The regulations for the use of calculators in examinations can be found on page 11 of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) booklet "Instructions for conducting examinations (1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011)", which in turn can be found on the JCQ website at http://www.jcq.org.uk/exams_office/instructions_for_conducting_examinations/ and are reproduced below:

Using calculators

For question papers where the use of calculators is allowed, candidates are responsible for making sure that their calculators meet the awarding bodies' regulations. The instructions set out in this section apply to all examinations unless stated otherwise in the appropriate awarding body's subject-specific instructions. Candidates should be told these regulations beforehand.

Calculators must be:

• of a size suitable for use on the desk;
• either battery or solar powered.

Calculators must not:

be designed or adapted to offer any of these facilities:

• language translators;
• symbolic algebra manipulation;
• symbolic differentiation or integration;
• communication with other machines or the internet.
• be borrowed from another candidate during an examination for any reason (an invigilator may give a candidate a replacement calculator)

have retrievable information stored in them - this includes:

• databanks;
• dictionaries;
• mathematical formulas;
• text.

The candidate is responsible for the following:

• the calculator's power supply;
• the calculator's working condition.

Advice:* An invigilator may give a candidate a replacement calculator. Where access is permitted to a calculator for part of an examination, it will normally be acceptable for candidates to place their calculators on the floor under their desks in sight of the invigilator(s) for the non-calculator portion of the exam.



Wherever possible questions are set which obviate any advantage a student may obtain from such calculators - a basic scientific calculator should be considered sufficient for the demands of the AS and A level papers.