FE1 Exam Thread (Read 1st post!) NOTE: YOU MAY SWAP EXAM GRIDS

SKLaw

Fe1student1234 wrote: »

Same it’s terrible

I’m just going to go in the assumption for now that they’re the first week in November because it’s the only way I’ll get anything done

I’m going by that at the moment too since they can’t give more info until next week

Fingers crossed we’ll all be okay!

ruby1998

No idea.. announcing three weeks out that they’ll be online after weeks of uncertainty wouldn’t be ideal from my pov anyway

shaunadennyham

LawSocIreland wrote: »

We fully understand that the current pandemic is causing a great deal of stress to candidates.

We had hoped to provide a physical examination in November but the government restrictions announced this week have made this impossible.

We are working to provide an online examination that will preserve the integrity of the examination and will have further information early next week.

Sorry but does the Law Society have any appreciation for the level of stress this is putting students under? It’s callous and unnecessary. This pandemic has been ongoing for 7 months. Level 3 restrictions for Dublin were announced weeks ago. The fact that students were told there would be no online exams only now to be told that there ‘may’ be online exams is only adding to the confusion. People need to arrange study leave with work, need to source laptops and stable internet connections. Have you any regard for students with visual impairments or any other requirements for sitting exams?

It’s really not that difficult. Tell us if there will be an online sitting. Tell us if this sitting will happen in the first week of November or not. Tell us whether the exams will be written or typed. Tell us if they’ll be open book or closed book.

And please - don’t be so condescending. ‘Preserve the integrity of the exams’ - give me strength.

TCPIP

LawSocIreland wrote: »

We fully understand that the current pandemic is causing a great deal of stress to candidates.

We had hoped to provide a physical examination in November but the government restrictions announced this week have made this impossible.

We are working to provide an online examination that will preserve the integrity of the examination and will have further information early next week.

Hello,

Can you please provide some clarification on what exactly this entails, specifically if the exams are still on course to begin in the first week of November? It is incredibly important as you know that we can develop a study time frame.

Meg!

LawSocIreland wrote: »

We fully understand that the current pandemic is causing a great deal of stress to candidates.

We had hoped to provide a physical examination in November but the government restrictions announced this week have made this impossible.

We are working to provide an online examination that will preserve the integrity of the examination and will have further information early next week.

Law Society - I have a few simple questions you might be able to address:
1. If you were unable to arrange an online exam before now what has changed that you might be able?

2. Why is there no wiggle room where this is concerned, I have 1 exam left, a legal degree and trainee-ship organised and I have completed a professional preparation course for these exams, I can provide proof of skill and knowledge from numerous sources. But this is not good enough for you, you want me to sit an exam you do not know when or how you are going to hold. COVID is nobodies fault but work with us so that we can progress in these difficult times.

3.Why put up a helpline?? (when I called I reached a mail-voice that said the person over the phone is out of the office till the 29th???

An assignment based exam could even be possible. Like in university set out a number of topics candidates register for one and because we are preparing for exams now have one week to complete and use a preferred method of reference as the examiner would like etc.

Meg!

100% agree with you. I honest dont think I own enough technology to support and online exam and typing the FE1 exam wold be incredible difficult.

sarahlawless

ruby1998 wrote: »

Even a simple confirmation that they will not take place the 1st week of November but later in the month.

Please please LS if you care at all about the mental health and well-being of the candidates can you confirm the above by the end of the week?

If you only tell us this next week I won't have time to arrange leave and will have to quit my job to sit these exams.

ruby1998

Going to try and get back into study tonight seeing as I’ve been staring into space all week. This is really destroying me haha it’s fine LS take your time x

rebuke

Meg! wrote: »

Law Society - I have a few simple questions you might be able to address:
1. If you were unable to arrange an online exam before now what has changed that you might be able?

2. Why is there no wiggle room where this is concerned, I have 1 exam left, a legal degree and trainee-ship organised and I have completed a professional preparation course for these exams, I can provide proof of skill and knowledge from numerous sources. But this is not good enough for you, you want me to sit an exam you do not know when or how you are going to hold. COVID is nobodies fault but work with us so that we can progress in these difficult times.

3.Why put up a helpline?? (when I called I reached a mail-voice that said the person over the phone is out of the office till the 29th???

An assignment based exam could even be possible. Like in university set out a number of topics candidates register for one and because we are preparing for exams now have one week to complete and use a preferred method of reference as the examiner would like etc.

I feel that changing the structure of the exam would unfairly prejudice students.

Students have paid hundreds up to thousands on prep courses for the specific format of the exam. Moreover, they have been preparing for the classic format for months now, to change the style of the exam 3 weeks out would be unacceptable.

Unless the exam can be held in the traditional format with an online provider, students should be passed on their merits from their Undergrad due to the circumstances.

vid36

Meg! wrote: »

100% agree with you. I honest dont think I own enough technology to support and online exam and typing the FE1 exam wold be incredible difficult.

