I agree that technology has advanced significantly and become accessible to even children now - and think they're right to be wary.
If cheating occurs, it's not in anyone's interest, least of all the child.

Mine did not take a watch, as I knew they'd spend time focusing on it rather than just getting on with the exam.

Personally, I would tell children to just get on with the exam questions rather than trying to time themselves or work out how much time is left, which just takes extra thinking ... there is always a warning at some point before the end of the timing too.

I bought mine a watch and she said it help with working out how much time she had left. It was just a simple digital one.

Or take in an simple alarm clock with handles and ask the permission for that.
I am always used to have my alarm clock in front of me on my desk during exams; I prefer it to a watch.

You cannot have anything that audibly "ticks" as that could disturb another candidate - most analogue watches are fairly quiet but an alarm clock has the propensity to vibrate on the desk disturbing those around you - exam rules for GCSE/A level say there should be clocks provided by the institution visible to all candidates - the inspector checks this in every room they enter and we would get a black mark if not - we have 4 clocks in our main exam hall - our exams office would not allow an alarm clock, as you are not allowed anything on your desk apart from a watch, stationery (pens, rubbers, maths equipment) and even the calculator (if allowed) should have its memory wiped before the exam starts by a senior member of staff. I assume though that, your invigilator takes your alarm clock apart before every exam to ensure there are no notes hidden inside? Possibly slightly easier to do in a college where there are less candidates taking the exam? Not that I am accusing you of cheating, just pointing out that if 100 candidates bought clocks into exams, the invigilator under current rules, would have to check every single one before allowing them in) We now have to check any tissues a candidate is bringing in - even if it is a sealed packet - or just provide our own (preferable, but not always practicable when hayfever season is in force!!) - this is why watches have to be on the desk in front of the candidate now, so the invigilator can check they are not smart watches and can remove any they are not sure about, without explanantion, and can easily observe any candidate fiddling with their watch.

Having observed the changes to exam rules over the last few years, I fully expect that in the next two years the rule about watches will be tightened up to say NO watches at all. This is still the most common form of cheating - but we have seen some pretty inventive attempts over the years!

Not all alarm clocks tick! Mine does not ( I cannot sleep if I have an alarm clock ticking besides me ).
I had my alarm clock for my GCSE and AS level exams... and for my exams at uni some 28-30 years ago!
For my GCSE and AS level, it is true that we were a small number of students in the room.Clocks on the wall are not always in working order, so I have learnt to be on my guards.



You cannot really hide anything in an alarm clock, can you? No, I do not cheat, but I like to keep an eye on the time.

This was just a suggestion...I do not want to enter into any argument.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2 ... -cheating/

I must admit its always been my practice even now as I have been taking some other professional exams to take my watch off and have it in front of me on my desk.I have always preferred my watches to have simple clock faces with two hands and a seconds hand.

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Nobody is having an argument, Jane Eyre, do not fear, - just expressing an alternative viewpoint and an observation that I suspect rules on watches will tighten up even further in coming years. I wish they would just put a blanket ban actually - or at least ban digital watches - most of these come with a stopwatch facility which is expressly already a banned item, but a lot of students think they just mean a stopwatch not a digital watch with a stopwatch.

I have seen formula written on tiny bits of paper, hidden in a battery compartment of a calculator, notes written on rulers - or thighs (hidden under skirts), or arms (under sleeves), formula written on rubbers.... endless!!

The majority of candidates are trying to do their best but the rules change and evolve to deter those few that aren’t. I can completely understand being on your guard if the clock set didn’t work in your room - it is one of my bug bears about battery clocks in exam rooms (I have to check start time on my personal watch for my own sanity, just in case a battery starts to run down mid exam)!

I can’t bear ticking in my room either, at night, but we had to buy a ticking clock years ago when we had a puppy. The idea is you wrap the clock in a jumper smelling of the litter, and a hot water bottle and it mimics the mum’s heartbeat and helps them sleep!

The other issue with watches and clocks is that they might inadvertently go off or beep. An alarm clock might be a simple device but it's not fair for other candidates if the clock's alarm accidentally goes off and invigilators can't be checking all sorts of different watches and clocks to ensure that beeps and alarms are turned off. I think it's simple and fair to ban all clocks and watches and ensure clocks are visible from each seat in the hall.

As an aside, a cheeky admission from me. Many years ago for a physics mock exam, I very diligently etched the three equations of motion (v=u+at, etc) in tiny writing on the flats of a pencil The thing is, it took so long to scribe them that they were indelibly printed on my mind (and still are) so that I didn't need to use the pencil anyway. My dishonesty turned into an effective revision technique.

Would take a lot of time and pencils for English literature quotes though!!!

Showing my age but in my day we took our own log tables into maths/science exams. It's amazing how much of a maths syllabus you can get on the margin of a page. It didn't occur to me to take them in to Eng Lit but would surely have helped if I had.