Guidance for Gradings

All examiners are advised to explain before a grading begins what general characteristics of performance and execution of manoeuvres they are looking for. Marks given by examiners are discretionary with points being awarded or lost based on the examiners observations. Additional points can be gained for being clever, creative and interesting however students should also be aware that they can lose points for poor execution if they over complicate a move and therefore the quality of the overall performance suffers. For example, if you are being assessed on a basic wristlock (Grade 1) you can gain points for performing a sequence into the wristlock. However, if your execution of the sequence into the wristlock is sloppy it will affect the overall mark even if the actual wristlock is good. If you are not confident the best thing to do is keep it simple.

Examiners work to the following guidelines for marking:

Unsatisfactory – 0 Points
Unsafe and badly executed

Poor – 1 Point
Safe but uncontrolled

Satisfactory – 2 Points
Safe and controlled

Good – 3 Points
Safe and controlled
Well executed

Excellent – 4 Points
Safe and controlled
Very well executed
Carried out with flair and personality

Exceptional – 5 Points
Safe and controlled
Extremely well executed
Carried out with flair and personality
Displays evidence of thought regarding style and body shape of self

If a student is not happy with their performance or makes an error they can be given the opportunity to re-take that move however this will automatically have one point deducted so, for example, if the retake would have received an excellent (i.e. 4 points) it would now only receive a good (3 points). Students are only allowed to do this once per move. Failure to perform the move at all during these two attempts will be marked as unsatisfactory (0 points).

Occasionally an examiner may ask a student to perform a move a second time. This will not affect their mark. The reasons for this are various for example checking that something wasn’t ‘a fluke’, ensuring that a move was still performed safely when repeated, looking for small elements such as grip or footing that were possibly hard to catch on first viewing etc.

Additional points can be awarded for good selling from Grade 1 however from Grade 4 onwards students can also lose marks for bad selling.

All gradings are subjected to inspection by a BWC moderator before marks are released. This is simply to ensure all examiners are marking to the same level and display no evidence of bias to any particular school or student.