and once I was the only person in the room.

It did me no harm, sitting and rechecking, even though I remember being pretty bored - but I wasn't the fidgeting sort, anyway!

To be honest, I'm a firm believer in not leaving exams early.

However, having thought about it, the G5 theory was my 76th formal written exam (i.e.not counting mocks or class tests or anything).

I left early!

I just couldn't bear it anymore. I checked and checked and checked and checked and then got bored. By the end, I think I was seeing what I wanted to see, not what I'd actually written. I don't think that staying till the end would have made any difference in my case.

I finished the first first pass within 30 minutes, then spent 2 hours going over it and I just couldn't bear to stay till the end (plus, I had a piano lesson straight after it and I had explained I would be late to the lesson but didn't want to be too late).

So, I made an exception in this one case simply because I couldn't see the value in staying to the end.

edit: Due to this post I've just changed to an 'Advanced Member' - this is how pathetic my life has become, I actually got quite excited by this!

Considering doing G6 theory and now becoming an Advanced Member - there's no hope, you're past redemption!

I think i would have gone mad if i'd had to wait till the end of G5 to leave. It would have meant sitting around for well over an hour twiddling my thumbs. As it was, i got home before the exam finished.