INTRODUCTION
This guidebook is for students and parents of students who will be taking GCSE (Yr9 – Yr11) or
GCE (Yr12 – Y13) examinations at Dubai British School. It is our aim to make the examination
experience as stress-free and successful as possible. Hopefully, this booklet will prove to be
informative and helpful for you and your parents. Please read it carefully and show it to your
parents so that they are also aware of the examination regulations and the procedures to follow in
the event of any problems occurring. Parents must please sign and return the Examination
Agreement Form directly to the Examinations/Admissions Officer to acknowledge
acceptance of our terms and conditions and cost of examination fees.
At DBS we offer both GCSE and GCE examinations. GCSE stands for General Certificate of
Secondary Education and students generally prepare for GCSE examinations over Years 10 and
11. GCSE examinations are linear with examinations taking place at the end of the qualification
(i.e., at the end of Year 11). Students will be entered for examinations May/June of the academic
year.
GCE stands for General Certificate of Education and is commonly known as A-levels. GCE or Alevels are made up of AS (Advanced Subsidiary) and A2 (A-Level) subjects. Students typically take
AS examinations in Year 12 and A2 examinations in Year 13. The full A-level can be comprised of
either 4 or 6 units. A typical four unit A-level is broken down as: two AS units (Y12), two A2 units
(Y13). A Six unit A-level is broken down as: three AS units (12), three A2 units (Y13).
Examinations are taken in the summer (May/June) series.
For the Applied Business A-level students, they will sit 6 units in Year 12 (AS) and then a further 6
units in Year 13 (A2) to complete the full double award.
The awarding bodies (examination boards) which set the examinations have strict criteria which
must be followed for the conduct of examinations and DBS is required to follow them precisely.
You should, therefore, pay particular attention to the Information for Candidates that is printed on
the following 2 pages.
Some of the questions you may have are answered at the back of this booklet. If there is anything
you do not understand or any question that has not been addressed, PLEASE ASK.
If you or your parents have any queries or need help or advice at any time before, during or after
the examinations please contact:
The Examinations Officer – Mrs. Kim Ward,
The Examinations Office telephone number is: 04 - 361 9361 ext. 260
Mobile number: 050-151 3440 (For emergencies only please)
All information regarding individual exam timetables and exam results are available in FRONTER.
Your child will be given their own login and password to gain access to them.
If this is ever
lost/forgotten please advise me so that we can reset them.
RESULTS WILL NOT BE EMAILED TO PARENTS – ALL RESULTS WILL BE RECEIVED VIA
FRONTER.
3