New Members of Staff
Tracey Eames has joined the ISTD and is the new International Examinations Assistant. She is contactable on the main ISTD number +44 (0)20 7377 1577 and also on the following email address: internationalassistant@istd.org

We also have a Clerical Assistant, Laura Colling, who is responsible for amendments and missing certificates.

If you are mailing information regarding pin numbers for candidates please address your envelope to Laura Colling; emailed pin number information
should be sent to Tracey Eames on the above email.

Theatre Faculties only

Pin numbers
The ISTD is trying to further improve the service it is giving to members outside of the UK. We appreciate that teachers around the world put great amounts of effort into training their students in the ISTD work and entering them for ISTD examinations. Over the past year, I have been analysing the examination process and in 2004, the Centenary year of the ISTD, there will be some significant improvements.

The first of these is that all candidates who take ISTD examinations must
have a pin number. This will be a unique number and they will carry this number through their ISTD training. Every time the candidate enters for an examination, this number must be quoted on the timetable. Consequently a new timetable will be produced so that the pin numbers can be added.

The advantage of the Pin number process is that every ISTD examination a candidate takes will be stored under this unique pin number. Also there will no longer be problems regarding incorrect spellings on certificates which will please teachers and students alike.

We acknowledge that different cultures require candidates’ first names and surnames be displayed in different orders and therefore, in an attempt to accommodate all wishes, we require that teachers inform us as to the order that they would like the name displayed on certificates. We also require candidate’s dates of birth, gender and ethnic origin.

In order for this to happen, teachers will need to provide ISTD Headquarters with information regarding the students within their school. Teachers will complete a Candidate Registration Booklet and will need to forward it to Laura Colling, Clerical Assistant, in the International Examinations department. A list of pin numbers will be returned to you so that you can check all details relating to your students. You will then need to keep the list safe and use the pin numbers when you enter your students for all future ISTD examinations.

Please note: This information will only need to be provided once and only added to if any new students join the school.

A supply of Candidate Registration Booklets will be sent to all Overseas Organisers, therefore teachers should approach their Organiser (if applicable) for a copy. Alternatively copies can also be obtained from Tracey Eames, International Examinations Assistant, in email format as well as paper format. Please contact her on internationalassistant@istd.org or call +44 (0)20 7377 1577.

I would advise teachers to forward this information to the ISTD as soon as possible as this takes effect from 1st January 2004.

All teachers around the world, regardless of the faculty in which they are entering candidates, will need to complete one of these booklets or complete the email and return it to ISTD. If a candidate enters for examinations in Imperial Ballet and also in Modern, they will still only have one pin number.

Some of you will be thinking that several of your candidates already have pin numbers as you have seen them listed on Official Results sheet, dispatched to you following recent examination sessions. Pin numbers have been automatically generated for some students, however we still need teachers to complete the Candidate Registration Booklet and send it to ISTD Headquarters in order to provide personal details regarding the candidates.

If you have received Official Results sheets from your previous sessions, we require that you send copies of them along with your Candidate Registration Booklet so we are aware of the pin numbers that have already been issued to your candidates.

If you have any questions regarding this matter please either contact
your Organiser or the International Examinations department.

New examination procedures
There will be changes to the way in which examination sessions are arranged and these changes will come into effect on 1st January 2004. Every examination, in every faculty, in every country will be affected.

I have been receiving a considerable amount of feedback from teachers, either directly or via examiners, and the general consensus is that teachers would like their examinations confirmed much earlier. This will enable candidates and teachers to work towards a particular date, whilst also ensuring that a pianist is available for relevant examinations.

With this in mind, as well as the introduction of the pin numbering system, we have taken this opportunity in our Centenary year, to improve the overall procedures. We envisage that teachers and Organisers will benefit from the arrangements and we will look towards greater use
of the internet whilst ensuring that teachers without Internet access will not be disadvantaged.

All teachers worldwide will need to submit their timetables to their Organiser (or to ISTD Headquarters if teachers do not have an Organiser) by a confirmed and advertised date. Please note the deadline will be earlier than any currently in place. The Organiser will allocate examination dates and will forward all timetables to ISTD Headquarters. The Organiser will continue to liaise with teachers regarding travel arrangements and hotel bookings.

In countries where ISTD Headquarters acts as the Organiser, teachers will
need to forward their timetables without confirmation of the exact date of their examination. ISTD Headquarters will liaise with the teacher to arrange the date as per the current arrangements.

A timetable which can be submitted via email will be available and I would encourage all teachers to forward their timetables in this way if at all possible. For those without access to email, a paper copy will be provided however it should be noted that we are no longer using the triplicate pink, yellow and white copies. Please contact either your Organiser or Tracey Eames, at ISTD Headquarters if you would like a sample timetable emailed to you, or a paper copy sent to you.

Information provided on the timetable will be inputted onto the ISTD central database utilising the pin numbers which all teachers would already have obtained. A computerised timetable will be returned to the teacher for checking. If any amendments are to be made, the teacher will need to inform Tracey Eames either on email or by fax on +44 (0)20 7247 8979.

