Become a Mentor Donate

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has released a provisional GCSE exam timetable available here. 

GCSE exams will run from Monday 24 May 2021 to Friday 2 July 2021.

Early English and mathematics

GCSE exams will begin with an early English language Paper 1 on Monday 24 May and mathematics Paper 1 on Tuesday 25 May.

Then the rest of the exams will continue after the May half-term from 7 June.

Adjustments to GCSE exams due to coronavirus

Adjustments to the exams

In order to recognise the hardship facing students this year due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Department for Education announced extra measure to “boost fairness” for students.

In February, students will receive advance notice of exam topics for some of their examinations. They will also be provided with helpful sheets of information, such as vocabulary sheets for Modern Foreign Language papers. More details on what will be provided will be released in January.

Extra examinations

Students who are unable to sit any of their examination papers in a subject due to absence will have an opportunity to take a “contingency paper”. In extreme cases where a student has a legitimate reason to miss all their papers, then a validated teacher assessment can be used- but only when opportunities to sit an exam have passed.

The contingency exams will take place shortly after the main exam period in the summer.

Grades awarded based on one examination paper

This year, if a student misses one or more of their examination papers due to absence, they will still be awarded a GCSE qualification based on the examination paper they did sit.

GCSE results day 2021

Results will be released to centres on Thursday 26 August 2021.

Results day for students will be Friday 27 August 2021.

Sources:

https://www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-gcse-exam-dates-and-timetables-2021

https://www.youtube.com/user/ofqual