If you’re planning to rely on your watch this exam season, testing times lie ahead. A number of universities have banned timepieces, fearing new smartwatches could enable students to access forbidden materials. And with exam season just around the corner, some students are less than happy.



Eleanor Bley Griffiths, an MA magazine journalism student at City University, has been told not to wear her watch during exams. She says she depends on it to pace herself and to make sure she doesn’t run out of time. “During exams, I have a habit of glancing at my watch every few minutes to make sure I’m writing at a good rate. Now I’m annoyed that I have to keep short-sightedly squinting at the clock at the front or put my glasses on, breaking my concentration,” she says.

Several universities have recently revised their watch policy. Students at City University in London are now banned from wearing any kind of wristwatch in exams, those at Southampton must place all watches in a clear plastic bag on the desk, while at Goldsmiths watches have to be stored under desks.



At Queen Mary, University of London, students must take off electronic watches, while at Oxford and Cambridge, students’ watches are “subject to examination by invigilators”.

This has left some students stressed in the run-up to exams. Miranda Larbi, an MA newspaper journalism student at City University, says: “I’m nervous that in a couple of weeks I won’t have my watch in my law exam – and that might cause problems. I will have to sit right near the front so that I can see the clock because I’m short-sighted. You don’t need extra problems when you have exams.”

Becca Norman, a third-year chemistry student at Southampton University, is also concerned that the ban will affect some students more than others. “Some people cannot easily read the clock at the front of the room due to their poor eyesight and so will be more affected by the restrictions. It’s ridiculous that you cannot have a normal analogue watch.”

Griffiths thinks only smartwatches - not ordinary wrist watches – should be banned. “Surely smart watches are fairly easy to spot on a student’s wrist compared to a classic wrist watch?” she says. “Instead, universities have gone for the most hardline option: a complete ban.”

All watches are banned from exams at City University. Photograph: Katherine Price/The Guardian

So why are universities imposing a ban on even the most low-tech of wrist watches?

Sarah El-Alfy, education officer at Goldsmiths student union, says that the decision was made as it would be unfair to individualise students and spend time checking every single watch that came into the exam room.



“As universities are currently under-resourced and do not have the time to check watches, it seems like an uncontroversial policy to put in place. No students have come forward with complaints, and currently all our examination rooms have visible clocks for students to check the time, which is what matters.”

Jackie Lupton, exams, awards and graduation manager at the University of Southampton, says clocks will be projected on to white screens, or battery-driven clocks will be provided in university exams at Southampton.

And some students back the ban. Elliot Elwood, a fourth-year medicine student at the University of Southampton, says: “I know someone who got disciplined for trying to cheat with a smartwatch. It’s not a big inconvenience, and it sends an important message to those thinking about cheating.”

Anna Kent-Muller, a music student at the University of Southampton, says that she doesn’t think the ban matters while there is a clock in the room. “And with smart watches coming in it’s the same as not being allowed a phone in an exam.”

We asked you: what’s the weirdest thing you’ve had confiscated during an exam?



Students: what's the weirdest thing you've had confiscated during an #exam at #university? — Guardian Students (@gdnstudents) April 30, 2015

@gdnstudents Yes, a bank statement fell out of my pocket during an exam, and it got confiscated even though I was sitting a US Lit exam — edna (@ednamohamed_) April 30, 2015

@gdnstudents My rescue remedy! Dunno what they thought it was. But yet they didn't notice the block of post-its I'd left in my pencil case — Erin Davies (@Davies_EL) April 30, 2015

@gdnstudents my aloe vera green tea? All I wanted was to keep hydrated but really they were fussy about how much type there was on the label — Brenda Wong (@brendaisarebel) April 30, 2015

@gdnstudents water because it was fizzy and I didn't realise 😑😑 — Michelle Gleaves (@michellejg) May 1, 2015

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