You won't have to type, only the access to the paper and invigilation will be online. You scan in your exam script with a smart phone and post it afterwards. At least that is what they are doing with the PPC Hybrid and PPC ! repeat exams.

Lallers96

LawSocIreland wrote: »

We fully understand that the current pandemic is causing a great deal of stress to candidates.

We had hoped to provide a physical examination in November but the government restrictions announced this week have made this impossible.

We are working to provide an online examination that will preserve the integrity of the examination and will have further information early next week.

Then why did ye fecking leave it 7 months to cop onto the fact that the exams should've gone online. Why didn't ye follow suit with the barristers exams, I mean they're in the same bloody field. Why are ye leaving us another week before we know what's going on, when is this wishful online exam? Is it still the first week of November and if so why are you leaving us with 3 weeks notice to overcome more stressful obstacles such as: booking time off work at such short notice, buying resources such as a good laptop, organising good Internet which is not an option for some.

Understand my hole, the mismanagement and downright stupidity of the LS over the whole summer to persist with archaic physical exams in an age of Technology and a time of a pandemic has caused every students unnecessary hardship.

FE1new

I'm just really disheartened today. This has caused unbelievable stress in my life. It has effected my sleep, my work life, my relationship with my employer and my motivation for study. Having to tell my boss again this morning that I have no idea when the exams were going to be was horrible. In my role I can't take time off the last week of the month so if the dates change I may not be able to sit them. What happens to the money I have already paid? Money is tight already but I really can't afford to waste €420. Do the LS realise this stress they have caused?

Lallers96

ScatmanWhack wrote: »

Can you please start updating candidates via email instead of just updating the Law Society website and posting on boards.ie.

It's actually sad I have to come onto as old a website as boards.ie just to get useful advice, information, and updates on these exams. You'd swear this was 2005 or something and there isn't social media like Facebook, Twitter etc. or even just automatic updates emailed to all applicants.

Fe1Student20

LawSocIreland wrote: »

We fully understand that the current pandemic is causing a great deal of stress to candidates.

We had hoped to provide a physical examination in November but the government restrictions announced this week have made this impossible.

We are working to provide an online examination that will preserve the integrity of the examination and will have further information early next week.

The current pandemic is causing a great deal of stress to society, to healthcare workers, to those that are immuno-compromised, to those that have vulnerable family members. The sheer uncertainty and vagueness which the Law Society has cast over this November sitting is what is causing a great deal of stress to candidates.

The update we were given on 18th September, regarding the postponement of the October sitting, contained a number of noteworthy points:
“Subject to any extension of the Level 3 status, or any other public health guidance/restrictions yet to be announced, the FE1 sitting will commence in the first week of November 2020”
The clarification on this potential sitting commencing in the first week of November has since been removed from all further updates we have received in the last 48 hours, with no indication of an alternative time-frame, or even remote suggestion that this is still the case with a potential online sitting, or whether it will be pushed back later into the month. Although I do not fall under that particular category of candidate, those who are countless on this thread that have the additional stress of needing to source a functional laptop, a more stable wifi connection, are now further up against the clock if next week’s update in fact reiterates that this sitting is going ahead as previously suggested in the first week of November.
“If a physical sitting of the examination is not possible, the committee will consider alternative options”
This Friday will mark three weeks since the postponement of the October sitting, and in that time frame there has been absolutely zero cause to suggest that Dublin alone would possibly be leaving Level 3 status, going by daily numbers released by the government, so it would be presumed that from the very date of the postponement, the Law Society must have been working towards these alternative options, and cannot possibly have the need for forcing candidates to wait another week through uncertainty to find out if an online sitting is in fact feasible. As has been stated on this thread, various people who have managed to actually contact the Law Society, as recently as last week, were told that an online sitting was impossible. This complete u-turn, compounded with the additional waiting period, is just an unacceptably unfair way to treat candidates, in their preparation for examinations which are renowned for their gruelling nature.

The point has been made by many of comparing our situation to that of the Leaving Certificate, the accountancy exams, the Kings Inn exams, and numerous others that have managed to find a means by which the students can be fairly treated, whether that be by reference to previous results, additional time for exams, online systems being established well in advance of the intended sittings. The Law Society have stacked the deck against candidates, and haven’t given any consideration of offering any of the above solutions which could offer any form of aid to candidates, which would in turn benefit the Law Society, by getting those of us who are nearly finished, into the Hybrid or into our training contracts on time, which are currently under threat as a direct result of the way in which the Law Society has treated us throughout this pandemic, from March up until this very moment.
Quite simply, the Law Society could do all or any of the following, and it would be met with gratitude, rather than leaving us in the dark, with a lot of candidates I’m sure in the same situation as myself, unable to continue with their revision in the midst of this uncertainty.
- Clarify whether the potential online sitting is still intended to proceed in the first week of November. If that was the case, next week’s announcement would leave us three weeks from commencement and with an uphill task against the clock to enter the exams fully prepared.
- Clarify on the current likelihood of an online sitting actually going ahead, as it was previously stated that this would be impossible.
- Clarify the nature of the potential online sitting which is being explored, for those worrying about the potential expense of a new laptop, or the potential issue of finding a suitable location which sufficiently stable wi-fi, if we were told that it might be the case that they are written and scanned back as happened with certain candidates in August, this could swiftly alleviate the additional stresses which particular candidates are unnecessarily having to deal with.

