Rockschool music qualifications are tailor-made for the contemporary musician.
Graded Music Exams
Private & Public Exam Days
Exam days can be hosted via two different methods: in a private venue or at a public exam centre.
About Private & Public Exam Days
Private Exams provide students the convenience of taking their graded music exam in a familiar setting using equipment they’re accustomed to (their school, teacher’s studio, home etc.), either through an examiner visit or live-stream. Public Exams are held on specified dates at exam centres around the UK, making it an excellent option for independent learners who require a local venue to host their exam.
Private vs Public Exam Days
Flick between the tabs below to learn more about the differences between privately hosted and public exam days…
What is a Private Exam day?
Private Exams are exam days hosted at a venue of your choice, enabling your students to sit their Graded Exam in the comfort of a familiar setting, using equipment they are accustomed to. Students often prefer this format due to this familiarity, whilst it can also reduce the amount of time spent outside of school. These exams can be done through an examiner visit or alternatively via a live-stream at the venue or direct from the student’s home.
For teachers, this introduces a higher degree of flexibility as the exam date itself is not limited to specific Exam Periods, like our public examinations. All private centres are given access to discounts on official RSL publications, as well as additional resources and support to help make each learners experience as enjoyable as possible.
Key Information
- We can organise a Private Day for you if you have a full day’s worth of exams. Subject to examiner availability, it may also be possible to arrange a session if you meet requirements for a half-day booking. The terms for both booking types can be found in the table below.
- A Private Day can incorporate any instrument, including Music Production and Popular Music Theory, across the entire range of grades available.
- Private days can be booked on any day of the week (Sunday included).
- Exam sessions generically run from 9am–5pm, but this can be amended to suit your needs – subject to examiner availability.
- RSL will send an examiner to you. All you need to do is provide a steward and appropriate facilities to run the exam smoothly.
- Each centre needs to provide suitable facilities and equipment in order to run the exam.
- To register, please complete the Terms and Conditions Agreement and return it to your regional exams officer (listed below).
- New customers will need to register an account before an application can be processed and exams entered.
- Students can be entered for their exam individually, or as a group.
- Payment can be made through our website or alternatively via BACS/invoice. You can decide how you wish to manage this process.
Resources
Download the private centre procedure form…
Times and Fees
Please use this table to identify how many exam entries will create an exam day.
A full day is 8 hours (6.5 hours of exams plus an examiner break), with a half day set at 4 hours minimum. Please see our exam fees here for Face-to-face exams, Recorded Video Exams & Live-streamed Exams.
| Grade | Grade Exam (Instruments) | Grade Exam (Vocals) | Performance Certificate (Instruments) | Performance Certificate (Vocals) | Music Production | Music Theory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premiere | 10 mins | 10 mins | ||||
| Debut | 15 mins | 15 mins | 12 mins | 12 mins | 60 mins | |
| 1 | 20 mins | 25 mins | 15 mins | 25 mins | 45 mins | 90 mins |
| 2 | 20 mins | 25 mins | 15 mins | 25 mins | 45 mins | 90 mins |
| 3 | 25 mins | 30 mins | 18 mins | 25 mins | 45 mins | 90 mins |
| 4 | 25 mins | 30 mins | 22 mins | 25 mins | 50 mins | 120 mins |
| 5 | 25 mins | 30 mins | 22 mins | 25 mins | 50 mins | 120 mins |
| 6 | 30 mins | 36 mins | 25 mins | 30 mins | 70 mins | 180 mins |
| 7 | 32 mins | 36 mins | 25 mins | 30 mins | 70 mins | 180 min |
| 8 | 32 mins | 36 mins | 28 mins | 30 mins | 70 mins | 180 mins |
Contact Your Regional Exams Officer
To contact your regional exams officer and discuss your needs in more detail, please send a message to info@rslawards.com.
What is a Public Exam day?
A Rockschool Public Exam takes place in an exam centre, which is open to any/all candidate looking for a venue to take their exam in their region. All listed venues are viewable on our national centre map with exams held on specified dates within each of our Exam Periods: (A: Spring, B: Summer and C: Autumn). All dates are confirmed after each closing date at the latest.
These centres are particularly valuable if you are receiving or delivering tuition independently and would require a local venue to host exams. We give our public centres a fee for hosting an event and promote them on our national centre map. We also offer other deals on our publications to help support greater engagement with Rockschool materials and exams.
Key Information
- We can organise for students to attend your own Public Exam Centre once you have registered and been approved by our Exams Team.
- A public booking can incorporate any instrument, including Music Production and Theory, across the entire range of grades.
- Public exams are booked to take place within our set exam periods only.
- Exam sessions generically run from 9am–5pm, but this is negotiable depending on your needs and examiner availability.
- RSL will send an examiner to you. All you need to do is provide a steward and appropriate facilities to run the exam smoothly. This is covered through the application process.
- Each centre needs to provide suitable facilities and equipment in order to run exams.
- Students apply through our website and have an exam centre assigned to them with their preferences taken into account.
- Public Exam Centres are free to submit their own candidates for exams.
Contact Your Regional Exams Officer
To contact your regional exams officer and discuss your needs in more detail, please send a message to info@rslawards.com.
Ready to take an exam?
Simply purchase your exam entry from our online shop before completing your exam details via your RSL Awards secure account.
