How are student assessments and examinations carried out?

At Safar Academy, assessments are structured to support learning while being age-appropriate and meaningful. Students sit in-class assessments during weeks 10 and 20 of the academic calendar, along with a final annual exam. To support this, students are given a minimum of four weeks for revision. All assessments are carefully developed and reviewed to ensure they are purposeful and aligned with the curriculum.

We use a balanced approach to assessment, combining verbal, practical and written methods to cater for different learners. In the earlier stages, assessment is more informal and developmentally appropriate. There are no formal tests for Textbook 1, while Textbook 2 focuses on verbal and practical assessment. From Textbook 3 onwards, written assessments are introduced alongside practical elements to build confidence and exam readiness over time.

For the upper levels, the focus shifts more towards tarbiyah, reflection and meaningful discussion. For Textbook 7 and 8, we provide assessment templates rather than formal exam papers. These are designed to support discussion-based learning, personal reflection and the application of knowledge in real-life contexts.

Teachers can register to access our exam packs here, which include assessments for Textbook 2 to 6, mark schemes and a detailed exam guidance document. These papers are written by our lead examiner, an experienced and qualified teacher who is also an examiner for AQA. All materials are reviewed by the Safar curriculum team, under the guidance of Shaykh Hasan Ali, ensuring high standards, age appropriateness and a range of questioning to support different ability levels.

We are also developing an exam paper generator, which will allow teachers to create customised assessments tailored to their students’ needs, further enhancing flexibility and ease of use.