Teachers who have official Organisers within their country will need to pay their examination fees directly to their Organiser at the same time as submitting the timetable. Any teacher who does not submit the correct amount of money for the number of candidates entering for examinations will need to rectify this before they can be included in the examination session planning. Similarly, any teacher who does not have current membership will need to resolve this prior to their examination session being arranged.

If teachers do not have an official Organiser they will need to pay their examination fees directly to ISTD as well as ensuring their membership is current, when they submit their timetable.

This procedure will ensure that the examination sessions are finalised much earlier so teachers and students can work towards a confirmed date. Consequently, as much of the processing will have been carried out prior to the examination session, teachers will not need to wait so long to receive their candidates’ certificates and medals.

I shall be producing a booklet for teachers so that they are aware of all the changes and this too will be available on paper as well as on email format. We envisage that these new procedures will ensure the smooth running of
ISTD International examination sessions and teachers will benefit from the improvements.

New Modern Grades
From 1st January 2004 the Modern Graded Examinations will be
re-structured as follows:

The existing Grade 4 becomes the basis for Grades 5 and 6, and a new Primary Class Examination will be introduced.

Please note: These changes will affect all teachers worldwide

Teachers who were intending on entering students for Grade 4 in 2004 will not be able to do so until the additional exercises have been taught to the candidates. The candidate would then enter for Grade 5 or Grade 6. Students who have taken their Grade 4 examination by 31st December 2003 will have the option of entering for Grade 6 or if they do not wish to repeat some of the work, move on to Intermediate Foundation.

For further information please read the information provided by the Modern Theatre Faculty.

Report forms
Report forms will also be changing and will take effect from 1st January 2004, throughout the world. The marking bands for the Graded and Vocational examinations will change to become A, B, C and N instead of A, B, C, D, E and N. The bands are as follows:

Teachers and Organisers with stocks of report forms will need to destroy them carefully so that they cannot be misused. New report forms will be dispatched as soon as possible.

Timings for examinations
You will have noticed in the Autumn edition of DANCE (page 35) that the timings for graded theatre examinations have changed. Therefore please dispose of your old Faculty timesheets as new ones will be sent out to teachers following confirmation of your examination sessions in 2004.

Licentiate
Please be aware that there has been a change to the Theatre Licentiate examination. From 1st January 2004 Licentiate examinations will be conducted by only one examiner and this should make it easier for candidates to take the examinations in their own country as opposed to taking the examination in the London Centre. On some occasions however, it may still be necessary for candidates to come to the UK.

Fellowship
The number of examiners required for this examination remains at 2 and therefore most candidates who wish to take this examination will need to attend a session at the London Centre at ISTD Headquarters. If you require information about Fellowship examination sessions in the UK, click here.

Courses in 2004
We appreciate that there is now a considerable amount of work that all teachers would like to study across all faculties and all levels. Please rest assured that I am looking into various ideas as to how to ensure that teachers around the world have access to courses and I will be able to give you additional details shortly.

Exam tours for 2004
If you would like an application form for examinations in 2004 please contact Tracey Eames by email if possible. Requests for examination sessions must be requested using these forms. Please note the increase in time requested for notification of your session.

Fees for 2004
The fees for 2004 have been published and all organisers around the world now have copies. Please contact your Organiser for further details or alternatively contact Tracey Eames by email if possible, ensuring that you inform us as to which country you will be taking the examination in. All teachers who request their sessions directly to the International Examinations department will receive a fees sheet as well as the usual paperwork.

Membership
It is now time for all members to pay their 2004 subscription. If you are not aware of the amount that you have to pay please contact the Membership Department on the central phone number or by email - membership@istd.org. No teachers will be allowed to enter candidates for examinations in 2004 unless they are fully-paid up members. There are several teachers in Canada, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand and Portugal who have yet to receive their student certificates as they owe Membership subscriptions for 2003.

Associate and Associate Diploma examinations
All candidates who enter for this examination must complete an application form. Please request these forms from your Organiser (if applicable) or by emailing internationalassistant@istd.org

Theatre and Dance Sport Faculties

New Teaching Qualifications
All teachers in Europe should have now received an Accredited Prior Learning form (APL) and teachers must complete this and return it to the Education and Training department if they wish to continue entering candidates for ISTD examinations in the future.

If Theatre teachers have mislaid information regarding their previous 5 sessions please write or fax (+44 (0)20 7247 8979) your request to Laura Colling in the International Examinations Department. Please provide as many details regarding the session that you can remember for example: the examiners name, the date of the examination and the batch/serial number.

If Dance Sport teachers have mislaid information regarding their previous 5 sessions please write or fax your request to Beverley McDermott on the above number, providing the examiners name, date of the examination and the batch/serial number.

Your results will then be located and forwarded back to you. We endeavour to do this as quickly as possible, however the speed of this procedures will be determined by the amount of information you can provide at the outset.

If you are an Approved Dance Centre, before requesting your examinations for either Foundation in Dance Instruction or Certificates in Dance Education units, please ensure that you have completed your APL form and returned it to ISTD HQ.

Claire Skelton
Head of International Examinations

More information on International Exams