Having only recently found this thread, I’m sure there are countless others who have not stumbled across it yet, so empty updates to a Boards.ie thread are simply inadequate for the thousands of us desperately seeking clarity. It is not too much to ask that we receive email notifications of updates when they are being made. It is certainly not too much to ask to receive an update by the end of this week, rather than this dragging out for longer than it already has.

Aoibhin511

The fact that their most recent tweet is about a workshop on managing anxiety makes me want to scream

LS3

We are not asking for magic. We simply just want to be told what is happening with enough time to prepare.

IgoPAP

Aoibhin511 wrote: »

The fact that their most recent tweet is about a workshop on managing anxiety makes me want to scream

It's performative empathy in a nutshell.

Fe1erere

I'll be treating the exams as beginning in the first week of November, in the event that they take place later then I will be extra prepared.

shaunadennyham

Fe1erere wrote: »

I'll be treating the exams as beginning in the first week of November, in the event that they take place later then I will be extra prepared.

Good for you but please consider people who need to sort out study leave etc with their employer and who may not be able to afford taking additional unpaid leave

sarahlawless

Fe1erere wrote: »

I'll be treating the exams as beginning in the first week of November, in the event that they take place later then I will be extra prepared.

I wish I had this luxury but this is impossible for people working full time who need to arrange leave etc

lsheehaneire

Anyone tried calling Danielle ?


The Law Society has also set up a helpline to deal with any queries. If you wish to avail of this service, please contact Danielle Greene at  01 881 5762.

IgoPAP

I would hope, at the very least, the Law Society would be decent enough to hold the exams a few weeks later than the first week of November to give candidates a chance to prepare and make the necessary adjustments.

AlexTG356

Surely it would go without saying that they would push back the starting date of the exams until the end of November/ start of December to allow us to prepare for online exams, since some students were only just recently informed that online exams were not an option? I assume they themselves would also need extra time to effectively prepare and test any online testing system.
Some thought needs to be given to those of us who can’t touch type too. I see nothing wrong with what they did in August, with the hand written and scanned scripts, that is of course if they stick with the original exam format. I’d have no problem typing for a 24hr exam or longer assignment-based assessment.

dobby896

AlexTG356 wrote: »

Surely it would go without saying that they would push back the starting date of the exams until the end of November/ start of December to allow us to prepare for online exams, since some students were only just recently informed that online exams were not an option? I assume they themselves would also need extra time to effectively prepare and test any online testing system.

I really hope they will be.

My wifi connection barely supports Netflix (and that's on a good day) let alone a remote exam so I'll have to look at alternative arrangements for myself to make sure I can actually sit the exam remotely.

The joys of living in the middle of nowhere.

Fe1student1234

dobby896 wrote: »

AlexTG356 wrote: »

Surely it would go without saying that they would push back the starting date of the exams until the end of November/ start of December to allow us to prepare for online exams, since some students were only just recently informed that online exams were not an option? I assume they themselves would also need extra time to effectively prepare and test any online testing system.

I really hope they will be.

My wifi connection barely supports Netflix (and that's on a good day) let alone a remote exam so I'll have to look at alternative arrangements for myself to make sure I can actually sit the exam remotely.

The joys of living in the middle of nowhere.

I’m the same

I’ll have to find a relative willing to let me into their house ( which you’re not allowed ) but it’s the only way I’ll be able to sit an online exam

SKLaw

FE1s202020 wrote: »

Anybody willing to swap/sell contract and tort exam papers and reports and a (fairly) up to date contract exam grid? Can swap constitutional, equity and property. Thanks!

I have contract exam papers and reports and an updated exam grid if you want to message me privately I can send it to your email?

Fe1student1234

Just wondering has anyone contacted the helpline ? Were they any good

LS3

Fe1student1234 wrote: »

Just wondering has anyone contacted the helpline ? Were they any good

I contacted them and the same info was given. They also mentioned that we might not even find out the situation next week if they dont know whats happening and thats very possible

Aoibhin511

LS3 wrote: »

I contacted them and the same info was given. They also mentioned that we might not even find out the situation next week if they dont know whats happening and thats very possible

ok wtf? why are they sowing even more doubt?? like hearing something next week is the only thing I thought was certain rn

LS3

LS3 wrote: »

I contacted them and the same info was given. They also mentioned that we might not even find out the situation next week if they dont know whats happening and thats very possible

Ohhh my god! So we might be given LESS than 3 weeks notice to make arrangements for online exams! That is beyond a joke and extremely unfair on all of us. They should at least guarantee that we will be given sufficient notice of exams going ahead online and less than 3 weeks is certainly not sufficient!