The exact day and time of your student’s exam will be given to LABA approximately one month before our scheduled exam week. The studio will notify you once the exact schedule is received.

Preparation for the exam and the time in the room usually takes about 1-1.5 hours, depending on the level. Your student will most likely need to leave their school to come to the studio to take the examination, so please also factor in travel time.

For the lower RAD Grades, a student’s progression to the next grade level does not depend on them taking and passing the RAD Examination. However, for certain Vocational (Pre-professional) grade levels, the student does need to take and pass the RAD exam in order to advance to the next level.

The great thing about RAD examinations is that other than meeting the minimum age there are no prerequisites to be able to register for the graded examinations. This means that if your student does the Class Award for Grade 1 for example, they can still try for the Grade 2 exam in the future without having completed the Grade 1 exam. Another option is after completing the class award during this round of assessments to either take the same grade as an exam during the next round of examinations in the same year if available. 

At the end of the day, teachers want to ensure their students are going to pass, not for their own ego, but for the physical and emotional well-being of the students. The examinations require such a high standard of technique and ability to pass that some teachers may be cautious and only enter those students they are absolutely certain will pass and this might mean they only put forward students they feel will be in the Merit or Distinction vicinity. Recommending a student for an exam that they’re not prepared for can lead to potential injury, as well as undue emotional stress and anxiety.  Both the Directors and teachers want to ensure that the exam process is one that the students will find enjoyable, challenging, and rewarding.

Reporting for examinations uses a standardized and aggregated point system to determine a fail (0-39), pass(40-54), merit (55-74) and distinction (75-100). The examination process, marking standards and syllabus are all transparent and available for download by students and parents at the RAD website. 

Class Awards are marked in a less detailed way with examiners giving the comment – Frequently, Generally, Occasionally and Not shown to about four components or sections of the exam. Examiners are looking for three key features overall which are coordination of student’s bodies, demonstrating correct timing and response to the music, and maintaining appropriate expression through their face and body. If a student receives a not shown in any section they are unsuccessful in achieving the class award, which is highly unlikely as your teacher would have entered your child knowing they could pass.