Updated 12-September-2026
Summer 2027 GCSE and A-Level exams begin on Monday 10 May 2027 and the last scheduled papers are on Friday 18 June 2027. Wednesday 23 June 2027 is the contingency day — every candidate must stay available until then. A-Level results are released on Thursday 12 August 2027 and GCSE results on Thursday 19 August 2027.
If you are a private candidate, though, the date you actually need in your calendar is months earlier than any of these. More on that below.
These dates come from the JCQ common timetable and the provisional summer 2027 timetables published by AQA, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC. They apply across all the main boards, because the common timetable exists precisely so that a student taking AQA maths and Edexcel English is never asked to sit two papers at once.
GCSE exams start on Monday 10 May 2027. The first day is a light one — the papers scheduled are minority-entry subjects such as computer science, citizenship studies and some modern language listening and reading papers — so most students will not sit anything until later that week or the following one.
The bulk of the timetable falls between mid-May and mid-June, with the core subjects — English language, English literature, maths, the sciences — spread across that window. The last scheduled GCSE papers are on Friday 18 June 2027.
A practical note for parents: the gap between a student's first and last exam varies enormously by subject combination. Two children in the same year group can have wildly different timetables — one finishing in late May, another still sitting papers in the third week of June. Get the individual timetable from the school or centre as soon as it is issued rather than planning around the series dates.
A-Level and AS papers run to the same common timetable, starting Monday 10 May 2027 and finishing on Friday 18 June 2027.
A-Level candidates typically have a more compressed schedule than GCSE students — fewer subjects, but more papers per subject, often clustered. It is not unusual for an A-Level student to sit three papers in a single week and then have ten days clear.
Wednesday 23 June 2027 is the contingency day for the summer 2027 series, five days after the last scheduled exam.
It exists in case a national disruption — severe weather, a security incident, an IT failure — forces an exam to be rescheduled. It is almost never used. But every candidate is required to remain available for it, and exam boards are explicit that being on holiday is not an acceptable reason for absence.
In practice this means: do not book travel that departs before Wednesday 23 June 2027. Every year some families book a holiday for the week after the last scheduled paper and find themselves in an awkward position. The odds of the day being used are very low; the consequences of missing a rescheduled paper are not.
A-Level results: Thursday 12 August 2027. Centres receive results electronically the previous day, Wednesday 11 August, but are not permitted to release them to students before results day itself. This is also the day UCAS Track updates and clearing opens properly.
GCSE results: Thursday 19 August 2027, the week after A-Levels.
If a grade looks wrong, post-results services — a review of marking, or access to scripts — have their own deadlines, usually within a few weeks of results day. Those deadlines are firm, and for a private candidate the request has to go through the centre that entered you, so do not leave it.
Here is the part that generic timetable guides leave out, and the reason people miss exams they had every intention of sitting.
You cannot turn up in May. To sit a GCSE or A-Level you must be entered for it by an approved exam centre, and entries close months before the exams. For the summer 2027 series, the standard entry deadline falls in late February 2027, with late entries accepted afterwards at an increased fee and a final cut-off beyond which entry is not possible at all.
That means the real deadline for summer 2027 is not 10 May. It is around 21 February 2027 — and if you are taking a subject with a practical or non-exam assessment component, it is earlier still, because coursework and practical endorsements have to be scheduled, supervised and moderated well before the written papers.
Three things that catch private candidates out every year:
Practical subjects need lead time. A-Level biology, chemistry and physics carry a practical endorsement that has to be completed across a series of assessed practicals. This cannot be arranged in April. If you intend to sit a science A-Level in summer 2027, you should be talking to a centre in autumn 2026.
Non-exam assessment applies at GCSE too. English language has a spoken language endorsement; several other subjects carry coursework. Each needs arranging in advance.
Access arrangements need evidence. Extra time, a reader, a scribe, a separate room — these require assessment and documentation, and applications have their own deadlines well ahead of the exams. Requesting them in April is too late.
If any of that applies to you, the practical planning date for summer 2027 is now, not next spring.
If you are reading this because you missed a grade in August and do not want to wait until summer, the November 2026 series is running shortly, for GCSE English language and maths only.
Results for the November series are issued to students on 14 January 2027.
Entry deadlines for November fall in early October, so if this is your route you need to act now rather than after reading the rest of this page. Other boards follow the same window with minor variations — check the specific board before assuming a date.
The summer 2027 timetables published so far are provisional. Exam boards issue provisional timetables roughly eighteen months ahead and confirm them later, and small changes do happen — JCQ published a commentary in May 2026 listing adjustments already made to individual papers.
What does not change in practice is the shape of the series: the start date, the end date and the contingency day are fixed by the common timetable and are reliable to plan around. What can move is an individual paper by a day or a session.
So: plan holidays, revision and travel around the series dates with confidence. Confirm the date of a specific paper against your centre's final timetable before relying on it.
Work backwards from your last exam, not your first. Students routinely front-load revision on the subject they sit first and arrive at a mid-June paper under-prepared. Map every paper onto a calendar and allocate time proportionally to how far away each one is.
Find your gaps. Almost every timetable contains a stretch of several clear days somewhere in the middle. Those are worth more than any amount of evening revision in April — plan what goes in them now.
Know your clash policy. If two papers land in the same session, centres follow JCQ rules for sitting one under supervision before or after. It is handled routinely, but ask early rather than discovering it in May.
Do not plan past 23 June. Covered above, and worth repeating.
Exam Centre London enters private candidates for GCSE, IGCSE, AS and A-Level across AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and Cambridge, including subjects with practical endorsements and non-exam assessment.
You do not need to have studied with us. Home educators, distance learners, adult returners, and students whose school cannot enter them for a subject are all welcome.
Download the summer 2027 exam timetables for every board
Check entry deadlines before you plan anything else
See exam fees for GCSE, A-Level and more
Book GCSE exams or A-Level exams as a private candidate
Arrange access arrangements — start early, these need evidence
Contact us — 0208 616 2526, info@examcentrelondon.co.uk
When do GCSE exams start in 2027?
GCSE exams begin on Monday 10 May 2027. The last scheduled papers are on Friday 18 June 2027.
When do A-Levels start in 2027?
A-Level and AS exams also begin on Monday 10 May 2027 and finish on Friday 18 June 2027, following the same common timetable as GCSEs.
When is GCSE results day 2027?
Thursday 19 August 2027.
When is A-Level results day 2027?
Thursday 12 August 2027. Centres receive results the day before but cannot release them early.
What is the contingency day in 2027?
Wednesday 23 June 2027. Candidates must remain available in case an exam has to be rescheduled, so do not book travel before this date.
Are the 2027 exam dates confirmed?
The series dates are set by the JCQ common timetable and are reliable. Individual paper dates are provisional until boards confirm final timetables, so check your specific papers with your centre.
When is the entry deadline for summer 2027 exams?
The standard entry deadline is in late February 2027, with late entries at higher fees afterwards. Subjects with practical or non-exam assessment need arranging considerably earlier.
Can I sit GCSEs in November 2026 instead?
Yes, but only English language and maths. The November 2026 papers run from 3 to 9 November, with results on 14 January 2027. Entries close in early October.
Do private candidates follow the same timetable?
Yes. Private candidates sit the same papers on the same dates as school candidates. What differs is that you must be entered by an exam centre well in advance.
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