Arrangements for Round 1 (2010)

Late addition: click here for an improved version of the map of Yerevan. You can print this separately and distribute it with both Foundation and Advanced papers.

The following are instructions from Dick Hudson for teachers responsible for running Round 1 of the UK Linguistics Olympiad in their school.

1. Test material

I will send you the test material by email, to reach you by 3.00 on
Friday (Foundation level) and by 9.00 on Monday (Advanced level). It will consist of two documents for each level:

the question paper, including the data (six pages)
the blank answer paper (two pages, which you can print onto a single sheet to make sure a candidate’s answers don’t get separated; but that’s up to you.)

Some points:

You can edit the question paper for the Foundation level (a Word document) but not the one for the Advanced level (a PDF).
It’s your responsibility to arrange for these documents to be printed and copied in whatever numbers you need.
It would be advisable to make spare copies of the answer paper, in case students spoil their answer sheets.

2. Conducting the exam

Please invigilate the exam as you would any other exam – use your
discretion. Here are some points:

Allow a maximum of 150 minutes for the Advanced level exam. How long you allow for the Foundation level is up to you, but we recommend a maximum of 120 minutes.
Students should not collaborate at all in the Advanced level exam, but team work is permitted in the Foundation level at your discretion; but if your candidates work in teams, please notify Neil Sheldon when reporting the results.
Students may well need spare paper for rough working, as the
question paper probably won’t have enough blank space.
The answer paper asks students to write their name and the ‘school
number’. This is the number of your school (ranging from 1 to 52) on the UKLO website.
If you print the two pages of the answer paper on separate sheets,
please check that students have written their names on both sheets, as
they may get separated in the marking.
Please COLLECT IN ALL THE QUESTION PAPERS AND ROUGH WORK from every candidate, to prevent leakage of the papers to other schools.
EMERGENCY NUMBER: If you need to consult on the day of the exam, please ring me (Dick Hudson) on 07876 174816. Unfortunately I shall be in a meeting 11-1 on Weds; so during that time, please ring either Neil Sheldon on 07725 022621 or Harold Somers on 07703 320061.

3. Marking of Foundation level

It is your responsibility to mark your own Foundation level papers, using a model answer sheet and marking scheme that I will send you on the evening of Friday evening 5th Feb.
If you want us to register your results and send you certificates for distribution, you should then post your marked answer sheets to Neil Sheldon (see his address below).
Please enclose a self-addressed envelope for return to you.
It would help him greatly if you could also send him <n.a.sheldon@mgs.org> an electronic list of total marks per student, which he can then store on his database.

4. Submitting Advanced level entries

Please post your Advanced answer scripts as soon as possible after the exam, and in any case by 5.00 pm on Friday 5th (i.e. so that they have a post-mark before that time). Details as follows:

Please address the scripts to Neil Sheldon, Manchester Grammar School, Old Hall Lane, Manchester, M13 0XT.
Please write on the *outside* of the envelope: ‘UKLO’, the name of
your school, and the number of scripts for each level.
Please enclose a self-addressed envelope for their return to you. After marking, we will return the scripts, including those that have been selected for round 2.
Please send Neil <n.a.sheldon@mgs.org> an email with an electronic list of the names of the candidates, using the Excel template which can be downloaded here. (NB Your computer will probably label the file ‘read only’; don’t worry – you can enter data and save it, but technically your saved file will be a copy of the downloaded one, rather than the downloaded file itself.)
Please keep or destroy the question papers and rough working.

5. Future use of the test material

You’re welcome to use the questions in preparing for future olympiads, but please treat them as highly confidential until we get the all-clear from the international consortium which is sharing these tests.