Details of autumn 21 exams confirmed

Ofqual has this week confirmed arrangements for exams that will take place in autumn 2021. Following consultations, decisions have now been published for GCSEs, AS and A Levels, and for Vocational and Technical Qualifications and other General Qualifications. Here's our quick summary of the key decisions: 

For GCSEs, AS and A Levels:

• Exams will be available in all GCSE and A Level subjects. 
• AS Level exams will be available in biology, chemistry, further maths, maths and physics. 7 June update: exam boards will offer AS Level exams in these 5 subjects as required, based on demand in Autumn 2020. 
  
• AS and A Level exams will be held in October; GCSE exams will take place in November and December.
  
• Exams will be in their normal format, with no adaptations beyond those that had already been put in place for summer 21 exams before they were cancelled.*
  
• There will be no non-exam assessments (NEA). Grades will be determined on student performance in exams only. The exception is art and design where we will set and mark a new task to determine a student's grade. 
• Any student who receives a teacher assessed grade this summer, or who we believe would have intended to enter to summer 21 exams had they not been cancelled, can take the corresponding GCSE, AS and A Level exams in autumn 21.
  
• Any student who was at least 16 on 31 August 2021 can take the GCSE English Language and GCSE Maths exams, as normal. 
• The usual arrangements for reviews of marking and appeals that apply when exams take place will be in place.
  
• We will issue a replacement certificate showing the higher of the summer 21 or autumn 21 grade to a student who requests this.
  

For Vocational and Technical Qualifications, such as Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals, and Other General Qualifications:

• Students who received a result based on a teacher assessed grade will be offered an opportunity to sit an assessment to improve their result. 
• Assessment opportunities will be available between September 21 and January 22; we will offer our usual assessment opportunities between these dates.
  
• For Cambridge Nationals, a series will be available in November 21 for moderated units in the normal subjects only.
  
• For Cambridge Nationals in Information Technology and Enterprise and Marketing, a series will be available in January 22 as usual for moderation and for external assessment. We will consult with schools to see if an earlier opportunity for resitting moderated units is needed for these two subjects.
• For Cambridge Nationals, our external assessments will be available as usual in January 22.
• For Cambridge Technicals, our external assessments will be offered as usual in January 22. Moderation will continue to be available on demand during the autumn term and we will confirm the start date as soon as possible.
  

Ofqual has updated the Vocational and technical qualifications contingency regulatory framework in light of the decisions about autumn and winter 21 assessments. To support you, we'll provide further details about autumn 21 exams and assessments for these VTQs, and for our Other General Qualifications, such as Core Maths and FSMQ, as soon as we can.

For Core Maths (7 June update):

To support student progression to HE, exams will be available in Core Maths in Autumn 21. We will not be offering exams for FSMQ and for our other general qualifications this Autumn.

*Specific adaptations were put in place for summer 21 exams in some subjects before they were cancelled. These will apply to exams in autumn 2021 in GCSE Ancient History, GCSE English Literature, GCSE Geography A and GCSE Geography B, GCSE History A and GCSE History B, and A Level Geography. Please note there are also adaptations to assessments in GCSE Art and Design, and A Level Art and Design for the Autumn 21 exams. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled students.