H.S. Exam Code of Conduct

  1. All students should arrive at the exam venue 15 minutes before the examination is due to begin to allow time to enter the room to begin on time.
  2. When instructed to enter the examination room, candidates must do so in a quiet and orderly manner. Students should not communicate with anyone other than an exam supervisor for the duration of the exam.
  3. Apart from one bottle of drinking water, no form of refreshment may be taken into the examination room.
  4. Candidates may take to their desk/table only the following items:
  • general stationery (for example, pens, pencils, eraser, ruler, pencil sharpener, highlighter)
  • a translating dictionary (Only for students who have already been given prior permission from the EAL coordinator.) No bags or mobile phones will be permitted in the examination room.
  • other materials specified by a teacher as required for a particular examination (for example, an approved electronic calculator, a novel, etc.).Mobile phones may not be used as calculators during an exam.

If required by the coordinator/invigilator, any item brought into an examination must be available for inspection. This includes electronic calculators.

Late arrival

  1. Candidates are allowed into the examination room during the first 30 minutes after the start of an examination. The arrival time of the candidate will be recorded by the coordinator/invigilator. No additional time will be allowed for the examination.
  2. After the first 30 minutes candidates will not be allowed into the examination, nor will they be permitted to take the examination at a rescheduled time.

Temporary absence

  1. In cases of emergency, at the discretion of the coordinator/invigilator, a candidate may be allowed to leave the examination room and return. The temporary absence of a candidate will be recorded by the coordinator/ invigilator.
  2. A candidate will be supervised during a temporary absence from the examination room. There must be no communication with any person other than the person who is supervising the candidate.
  3. During a temporary absence the candidate must not take any material out of the examination room, have access to material during the absence, or return with any material.


  1. During the examination, and at other times specified by the coordinator/ invigilator, a candidate must not communicate with any other candidate.

Failure to observe this regulation may constitute malpractice, resulting in appropriate action by the school.

  1. All work completed during an examination and then submitted for assessment, must be the authentic work of the candidate. Any collusion, plagiarism, reference to unauthorized material, or communication between candidates may constitute malpractice, resulting in appropriate action by the school.
  2. If a student finds that he/she has accidentally taken unauthorized material into an examination (for example, notes, a book, an MP3 player, or any communication device such as a cell phone), this material must be given to the coordinator/invigilator immediately. Failure to do so may lead to an allegation of malpractice against the candidate, regardless of whether the unauthorized material may or may not have provided an unfair advantage for the candidate.
  3. No candidate is permitted to borrow anything from another candidate during an examination.

Early departures

  1. Candidates are not allowed to leave the examination room during the first hour or during the last 15 minutes of any examination. Consequently, if the duration of an examination is 1 hour and 15 minutes or less, candidates must remain in the examination room.
  2. If a candidate leaves the examination before the scheduled finishing time, the candidate will not be allowed to return.

End of the examination

  1. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that the front page of their coversheet is correctly completed prior to departure from the examination room.
  2. Candidates must give all examination papers, answer sheets, multiple choice answer sheets and rough notes to the coordinator/invigilator at the end of the examination. (Rough notes are not submitted for assessment.)
  3. Candidates must leave the examination room in a quiet and orderly manner.

If you do not understand these regulations please contact a teacher.

Please note that grade 12 students may have extra rules particular to the IB Diploma Code of Conduct

Adapted from the IB “Conduct of the examinations” Document, 2009