Summer 2027·GCSE exams

GCSE exams 2027: dates, grades and results

For heads of department, exams officers, teachers and families

GCSE exams on the summer 2027 common timetable run from Monday 10 May 2027 to Friday 18 June 2027, and GCSE results day is Thursday 19 August 2027. Below: the deadlines that land on a department, how grades and tiers work, how long the core exams last, what happens after results, and the November resits. Every date links to the document it comes from.

Checked against the sources below on Wednesday 16 September 2026.

GCSE exam dates 2027

Monday 10 May 2027	First GCSE exam on the common timetable JCQ
Friday 18 June 2027	Last GCSE exam on the common timetable JCQ
Wednesday 23 June 2027	Contingency day, kept free in case of national or significant local disruption JCQ
Wednesday 18 August 2027	GCSE results released to schools and colleges only JCQ
Thursday 19 August 2027	GCSE results day — results released to students JCQ

These are the final timetables, not provisional ones: AQA calls its version confirmed (AQA), and Pearson Edexcel (Pearson), Cambridge OCR (OCR) and Eduqas (Eduqas) publish theirs as final. The individual paper dates for a subject are in that board’s timetable.

The contingency day matters to families. AQA’s timetable tells schools to remind students to remain available until Wednesday 23 June 2027, in case an exam board has to use its contingency plan (AQA).

Language speaking tests come earlier. AQA’s window runs from Monday 12 April 2027 to Friday 21 May 2027, and each school tests during five weeks of it (AQA).

Schools and colleges usually receive results the day before the public results day (Ofqual). For summer 2027 that is a restricted release to centres only on Wednesday 18 August 2027 (JCQ), and students receive theirs after 8am on results day (Ofqual).

Key deadlines for schools, 2026 to 2027

Friday 20 November 2026	Basedata (subject and entry codes) for the June 2027 series available JCQ
Sunday 31 January 2027	Deadline to order modified papers through Access arrangements online JCQ
Sunday 31 January 2027	Deadline for Form JCQ/CCA — centre consortium arrangements for centre-assessed work JCQ
Sunday 21 February 2027	Deadline for GCSE and A level entries JCQ
Sunday 21 March 2027	Deadline to process access arrangements applications through Access arrangements online JCQ
Sunday 21 March 2027	Deadline to request transferred candidate arrangements JCQ
Saturday 1 May 2027	AQA: GCSE PE practical performance marks — AQA says two weeks before the school’s moderation visit, and visits run 1 March to 15 May 2027 AQA
Friday 7 May 2027	AQA: most internally assessed GCSE marks due — PE, Art and Design, Drama texts in practice and language speaking tests have their own dates AQA
Monday 10 May to Wednesday 30 June 2027	Special consideration requests for timetabled exams: first date, then final deadline (a board may accept requests for coursework earlier) JCQ
Monday 24 May 2027	AQA: GCSE language speaking tests submitted AQA
Monday 31 May 2027	AQA: GCSE Art and Design marks, and Drama texts in practice, due AQA

There is no single deadline for GCSE coursework marks. JCQ sets one common date only for A level; for GCSE, the deadlines for non-exam assessment marks differ between boards and within them, so each board’s own documents are the ones to follow (JCQ). The AQA dates above are examples, not a rule for every board.

GCSE grades explained

GCSEs in England are graded 9 to 1, with 9 the highest and U for ungraded. The new grades do not map exactly onto the old letters; they line up at three points only: the bottom of a 7 is the bottom of an old A, the bottom of a 4 is the bottom of an old C, and the bottom of a 1 is the bottom of an old G. Where an employer used to ask for at least a grade C, Ofqual says the equivalent is at least a 4 (Ofqual).

In a letter of 28 March 2017 the Education Secretary said the Department for Education would call a grade 4 a standard pass and a grade 5 a strong pass (DfE letter, 2017). One of its headline school performance measures is the share of pupils with grade 5 or above in English and maths; grade 4 or above is reported too (DfE). Combined science is awarded a double grade, such as 5-5 or 5-4 (Ofqual). Wales and Northern Ireland use different grading scales from England (Ofqual).

Grade boundaries are set after the papers are marked and often move from year to year to reflect how hard the papers were (Ofqual). There is no quota on how many students get each grade (Ofqual). AQA publishes its GCSE boundaries at 8am on results day (AQA).

Foundation and higher tiers

For 2027, Ofqual lists the tiered GCSEs as maths, combined science, biology, chemistry, physics, statistics and modern foreign languages. Foundation tier leads to grades 5 to 1 (5-5 to 1-1 in combined science). Higher tier leads to grades 9 to 4 (9-9 to 4-4 in combined science), with a grade 3 (4-3 in combined science) allowed for a student who only just misses a 4. The certificate does not show which tier a student sat (Ofqual).

Formulae and equation sheets in 2027

Students taking GCSE maths, physics and combined science in 2027 will not be expected to memorise formulae and equations. The exam boards publish the formulae and equation sheets in December 2026, and they will be the same as the 2026 sheets (Ofqual).

