Finalists have issued formal complaints to the Proctors Office about disruptions caused by intermittent drilling just outside Examination Schools.
On Tuesday morning, English Finalists sitting their Middle English Paper were left unable to concentrate as loud drilling took place on the High Street. The English students were taking the second of their seven examinations when the silence of the hall was disturbed by the sounds of "lots of reversing trucks" and "loud drilling".
Staff at the Examination Schools attempted to stop the roadworks taking place but their requests were ignored by the workmen. As a result, Finalists had to cope with the off-putting noise for the duration of the three-hour exam.
Ché Ramsden, who was taking the Middle English Paper, said, "The drilling stopped and started all through the exam, which made it really hard to concentrate and remain focussed. It was really hot that day and so all the windows were open, which didn't help. The noise just flooded the room."
At the end of the exam, students were told by the main invigilator that the examiners would be made aware of the circumstances.
Ramsden added, "The examiner in the room seemed really sympathetic. I assume that if it was something planned in advance then the Proctors would have made themselves aware of what was happening outside Exam Schools during this period, and we would have been informed."
Responding to student anger about the noise levels, the University has stated that it has no authority over the roadworks being done by the Oxford County Council. The roadworks were supposed to have finished before the exam season, but since they have fallen behind schedule the University is unable to control the levels of noise during exams in the Examination Schools.
In normal circumstances, the University tries to ensure that roadworks do not disrupt exams. However, in this case, unanticipated changes to the schedule for the roadworks meant that the University was only notified at the very last minute.
The High Street roadworks are part of a "Major Project of Improvement" by the County Council. They have been going on since summer 2009, and were due to be finished by 6 May 2010, but are behind schedule. The Council was unavailable to comment at this time.
The University has assured students that it understands that there will not be further disruptions but declined to comment further.
However, the main concerns surround the affected English students and the future marking of their exam papers. The University currently has no official policy on road noise and the University Proctors are currently investigating the problems caused by the drilling.
One finalist, Alexandra Hedges, told Cherwell that she had been unaffected by the noise during her exam but agreed that it had been a problem for others.
She said, "I think I'm the only person in the whole hall who didn't notice the drilling. I seem to have developed the ability to zone out when I'm working - no one could believe I hadn't heard it, especially as I was by the window!"
For others, the sporadic sounds of drilling added significantly to the stress of the exam experience. Among many finalists, there is concern that the roadworks placed added pressure on their ability to perform well. While one said that the roadworks had been "disturbing", another said that the noise was "really annoying".
A spokesperson for the University Proctors said that they were looking into the complaints made by the students but were unable to comment further.
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