Understand schedule emails and add events to your calendar

Class and examination emails are sent at defined workflow stages. An allocation request goes to the staff responsible for the next task; a final timetable goes to the relevant participants after the required approval or allocation.

Calendar files use the .ics extension. Adding an event to a personal calendar helps with reminders, but it does not approve a school request, record attendance, clear a Financial Hold, or submit an exam response.

Before you begin

• Use the most recent school message and verify its class and subject.
• Choose the calendar account where you want the timetable saved.

Add and maintain your personal calendar entries

1. Read the latest school email

   Check the school, class, subject, examination or schedule title, date, time, time zone, and location. Decide whether the message is a request for staff action, a published timetable, an update, or a cancellation.

2. Add the attachment in Outlook

   Find the attached .ics file and click the small arrow beside it. Select Add to calendar and complete any confirmation Outlook shows. Then open your calendar and check the imported date, time, and venue. This attachment-menu workflow does not require an Accept button in the email body.

3. Add the attachment in Gmail / Google Calendar

   Use the calendar action Gmail displays for the invitation or attachment. If no action appears, download the .ics file and import it into the intended Google Calendar. Check the resulting entries, especially when one examination email contains several subject events.

4. Check all relevant entries

   A class schedule can cover a recurring effective date range. A class-wide exam attachment contains separate events for the subject rows included for that recipient. Check each subject date and time; adding a single visible email item is not a substitute for checking the complete timetable.

5. Handle updates and cancellations

   Read each later school notice and compare your calendar with the current portal timetable. Class meeting invitations carry update/cancellation information for calendar clients to process. Manually imported exam files are fixed copies and are not guaranteed to update or remove previous entries; remove or correct obsolete entries before importing a replacement.

Class-schedule notification flow

• Coordinator submits: the campus Campus Admin users receive an allocation-task email.
• Campus Admin publishes: the assigned teacher and active class students receive the allocated dates, time, room, and calendar attachment. Generated meeting links are included where present.
• Request returned: its creator receives the correction reason. If already published, participants also receive the cancellation information.
• Teacher or schedule changes: affected teachers and students receive assignment, update, or cancellation notices appropriate to the change.
• Parent copy: the active linked parent can be copied on the student message; class invitations include the resolved parent as an optional participant.

Exam notification flow

• Subject assessment awaiting approval: the Coordinator receives the approval request. The creator receives the approval or decline outcome; approved/published assessments trigger the student notification flow.
• Class-wide exam submitted: Campus Admin receives the venue task and the creator receives a submission confirmation.
• Times and venues finalized: students receive timetable/eligibility messages, assigned teachers receive their relevant subjects, and the Coordinator receives the full timetable confirmation.
• Blocked students: receive the applicable attendance or Financial Hold notice. Their class-wide calendar attachment includes allowed subjects only; it can be absent when all subjects are blocked.
• PDF response submitted or updated: the student receives confirmation. There is no separate teacher notification for each upload.
• Marks published or updated: the affected student receives a result email.
• Venue changed or exam cancelled: applicable timetable or cancellation messages are sent. Linked-parent copying applies to student messages when the active link resolves.

Class invitations and exam attachments behave differently

Published class schedules use calendar meeting requests and can include daily recurrence over the effective date range. Updates and cancellations identify the affected schedule or occurrences. How a client displays or applies the request depends on its calendar handling; verify the resulting calendar.

The current class-wide examination attachment is a single calendar file containing independent subject events. It is a timetable export rather than a meeting RSVP request, so Outlook may show an attachment menu instead of Accept/Decline buttons.

Exam exports include reminder information, but the calendar application controls which reminders it retains. Check your own reminders after adding the timetable. The portal remains the reference for current dates, locations, and eligibility.

Optional Outlook synchronization, only if offered in the email

Some school environments may also show Add all exams to Outlook or Manage Outlook calendar. This is a separate, optional connection. If offered, follow that button, review the connection page, and sign in to the intended Microsoft calendar account.

The connection adds separate exam events and synchronizes later school changes and cancellations while connected. Remove previously imported copies before connecting, and do not also import the same emailed .ics file. Keep the personal connection link private.

If the button is absent, use the attachment arrow > Add to calendar workflow. A manual attachment import does not enable automatic synchronization. If you disconnect a previously enabled connection, existing calendar entries remain and later updates stop.

Time zones and online meetings

Read the time zone stated in the school email. Calendar applications may display the equivalent time in your own account or device time zone, so the clock time can differ while representing the same event.

Google Meet, MS Teams, and Zoom links are online joining links, separate from adding an event to your calendar. The authorized schedule creator generates them through their connected account, and the final allocation timing is associated during publication. Follow the link for the intended provider and session.

Missing emails, calendar entries, or parents

• First check the portal status. Pending approval or allocation is not a final participant timetable.
• Check the recipient email address, spam/junk folder, and the relevant class/subject assignment.
• Check attendance eligibility and Financial Hold if a student receives a warning without a full calendar attachment.
• Confirm the parent's active student assignment and email address if a copy is missing. A copied student message does not grant access to other students.
• If a calendar entry is missing, reopen the attachment menu or import the file into the intended calendar and inspect every included subject.
• A saved action queues its email; it does not prove inbox delivery. Ask school administration to investigate delayed notices without creating duplicate schedules or examinations.

Recommended next step

Read My Exams for student and teacher actions. For school staff schedule and venue procedures, sign in to OCR for Schools and open Documentation from the profile menu.