What people working in schools and colleges need to know about the exam and assessment season

This guide is aimed at people working in schools and colleges who are supporting students through their qualifications, especially exams officers and senior leaders with responsibility for exams.

It explains things to be aware of during the exams and assessments periods, what you should tell your students and what you can expect from awarding organisations regulated by Ofqual.

Topics include:

• dates for exams
• how to administer exams and non-exam assessment
• what to do if you suspect malpractice
• how to report errors
• special consideration

We use the term schools and colleges to refer to schools, colleges and other exam or assessment centres. In this guide “you” refers to a school or college offering qualifications regulated by Ofqual. “We” refers to Ofqual.

It covers qualifications typically taken in schools or colleges, and reported in the Department for Education’s performance tables. These include GCSEs, AS and A Levels, T Levels and vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs). We make it clear when information only applies to a specific qualification or type of qualification.

This guide does not cover on-demand assessments such as Functional Skills Qualifications, English for Speakers of Other Languages, apprenticeship assessments, end-point assessments and other VTQs not included in the Department for Education’s performance tables. 

Read this guide alongside any relevant awarding organisation or Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) guidance. For qualification-specific queries, you should speak to the relevant awarding organisation.

This is one of a series of guides explaining the arrangements for qualifications in 2027. The others are:

• What people working in schools and colleges need to know before exams and assessments
• What people working in schools and colleges need to know about the period after exams and assessments