After five years of secondary school study, Year 11 students will be taking their GCSE examinations this summer term.
So, when exactly are these exams taking place, and what other information about this year’s GCSEs do schools need to bear in mind? Here’s your handy guide to the upcoming exam period.
When are GCSE exams in 2025?
GCSE exams in 2025 will run between Thursday 8 May and Thursday 19 June.
GCSE results day for students will be on Thursday 21 August. Schools will receive the results the day before on Wednesday 20 August.
Exam timetables from each of the exam boards, or “awarding bodies”, are available via the links below:
When are the GCSE maths exams in 2025?
GCSE maths exams will take place on Thursday 8 May, Thursday 15 May, Wednesday 4 June and Wednesday 11 June. Find full details below:
Thursday 8 May
- WJEC mathematics numeracy unit 1 - intermediate and higher
Thursday 15 May
- AQA maths paper 1 (non-calculator) - foundation and higher
- CCEA mathematics units 1 and 2 - foundation
- CCEA mathematics units 3 and 4 - higher
- Edexcel maths paper 1 (non-calculator) - foundation and higher
- Eduqas maths paper component 1 - foundation and higher
- OCR maths paper 1 (calculator) - foundation
- OCR maths paper 4 (calculator) - higher
- WJEC mathematics unit 1 - foundation, intermediate and higher
Wednesday 4 June
- AQA maths paper 2 (calculator) - foundation and higher
- CCEA maths unit 5 (calculator and non-calculator) - foundation
- CCEA maths unit 6 (calculator and non-calculator) - foundation
- CCEA maths unit 7 (calculator and non-calculator) - higher
- CCEA maths unit 8 (calculator and non-calculator) - higher
- Edexcel maths paper 2 (calculator) - foundation and higher
- Eduqas mathematics component 2 - foundation and higher
- OCR mathematics paper 2 (non-calculator) - foundation
- OCR mathematics paper 5 (calculator) - higher
- WJEC mathematics numeracy unit 2 - foundation, intermediate and higher
Wednesday 11 June
- AQA maths paper 3 (calculator) - foundation and higher
- Edexcel maths paper 3 (calculator) - foundation and higher
- OCR maths paper 3 (calculator) - foundation
- OCR maths paper 6 (calculator) - higher
- WJEC maths unit 2 - foundation, intermediate and higher
When are the GCSE English language exams 2025?
GCSE English language exams in 2025 will take place on Wednesday 7 May, Tuesday 20 May, Friday 23 May and Friday 6 June.
Wednesday 7 May
- CCEA English language unit 1
Tuesday 20 May
- CCEA English language unit 4
Friday 23 May
- AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas and OCR English language paper 1
- WJEC English language unit 2
Friday 6 June
- AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas and OCR English language paper 2
- WJEC English language unit 3
When are the GCSE English literature exams 2025?
GCSE English literature exams in 2025 will take place on Monday 12 May, Tuesday 13 May, Tuesday 20 May and Thursday 29 May.
Monday 12 May
- AQA, CCEA, Edexcel and OCR English literature paper 1
Tuesday 13 May
- Eduqas and WJEC foundation and higher English literature paper 1
Tuesday 20 May
- AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas and OCR English literature paper 2
- CCEA English literature unit 4
- WJEC English literature unit 2 option A and B foundation and higher
Thursday 29 May
- CCEA English literature unit 2
When are the GCSE science exams 2025?
Biology
GCSE biology exams in 2025 will take place on Tuesday 13 May and Monday 9 June.
Tuesday 13 May
- AQA, Edexcel, OCR and CCEA biology paper 1
- WJEC biology paper 2
Monday 9 June
- AQA, Edexcel, OCR and CCEA biology paper 2
- WJEC biology paper 1
- CCEA biology paper, practical theory for combined students
Chemistry
GCSE chemistry exams in 2025 will take place on Monday 19 May and Friday 13 June.
Monday 19 May
- AQA, Edexcel and OCR chemistry paper 1
- WJEC chemistry unit 2
- CCEA chemistry unit 1 - foundation and higher papers
Friday 13 June
- AQA, Edexcel and OCR chemistry paper 2
- WJEC chemistry unit 1
- CCEA chemistry unit 2
- CCEA chemistry, practical theory
- CCEA chemistry unit 3, practical theory
Physics
Physics GCSE exams in 2025 will take place on Thursday 22 May and Monday 16 June.
Thursday 22 May
- AQA and Edexcel physics paper 1
- OCR physics paper 1 and 3
- WJEC physics unit 2
- WJEC physics unit 2
- CCEA physics unit 1
Monday 16 June
- AQA and Edexcel physics paper 2
- OCR physics paper 2 and 4
- CCEA physics unit 2
Will GCSE students get equation sheets for exams?
Students taking exams in 2025, 2026 and 2027 will not be expected to recall all the usual formulae and equations in GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science.
Ofqual proposes to continue requiring exam boards to provide support materials for exams in 2025, 2026 and 2027, as in previous years.
The longer-term expectations will be confirmed after Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review.
What happens if a student misses an exam due to illness?
If a student misses an exam because they are unwell then paperwork needs to be completed to ensure that they still receive a grade. The student should provide the school with sufficient evidence of the illness.
A grade will then be calculated using either the marks from the other papers taken or their non-exam components (if applicable).
If a student misses an exam due to misreading the timetable they will receive no marks for that paper.
What adjustments can be made for disabled students?
Exam boards can make a range of “reasonable adjustments” to assessments if a student has a disability. These include things like adjusted papers, access to software or additional time.
Schools and colleges should apply to exams boards for reasonable adjustments.
Find more information on reasonable adjustments for exams.
When are the mock GCSE exams?
When schools run their mock GCSE exams is up to them, but many run them at the end of the autumn term or at the beginning of the spring term.
The DfE asks schools to ensure pupils sit mock exams and the papers are retained. This helps to mitigate against any disruption during the summer exam period and allows an alternative way of awarding grades.
How can schools help students with GCSE revision?
Find the latest revision strategies, research and best practice on our dedicated revision hub.
Or find a range of GCSE revision resources.
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