How long GCSE exams last

Paper lengths are set by each board’s specification, so they can differ between boards. For AQA’s GCSEs in maths, English language, English literature and combined science:

AQA Mathematics (8300): Three papers, 1 hour 30 minutes each, 80 marks each. Paper 1 is non-calculator; papers 2 and 3 allow a calculator. All three are sat at the same tier. AQA
AQA English Language (8700): Two papers, 1 hour 45 minutes each, 80 marks and 50% each. Spoken Language is reported as a separate endorsement and counts for none of the grade. AQA
AQA English Literature (8702): Paper 1 is 1 hour 45 minutes (64 marks, 40%); paper 2 is 2 hours 15 minutes (96 marks, 60%). Closed book. AQA
AQA Combined Science: Trilogy (8464): Six papers — two each in biology, chemistry and physics — of 1 hour 15 minutes and 70 marks each, at Foundation or Higher tier. AQA

Coursework and non-exam assessment

Non-exam assessment (NEA) is coursework, practical work, a performance or a portfolio that counts towards the grade without being a written exam (Ofqual). How much of a GCSE it makes up depends on the subject. At AQA:

AQA Art and Design: Entirely non-exam assessment: a portfolio (60%) and an externally set assignment (40%) with 10 hours of supervised time. AQA
AQA Drama: A 1 hour 45 minute open-book written exam (40%); devising (40%) and performing two extracts (20%) are non-exam assessment. AQA · AQA
AQA Physical Education: Two written papers of 1 hour 15 minutes (30% each); practical performance in three activities with analysis and evaluation is non-exam assessment (40%). AQA
AQA Computer Science (8525): Exam only. Schools must still send AQA a practical programming statement confirming every student had the chance to develop programming skills. AQA · AQA

After results: reviews and appeals

Ofqual calls the ways to challenge a result post-results services (Ofqual). Every exam board offers three: a review of an administrative error, a review of marking, and a review of moderation (Ofqual).

For students entered by a school or college, only the school can ask (Ofqual), and it needs the student’s written consent, collected after results are published (JCQ). Schools must have a way for a student to appeal a decision not to request a review.
After a review of marking a grade can go up or down (Ofqual), and the board charges a fee if the grade does not change. A review of moderation can only confirm or raise a grade (Ofqual).
A non-priority review of marking is completed within 20 calendar days. For GCSE, only Pearson currently offers a priority review (Ofqual).
The deadline for June 2027 review requests is not published yet. For June 2026 results, requests must reach the exam board by 24 September 2026 (JCQ), and deadlines for non-priority reviews typically fall in late September (Ofqual).
An appeal must be made within 30 calendar days of the review outcome, and for a school’s own students it is submitted by the head of centre (JCQ). After the board’s appeals are finished, a school can apply to Ofqual’s Exam Procedures Review Service within 15 working days. Ofqual does not re-mark or change grades itself (Ofqual).

GCSE resits: the November series

In England, only English language and maths can be resat in November, and only by students who were 16 or over on 31 August. AQA warns that if a student who does not meet the age requirement sits the exam, it may be treated as maladministration (AQA). Any other GCSE can be resat the following summer (Ofqual).

Sunday 4 October 2026	Entry deadline for the November series JCQ
Tuesday 3 November to Monday 9 November 2026	English language and maths papers in England at AQA, OCR and Pearson Edexcel AQA · OCR · Pearson
Tuesday 12 January 2027	Results released to schools and colleges only JCQ
Wednesday 13 January 2027	Results released to students JCQ
Thursday 18 February 2027	Last date for post-results requests on the November series JCQ

The sources disagree on the November results date. JCQ’s revised key dates give Wednesday 13 January 2027 for students (JCQ), and AQA’s November timetable records the change from Thursday 14 January (AQA). Ofqual’s guide for schools, published on 7 September 2026, still gives Thursday 14 January 2027 (Ofqual). The table follows JCQ.

After 16, students aged 16 to 18 (up to 25 with an EHC plan) on a funded study programme of 150 hours or more who do not have a grade 4 in English or maths must keep studying it; this is a condition of the provider’s funding. In 2026 to 2027, a full-time student with a grade 3 must study towards the GCSE, and a student with grade 2 or below can study towards the GCSE or Functional Skills level 2. Full-time students must be planned at least 100 teaching hours in each subject (DfE).

Who sets GCSEs: the exam boards

The Department for Education sets the subject content for each GCSE. Exam boards write and award the qualifications from that content under rules set by Ofqual, the regulator in England, and plan the summer timetable together through the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Ofqual recognises four boards to award GCSEs in England: AQA, Cambridge OCR, Pearson (Edexcel) and WJEC Eduqas (Ofqual). WJEC is the largest awarding body in Wales (WJEC), and CCEA awards GCSEs in Northern Ireland (CCEA).