Grade 5 Scholarship Examination exam-day guide
Grade 5 Scholarship Examination · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Admission card (printed and legible)
Collect it from your school well before the exam and check every field: your name spelling, index number, the exam centre name and address, and the language medium printed on it. If anything is wrong, tell the class teacher or principal immediately - a correction usually has to be requested through the school before exam day, not at the gate. Take a photo of it on a parent's phone as backup, but carry the paper original.
Identity document accepted for a Grade 5 candidate
Grade 5 candidates normally do not hold a National Identity Card. Ask your school which document is accepted alongside the admission card (commonly a birth certificate copy attested by the school, or a school-issued identity card). Confirm with the school or the exam centre - do not guess.
Writing equipment that matches the answer sheet rules
Bring at least two black or blue ballpoint pens, two sharpened pencils, an eraser and a pencil sharpener, in a clear pouch. Confirm with the school whether the multiple-choice answer sheet must be marked in pencil or pen, and whether correcting fluid or erasers are permitted on the answer sheet - rules on this differ by paper.
Simple analogue watch
Many halls have no visible clock and phones are banned, so a plain wristwatch helps you pace yourself. No smartwatch, no watch with a camera, calculator or messaging function. If you normally do not wear one, practise a timed paper with it at home first.
Glasses or hearing aid if prescribed
Bring them even if you only use them for the board at school. Tell the invigilator quietly if you need to sit near the front to see or hear properly; seating requests are handled at the centre, not on the day if you stay silent.
Water bottle and a light snack for after the paper
Bring water in a transparent bottle and a small snack to eat after the exam, not during it. Drinking and eating inside the hall may be restricted, so ask the invigilator rather than assuming.
Dress as instructed by your school
Most candidates sit in school uniform. Confirm with your school whether uniform is required at the centre; if not, choose simple comfortable clothes with no slogans or large prints, and shoes you can walk in.
A rehearsed route and travel plan to the centre
Do a trial run a few days earlier at the same time of morning to learn the traffic, the gate and the correct building. On the day arrive well before the reporting time printed on the admission card - confirm that reporting time and the gate-closing time with your school, because late candidates may not be admitted.
Everything prohibited left at home
Mobile phone, smartwatch, tablet, calculator, notes, textbooks, correction fluid, and any geometry or other instrument your paper does not allow. Hand your phone to your parent or guardian before entering the gate; carrying it into the hall can be treated as an exam offence even if it is switched off.
Index number and centre details written on a small card
Keep a small card in your pocket with your index number, centre name and a parent's phone number, so you can read the index number quickly when filling the answer sheet and can be helped if you are separated from your group.
Slept, fed and calm
A normal night's sleep and a normal breakfast beat last-minute revision. Do not try a new drink, new food or a new route on exam morning; keep the routine identical to a school day.
Plan the day
Stop learning new material. Spend short sessions of 20–30 minutes on the two or three question types you get wrong most often, then stop. Sit one full past paper under real timing and real silence, marking your answers on a sheet exactly as you will on the day, so that pacing and sheet-filling become automatic. Check the admission card fields with a parent, pack the bag once and leave it packed, and shift your bedtime earlier so that exam morning is not a sudden change. Practise the walk or drive to the centre once.
Light revision only in the morning - reread your own short summary of formulas, units and spellings, not a new paper. In the afternoon, lay out clothes, admission card, identity document and stationery; confirm the transport and who is taking you. Eat a normal dinner, avoid screens late, and sleep at your usual time. If you feel nervous, write down your three worries and one practical answer to each; that is more useful than another practice paper.
Wake at your normal school time, eat the breakfast you usually eat, and leave early enough to absorb any delay. At the centre, find the toilet and your hall before the gates close, keep the admission card in your hand, and stay with your group rather than joining crowds discussing answers. Once seated, put your water bottle down, place your pens and pencils where you can reach them without looking, and listen to the invigilator instead of opening the paper early.
First write your index number and the required details on the answer sheet and check them twice, then read the instructions on the front page. Work in passes: answer everything you can do quickly, mark the doubtful ones in the question booklet, then return to them. Divide the total time by the number of questions before you start, so you know roughly how many minutes per question you have, and check the clock at each quarter. Keep the answer sheet number aligned with the question number - a single shift ruins a whole section. When time is called, stop writing immediately and hand over the sheet as instructed.
Rules to check
Carry and show the admission card at the gate and in the hall. Entry without it, or with a card whose details do not match you, may be refused; confirm the exact procedure with your school or the exam centre before the day.
Follow the invigilator's instructions at all times, including where to sit, when to open the paper and when to stop writing. Writing after the final instruction or before the start signal can lead to your paper being cancelled.
Do not bring a phone, smartwatch or any other electronic device into the hall. The penalty for possession is set by the examining authority - confirm it with the Department of Examinations rather than assuming a warning is enough.
No talking, signalling, borrowing stationery or exchanging anything with another candidate once you are seated; raise your hand if you need the invigilator.
Answer in the language medium you were registered for. You cannot switch to another medium on exam day, so confirm the medium printed on your admission card now.
Toilet breaks during the paper are usually escorted and may be limited; ask the invigilator if you need one. Do not assume you may leave the hall before the paper ends - confirm the centre's practice.
There is no published pass mark to aim at. Selection depends on your total mark and on district and school cut-offs that change every year, so aim to answer every question you can rather than targeting a guessed score. Confirm how results and cut-offs are released with the Department of Examinations.
Do not write your name, school or any identifying mark anywhere on the answer sheet beyond the space provided, and do not make stray marks on the answer sheet - it is machine-read.