What dates are GCSE exams and when is results day 2024?

Exams season is beginning for hundreds of thousands of GCSE students in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Here is everything you need to know.

The GCSE summer exam period begins on Thursday 9 May, and finishes at the end of June.

The exact dates of your exams will depend on which company (AQA, Pearson, OCR, WJEC, CCEA) your school is using. Here is a helpful BBC Bitesize guide.

If you are unwell on the day of your exam, you should contact your school or college as soon as possible.

You will be asked to fill out a form for your school or college to request “special consideration” from your exam board.

GCSE results will come out on Thursday, 22 August.

Students need a 4 for a “standard pass” and 5 for a “strong pass”.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, GCSEs are graded using letters, unless an exam taken in those nations comes under an English exam board.

They are decided by examiners and published on results day.

Qualification Wales, which oversees Welsh exams, has said there is still a risk that performance in some subjects has not fully recovered since the pandemic.

In England and Northern Ireland, the way boundaries are decided has returned to normal.

Only one change remains in place this year.

Ofqual, England‘s exam regulator, has said students in maths, physics, and combined-science exams are allowed to use formulae and equation sheets for the final time. This will not be allowed in 2025.

If you are unhappy with your grade, you should first talk to your school or college about having it remarked.

Your school will contact the exam board on your behalf and ask for your marks to be reviewed.

If you are still not satisfied, you can request a review from Ofqual.

The charity YoungMinds says results are not the only measure of success – and if things do not turn out as you had hoped, there are lots of other ways to help you achieve your goals.

You can resit any GCSE exam the following academic year.

The resits for GCSE maths and English, which are both mandatory subjects, take place from 5 November.

If you want to explore this option, you should speak to your school about the best course of action.

Under-18s must remain in official education or training. You may choose to stay in full-time education, start an apprenticeship, or work while studying part-time.

You could also consider an apprenticeship. Apprentices get paid a salary, as they spend 80% of their time in the workplace while being trained.

National 5 exams have already started and will finish at the end of May.

And results day in Scotland is Tuesday 6 August.