Sorry she is struggling Tyger but it is not the multitude of exam boards at fault here.
All courses have a common course coding and “equivalent” courses from the different exam boards are always sheduled to take place at the same time. The exam boards don’t set their own timetables, that is done by the QCA (qualifications and curriculum authority). The problem here is the number of modular exams and the vast multitude of courses that a person could possibly sit. The exams officier at our place (who is by definition a statistics geek!) mentioned that there are 450 different exams that could be taken in the next few weeks, with up to 3 or 4 variations of some of them for the differet exam boards. With that number of possible permutations there are bound to be a few poor souls that get more than they fair share on a single day. The public demands variety in their possible A levels and this is one of the problems it brings.
It won’t help her to know this but it could have been much worse if she had been a year older. Assuming she is in year 12 and doing AS this year as she has already started, she is only having to do 2 modules per subject per year – last years lot had 3 modules worth of exams and coursework. It has been noticibly easier for the current crop than it has been in the past.
Schools can make it easier for pupils though – we have pupils in isolation overnight sometimes to ease the burden when they have been double or triple booked.