This page will contain the latest news on the 2020 IRSE exam - all candidates are responsible for keeping themselves up to date
26 March 2021
Following IRSE Education & Professional Committee meeting yesterday, I can make the following announcements:
- A single option has been selected to achieve signalling the layout (module 2) – this is being worked on and if it can be achieved, then it will be for an exam date of 2 October 2021, i.e. the same day as the other modules. I emphasise that this is still being worked on and subject to confirmation
- For 2021 only, those who have not passed any module previously can take one or more of modules B-D if they have a sponsorship agreement in place with a current IRSE Member (MIRSE) or Fellow (FIRSE) – this is a change to the previously announced arrangements
- For 2021 only, candidates will be able to sit between one (1) and four (4) modules on 2 October 2021 – this is a change to the previously announced arrangements
These updates will be reflected on the IRSE exam pages early next week. Due to these changes there will be a delay in opening bookings as these arrangements are more complex. Bookings will open in early April 2021 and will close for all candidates on 31 July 2021.
1 March 2021
All certificates for the IRSE Professional Exam, the Advanced Diploma and Certificate have been sent out by Royal Mail to the addresses listed in our database.
The YM's exam review videos have now been posted on our dedicated Vimeo study page.
7 February 2021
Certificates for the IRSE Professional exam have not been sent out yet. Apologies the delay. The office is not only working remotely without access to normal printers, certificate paper, etc but also short staffed at present due to illness.
Exam candidates are reminded of the
Younger Members' exam review on Tuesday 9 February
which also be recorded.
15 December 2020
Certificates for the "Certificate in Railway Control Engineering Fundamentals" (Module A) have been sent to successful candidates who have passed the Module A exam this October - these were put into the post in UK on Friday 11 December. For those who have not only passed Module A but had also previously passed 3 (or more) exam modules, certificates for the "Advanced Diploma in Railway Control Engineering" have also been sent out.
Apologies for the length of time it has taken to send out these certificates. The office is not only working remotely without access to normal printers, certificate paper, etc but also short staffed at present due to illness.
19 November 2020
All Module 1-7 candidates and sponsors have been updated by email.
Marking the papers continues and results are expected to be sent out by mid-January 2021.
All candidates have been asked to complete a survey.
Education & Professional Development Committee are still looking at how to provide a module 2 exam for our candidates within Covid-19 restrictions.
Modules A, B, C and D will be available to be sat in October 2021. There will be no spring 2021 Module A exam.
28 October 2020
All candidates who sat certificate in railway control engineering fundamentals / fundamentals of railway control engineering (module A) have been informed of their results by email. Congratulations to all those who passed at pass, credit and distinction grades. Feedback by learning objective has been given to only those candidates who narrowly missed the pass mark (those with near miss grades). The pass mark will not be announced and no appeals will be accepted for the certificate.
Marking has commenced for modules 1 and 3-7. This will take longer than the certificate marking as all answers need to be read and marked by our examiners. We will announce results as soon as we have them.
Many thanks to all those who set and those who are marking the questions for all the modules.
3 October 2020 20:00
Thank you to IRSE and Titus Staff, Volunteers and Candidates for helping to make the 2020 examinations a success. While there were a few minor problems these were in the main resolved through a collaborative effort. Good luck to all the candidates as the markers start their work.
3 October 2020 04:00
Some candidates are reporting not being able to access their exam at the allotted time. Please note all times are quoted as Universal Time Coordinated (also known as GMT). Please check the corresponding time in your country before attempting to log in. For example UK candidates will be on British Summer Time (+1 Hr on from UTC time).
2 October 2020 - Update for all candidates:
Candidates have been sent final details for their exam tomorrow. As a reminder, the URL remains the same as practice exam and those within the instructions / guidance sent out.
There have been issues with our website - documents from June onwards may not be available.
There were issues overnight with some candidates unable to reach the Module 1-7 practice exam. These have been resolved - please login again. The practice exam is available until 21:00 UTC today.
30 September 2020 - Update for Module A candidates:
Unfortunately due to system changes all login details have been changed - This will effect you if you have yet to undertake your practice session(s). Updated details have been sent to you.
24 September 2020 - Update for all exam candidates:
Details have been sent of the practice exam to all Module 1, 3-7 candidates.
Candidates for the Certificate in Railway Control Engineering Fundamentals (module A) have been reminded that they have details for their practice exam.
All candidates have been reminded of the time window on exam day 3 October 2020 (they can start the exam at any time during this window) and have been reminded that the exam is not in exam centres this year.
The full text of the email can be found here.
20 September 2020 - Update for all exam candidates:
Unfortunately Module 2 has been postponed until a date to be agreed in 2021.
All other candidates have been given their time window for sitting their module(s) - All times are quoted in UTC as this is a global exam.
The full text of the email is in the document library below and here.
15 September 2020 - Request for all candidates to acknowledge that they have received their emails:
Those who have not acknowledged the email of 4 September have been sent a reminder email to their registered email address today.
4 September 2020 - Update for all exam candidates:
All candidates have been sent an email to their registered address today. The full text of the email is here, and in the document library below, along with the additional terms & conditions for these emergency exam conditions. The information in the email, which is presented in a FAQ style, is intended to allay any initial concerns, whilst we acknowledge that there are still many outstanding questions.
Candidates for the Certificate in Railway Control Engineering Fundamentals (module A) are reminded that they have details for their practice exam (2 opportunities to sit the same exam).
25 August 2020 - Important announcement for all exam candidates:
All candidates have been sent an email to their registered address today. The full text of the email is here, and in the document library below.The key information for all candidates is that there will be no exam centres this year; you will take the exam at a suitable venue to you (be that home, work or another quiet place)
21 August 2020 - Certificate in Railway Control Engineering Fundamentals (Module A) candidates:
All candidates booked to sit the Certificate in Railway Control Engineering Fundamentals (Module A) have been sent details of how to access the practice exam. If you have not received this (email sent from Polly Whyte on 7 August 2020), please check your junk mail in the first instance and then contact us at exam@irse.org if you have not received it. Please also ensure that you read the instructions for module A candidates document (on the module A support resources page).
July 2020: Study videos available
The IRSE Younger Members have run a series of study sessions for those who are intending to sit the exam this year and videos of these events are available on in our dedicated IRSE Exam Study resources area on Vimeo.