Today, I took and passed all three QTS skills tests. I wasn't nervous before, until I read some things on the net about people taking them 8/9 times before passing. I suppose, at the moment, if it takes that many times, it is more a question of inconvenience than anything else. Until the rules change, you can take them as many times as you need and they are free to sit. :)
When I got to the test centre, I went through the usual procedure. Putting everything away - and being provided a tissue rather than being allowed one from a sealed packet - before signing to say I had read the rules. I must have shown my ID five or more times for each test lol - good job I got over my dislike for my passport photo lol. In the room, I was at computer 23, in the corner. The guy in charge of that room was called Jonathon and he seemed like a friendly chap. :)
I sat the ICT one first. It was very similar to the practice tests. There were one or two things I was asked to do, which I had not previous done on the mocks, but they were simple enough. I finished all four tasks [featuring four activities in each] in around 15 minutes. I thought about checking through it all but that was too dull a prospect to endure, so I headed out 20 minutes early and collected my result. A pass. Yay.
My literacy test wasn't booked for a full hour and fifteen minutes, as the centre slots were really spaced out when I booked it back in October. Thankfully, they let me start the tests one after the other, rather than hanging around. So, after signing to say I'd read the rules again and making sure I had nothing about my person, I went back to computer 23 for the test. The opening of the literacy test is a 10 question spelling test. Now, spelling has always been a huge weakness of mine, so I wasn't all that optimistic about it. A lot of the words made me think twice - I used the pen and board provided to write them out, sometimes 2/3 different ways, before deciding upon the 'right' answer. Irritatingly, I can't remember most of the words, so I can't check now to see if I was correct or not lol. The punctuation, grammar and comprehension sections were simple enough and again I finished early - this time with around 15 minutes to spare. I collected my results - another pass. :)
For the third time, I had to go through the procedure of showing that I had nothing about my person, showing my ID and signing to say I had read the rules. Back to computer 23 for my numeracy test. I had deliberately left this one until last, as the mental maths section had been very challenging online - mainly due to the limited amount of time you get to answer. As I have heard people say, the mental maths section wasn't actually as bad as the mocks online - on at least half of the questions, I filled my answer in before the lady finished reading the question a second time. The second section was at a similar level - lots of questions based on data, scatter graphs and tables. I finished around 15 minutes early again and made my escape, clutching three 'pass' letters.
Woo!
That's one more hurdle overcome and now I am planning to thoroughly enjoy Christmas.
Tomorrow marks a day out at the Christmas markets with two friends from Lancaster Uni - one is also studying a primary PGCE and one is working as a TA at the minute. And then Thursday marks a day at the North Pole with my college friends - hot cocktails, German food and lots of giggles no doubt. Finally, a hard earned rest. :D
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