Appeals

Appeals can be submitted by:

• Heads of centre
• Private candidates (regarding reviews of results and malpractice only)
  
• Members of staff or third parties who have been subject to malpractice sanctions.

These are referred to as the ‘appellant’. We only communicate with the appellant unless they have provided written authority for us to communicate with someone else. Candidates and/or their parents/carers cannot appeal directly themselves.

Appeals can be submitted in relation to:

• Reviews of results outcomes
• Malpractice decisions
• Access arrangements and special consideration
• Sanctions imposed on centres
• Assessment decisions (verified qualifications only).

Appeals focus on whether:

• Procedures have been applied consistently and followed properly and fairly
• The marking or moderation of the assessment included a marking or moderation error. The definition of marking error ground for appeal from Ofqual’s guidance to the Qualification Level Conditions is: ‘A Marking Error is defined as the awarding of a mark which could not reasonably have been awarded given the evidence generated by the Learner, the criteria against which Learners’ performance is differentiated and any procedures of the awarding organisation in relation to marking, including in particular where the awarding of a mark is based on -
  • an administrative error;
  • a failure to apply such criteria and procedures to the evidence generated by the Learner where that failure did not involve the exercise of academic judgement; or
  • an unreasonable exercise of academic judgement.'

Appeals against malpractice decisions may also be considered where:

• the incident was not dealt with in accordance with the published procedures
• the decision was unreasonable in light of the evidence presented to the malpractice committee
• further evidence has come to light which changes the basis of the decision
• the sanction imposed was disproportionate in relation to the seriousness of the malpractice.
  

Some administrative decisions (e.g. late arrivals and missing scripts) can be reviewed although they do not form part of the formal appeals process.

The appeal process has two stages:

1. The preliminary stage involves an investigation of the case or a review of the original malpractice decision
2. The appeal hearing process involves a hearing of the case by the independent appeals committee.

You must have completed the preliminary stage in order to proceed to an appeal hearing. We aim to complete the preliminary stage within six calendar weeks of receipt and then the appeals hearing within ten calendar weeks of receipt of the request.

More information can be found in the JCQ appeals process document:

For externally verified qualifications

• Appeals against sanctions – for Level 2, 3, 4 or 5 Sanctions imposed on centres delivering externally verified qualifications, you should first request a review of the sanction. How to do this will be detailed in the letter you receive informing you of the sanction imposed, usually following your EQA visit. If you wish to appeal against the outcome of the review you can follow the process for making a request for an appeals hearing. Please get in touch with our team at appeals@ocr.org.uk if you have any questions.
• Appeals against assessment decisions – candidates should follow their centre’s appeals process when appealing against the centre’s assessment. If this does not resolve the matter, the Head of Centre can refer the issue to their OCR external verifier, usually at their next EQA visit. If the centre wishes to appeal against the OCR external verifier’s assessment decision they should request their external verifier to submit their appeal to the Chief Verifier. Reconsideration of an assessment decision by the Chief Verifier will be taken to meet the requirements of a preliminary appeals process (an investigation by a senior member of OCR who has had no previous involvement with the results in question). If this does not resolve the matter, the Head of Centre should follow the process for making a request for an appeals hearing.

How to appeal

To begin the preliminary stage, please email your request to the OCR Appeals team at appeals@ocr.org.uk within 30 calendar days of receiving the outcome of the review of results or within two calendar weeks of receiving the malpractice or assessment decision. Your request should clearly set out the grounds for appeal.

The JCQ/App1 form in the JCQ appeals process document can be used to form the basis of the appeal request.

What happens next?

You will receive an acknowledgement to your appeal request within five working days of submitting the request. Please contact appeals@ocr.org.uk if you do not receive an acknowledgement.

All appeals correspondence will be sent using a secure file transfer system. The first time we contact you, we will send two emails – one notification email and one email with login details and a link to the file transfer system. This will allow you to access the correspondence we send you.

When we receive an application, we check whether the appeal can be considered. This is based on the grounds put forward, whether a review of results has been completed and/or the timescale of the application.

We will inform you whether the appeal can be investigated and, if not, provide the reason why. If it can, we carry out an investigation/review and then send a report detailing the decision. The appeal will either be upheld or rejected. In cases where the appeal is upheld, further work will be carried out, which may include a further review of candidates’ work or a re-consideration of the decision.

How to appeal

Should you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the preliminary stage, you can request an appeals hearing in the following cases:

• Reviews of results outcomes
• Malpractice decisions
• Access arrangements and special consideration
• Sanctions
• Assessment decisions (verified qualifications only).

It is not possible to request an appeals hearing for administrative decisions.

You must make the request for an appeals hearing within two weeks of receiving the preliminary appeal outcome and send it to appeals@ocr.org.uk. The JCQ/App1 form in the JCQ guide to appeals document, available from the JCQ website, can be used to form the basis of the appeal request.

What happens next?

An appeals hearing is a formal hearing where both you and OCR representatives present the case to the appeals committee. (Although we recommend you present the case, for malpractice appeals only, the case may be heard on the basis of written evidence.) The appeals committee comprises a panel of people who are not directly employed by OCR, and who have had no previous involvement with the case.

The appeals committee will decide whether the appeal should be upheld or rejected. If the appeal is upheld, the appeals committee may ask for further work to be carried out or for the case to the re-considered. We will notify you of the outcome.

The appeals hearing concludes your appeal options with OCR. However, should you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, you may appeal to the Examinations Procedures Review Service (EPRS), which is provided by Ofqual. EPRS only hears appeals against reviews of results and, at its discretion, access arrangements and special consideration. The decision of the appeals committee in terms of malpractice decisions is final. There are no further avenues of appeal.

Fees only apply when the outcome of a review is being appealed, and if the appeal is upheld, you will not be charged.

We’ll send an invoice when the appeals process is complete.

Details of the fees charged for each stage can be found in the post-results services fees booklet, and our charging policy can be found below.