Ofqual: rolling update

Autumn 2021 exams

GCSEs, AS and A levels

There were AS and A level exams in October and exams in all GCSE subjects are being held in November or December.

Art and design is being assessed by a task set and marked by the exam board. Your grade will be determined by your performance on this task.

Results days

Qualification	Results day
AS and A level	16 December
GCSE maths and English language	13 January
GCSEs in all other subjects	24 February

Vocational and technical qualifications

Some awarding organisations already offer assessments in the autumn term or in January. Those that don’t may choose to do so this year. Talk to your college, training provider or school if you want to use this as an opportunity to get or improve your grade.

Summer 2022 GCSEs, AS and A levels

The government intends that exams will go ahead in summer 2022, with some changes to exams and changes to non-exam assessments.

Grading

When grading exams in 2022, we will aim for a grading standard that reflects a midway point between 2021 and 2019. 

Grade boundaries will be set so that more students will receive higher grades than was the case before the pandemic. This will provide a safety net for students who might otherwise just miss out on a higher grade in this transitionary year.

Vocational and technical qualifications 2022

Exams and formal assessments for vocational and technical qualifications, timetabled for January, will go ahead and students should continue to prepare for these assessments. This has been confirmed in a letter from the Secretary of State for Education to school and college leaders.

Results for vocational and technical qualifications in 2022 will be based on the outcome of exams and assessments. Awarding organisations will be allowed to make adaptations to assessments and qualifications, where they need to, due to the pandemic.

In early December we updated our guidance on the awarding of vocational and technical qualifications in the academic year 2021 to 2022. The guidance is for schools, colleges and training providers, and includes information on T Levels, Functional Skills Qualifications and Apprenticeship end-point assessments.

Contingency plans in case exams cannot go ahead as planned

The government intends that exams will go ahead in 2022. If exams cannot go ahead as planned, students will receive grades determined by their teachers, using teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) similar to those used in summer 2021. TAGs are based on teachers’ assessment of their students’ work.

For GCSEs, AS and A levels, we have published guidance for schools and colleges on how to collect evidence from their students in the remainder of the academic year, so that this evidence is available in case TAGs are needed. 

Our guidance encourages schools to use their existing assessment plans and not to over-assess students. In many cases, the necessary assessments will already be planned to support students’ learning and help them prepare for summer exams.

Private candidates

As we expect exams to take place in 2022, we are encouraging schools, colleges and other exam centres to allow private candidates to register with them in the usual way.

If exams cannot go ahead as planned, private candidates will need to work with a school, college or other exam centre to generate evidence for a teacher-assessed grade. A private candidate could take assessments through the year to produce this evidence. Alternatively, a private candidate could choose to be assessed only if it is decided that exams cannot take place. They would then need to find a school, college or other exam centre to work with, and would be assessed in a more compressed period of time.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) will publish a list of schools, colleges and other exam centres that will accept private candidate exam entries for GCSEs, AS and A levels in summer 2022.

For vocational and technical qualifications, the Department for Education has published guidance on contingency measures. The contingency arrangements would include:

• using TAGs for those qualifications most similar to GCSEs and A levels
• delaying the awarding of qualifications that require students to demonstrate occupational or professional competence

Replacement certificates

Ofqual does not hold copies of your certificates – we can’t tell you your grade or provide replacements. Certificates are held by the exam board you sat your qualification with. If you don’t know which exam board you took your qualification with, ask your school. If your school don’t know you will need to ask each exam board to do a search for you – they will charge you for this.

Contact your exam board

• AQA
• Pearson
• OCR
• WJEC Eduqas

Anxiety and mental health support

We understand that this has been a difficult time for students and you have shown great resilience in the face of the challenges presented by the pandemic. Always make sure you speak to somebody if you are feeling anxious or struggling with your mental health. This might be a parent, carer or someone else you trust.

You can also contact:

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• Mind
• Young Minds
• NHS 111 – they can assist in providing the mental health support you may need