How to read this page
Dates are grouped by month, from October 2026 to October 2027. Exam dates come from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which publishes the common key dates for AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC, and UCAS dates come from UCAS itself. Dates marked as set for schools and colleges are deadlines your exams officer handles, not you.
This page covers the common timetable only. It does not list when an individual paper sits. For that, use your own timetable from your school or college, and check your exam board: for example, AQA publishes its timetables here. You can then add your papers to the revision timetable and count down to them with the exam countdown.
JCQ notes that centres in Northern Ireland entering CCEA qualifications, and centres in Wales entering WJEC qualifications regulated by Qualifications Wales, should check CCEA and WJEC key dates. This page is written for England.
October 2026
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Oct 2026 | Final date for entries for the November 2026 GCSE series (set for schools and colleges, so ask your exams officer). | JCQ, November 2026 GCSE key dates |
| 15 Oct 2026 | UCAS equal consideration date (18:00 UK time) for Oxford and Cambridge, and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses. This date has passed. | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
November 2026
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 2026 | First examination on the common timetable, GCSE November series. JCQ lists this series for English Language, English Language and Literature, Mathematics, and the Welsh equivalents only. | JCQ, November 2026 GCSE key dates |
| 11 Nov 2026 | Final examination on the common timetable, GCSE November series. | JCQ, November 2026 GCSE key dates |
| 18 Nov 2026 | Final date for submitting special consideration requests to awarding bodies, November series (made by the school or college). | JCQ, November 2026 GCSE key dates |
January 2027
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jan 2027 | Release of November series GCSE results to candidates. | JCQ, November 2026 GCSE key dates |
| 13 Jan 2027 | UCAS equal consideration date (18:00 UK time) for most undergraduate courses. | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
February 2027
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Feb 2027 | Final date for clerical checks, reviews of marking, reviews of moderation or other results enquiries, November series. | JCQ, November 2026 GCSE key dates |
| 21 Feb 2027 | Deadline for entries, June 2027 series GCSE and A level (a school or college deadline). | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
| 25 Feb 2027 | UCAS Extra opens. | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
May 2027
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 2027 | First examination on the common timetable, GCSE and A level (GCE). | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
| 10 May 2027 | First date for submitting special consideration requests for timetabled examinations to awarding bodies. | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
June 2027
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Jun 2027 | Final examination on the common timetable, GCSE. | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
| 22 Jun 2027 | Final examination on the common timetable, A level (GCE). | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
| 23 Jun 2027 | Contingency day, in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations in the United Kingdom. Applies to GCSE and GCE. | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
| 30 Jun 2027 | Deadline for submitting special consideration requests to awarding bodies, GCSE and GCE. | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
| 30 Jun 2027 | UCAS: applications received by this deadline (18:00 UK time) are sent to universities and colleges. | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
July 2027
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jul 2027 | UCAS: last day to add an Extra choice in your application. | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
| 2 Jul 2027 | UCAS Clearing opens. | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
| 22 Jul 2027 | UCAS: last day for undergraduate reply swaps (18:00 UK time). | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
August 2027
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Aug 2027 | Release of A level (GCE) and Extended Project results to candidates. | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
| 19 Aug 2027 | Release of GCSE and Level 1 and 2 Projects results to candidates. | JCQ, June 2027 key dates |
September and October 2027
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Sep 2027 | UCAS: final date for 2027 entry applications (18:00 UK time). | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
| 18 Oct 2027 | UCAS: last date to add a Clearing choice. | UCAS, dates and deadlines |
What is not on this page
Individual paper dates and times, and the dates of non-exam assessment deadlines, are set by your school or college and exam board, so they are left out here. UCAS dates for conservatoire courses are also left out: they differ from the main scheme, so use UCAS directly. For what the UCAS dates mean in practice, read the UCAS and Clearing guide and the results day guide.