End of term checklist for the Director of Studies

Updated 24 October 2026

End of term is the busiest time of the school year for the Director of Studies. This checklist, week by week, keeps report cards from becoming a last-minute rush.

Four weeks before the end of term

• Update every class list: new learners in, learners who left marked as left.
• Check each subject has a teacher, and each teacher has an email or phone number.
• Confirm the grading, the weights for each exam and the comment bank for each level.
• Agree the report card design with the head teacher. Fix the term, the dates and next term’s opening date.

Three weeks before

• Make and share the mark sheets for the end-of-term exam.
• Tell teachers the deadline for marks, in writing.

Two weeks before

• Collect marks as they come in. Chase missing ones by class and subject.
• Check marks: impossible marks, missing learners, sudden jumps from mid-term.
• Print the class mark sheet for each class, and read down each subject.

The last week

• Class teachers read their class’s cards and adjust comments where needed.
• The head teacher reads a sample of cards from each class.
• Print one test card per class, check it, then print the class.
• Sign and stamp the cards, and keep a PDF copy of every class.

After the term

• Keep the term’s marks and cards safely, and back them up.
• Note what slowed you down this term, and fix it before the next.