Preparing your file for upload

Choosing your file format

Please upload your results in one of the following formats:

1. Long List
2. SIMS broadsheet (Not suitable for IB or Cambridge International A Levels) - See below for details.

These spreadsheets can be in either a comma separated variable format i.e. csv comma delimited (.csv) or a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (.xlsx or .xls).

Please note: we are only able to process data in the above formats (CSV Comma Delimited is the recommended long list format).

Long List Format

This format is 1 row per student per result and can contain the following fields.

Student Detail Fields - * indicates a compulsory field.

Examination Result Fields

One of the following combinations of Examination Result Fields is compulsory:

Option 1. Qualification + Subject + Result
Option 2. Board + Option Code + Result
Option 3. Qualification + Subject + Board + Option Code + Result*

(* You may include all 5 examination result fields in your spreadsheet and choose to select the Ignore option for qualification type and subject name during the upload process. This will force you to map to board and option code only which is a simpler and more accurate way to map qualifications as some subject names can be ambiguous).

An example of a correctly formatted long list file with all 5 examination result fields included is given below. If you choose options 1 or 2 (above), the columns you do not wish to include should be excluded from the spreadsheet altogether rather than included and left blank.

OPTION CODE: Cash-in or Option Codes are required for our Syllabus Level analyses (A2/AS Level only). Examples of cash-in/option codes are 7890 (OCR A2 Level Mathematics) and 3890 (OCR AS level Mathematics). If you wish to include the cash-in /option codes, you must include the exam board name/code too. Including the board and option codes can also enable more accurate identification of the qualification.
SUBJECT: If you are including subject names in your spreadsheet, make sure these are named clearly, in particular
1. A2/AS distinguish between:

• Textiles: Art & Design (Textiles) and DT Product Design(Textiles)
• Graphics: Art & Design (Graphics) and DT Product Design (Graphics)
• English: English Literature, English Language or English Language and Literature
• International A Levels: No board or option codes should be entered for international A Levels

2. IB Languages MUST be classified as A, B or ab initio in addition to Qualification of IBH or IBS e.g. English A, French B

• English A only: please specify additionally as Literature or Language and Literature or Literature and Performance
• No board or option code should be entered for IB qualifications

3. Pre-Us must be specified as Full Course or Short Course i.e. PREUFC or PREUSC. Board may be selected as CIE or Other.

PLEASE NOTE: If you need to upload a mixture of qualifications with and without board and option codes, please prepare 2 spreadsheets: one for the qualifications with codes and one for those without codes and upload them separately. If all or none of your qualifications have codes, they can all be included on the same spreadsheet.

SIMS Results Export file

This format is the one obtained directly from SIMS Management Information System. This can be obtained from SIMS using the following menu options:

Focus > Examinations > Reports, which will get to the Exam Results module part of SIMS. Then choose the following menu option to generate the report:

Reports > Results > Export Results, choosing the one row per pupil option and saving the file as a Comma Separate Variable (.csv) file type. This should result in a file that looks like this (when displayed in Excel):

The subject column headers are shown in detail in the image below. These should be generated in this format automatically via SIMS.

PLEASE NOTE: If following these instructions does not generate the report you require, please contact SIMS customer support for assistance. We are unable to offer guidance on how to obtain this report from any other Management Information System (MIS). Also, board and option code details are included in this format and cannot be removed so it is not suitable for IB qualifications or International A Levels. Please use the Long List Format for these qualifications.

Uploading your school’s results is carried out via our schools Exam Results Centre.