An exam series is one complete round of exams — entries, papers, marking and results — run to a national timetable. The main GCSE series runs in the summer, with papers sat across several weeks in a fixed order agreed between boards. Schools manage entries; exam boards run the papers and issue results.
The shape of a series
It helps to see the whole sequence before worrying about any one part of it.
| Stage | Who does it | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Entries | The school | Pupils are entered for subjects, and tiers where applicable |
| Statement of entry | The school | Each candidate checks their exams and name details |
| Timetable published | Exam boards | Dates and times for every paper, nationally aligned |
| Exams sat | The school, under JCQ rules | Papers taken under formal conditions in the exam room |
| Marking and awarding | Exam boards | Examiners mark; grade boundaries set after papers are sat |
| Results day | Exam boards, via schools | Results issued to schools and given to candidates |
| Reviews and appeals | School to exam board | Deadlines are short and published for that series |
Entries and the statement of entry
Entries are made by the school, not by families. The school decides which subjects a pupil is entered for and — in tiered subjects such as maths and the sciences — which tier, based on classwork, mock performance and teacher judgement.
Each candidate is then given a statement of entry listing every exam and the exact name that will appear on the certificate. This is worth checking properly. Name errors are far easier to correct before results than after, and an entry that is missing or wrong is something you want to discover in the spring, not in August.
The timetable, and why it looks the way it does
Exam boards publish a common timetable so that a pupil sitting three different boards can still sit all their papers. Within a series, papers for the same subject are usually spaced rather than consecutive, and there is a published final date after which the series is closed.
Two features regularly surprise parents:
Papers for one subject are often weeks apart. A subject with two or three papers may have them spread across the whole series. That is deliberate — it prevents a single bad day from determining an entire subject — but it does mean revision has to be paced across the series rather than finished before it begins.
The series is longer than most families expect. Exams typically run over several weeks, not several days. Sleep, food and routine matter across the whole period, not just the first week.
Exam clashes
A clash occurs when a pupil is timetabled for two papers at the same time. It is not unusual, and there is an established process: schools manage it under JCQ rules, most often by moving one paper to another session on the same day, with the candidate kept under supervision in between so the paper's security is not compromised.
Two practical points:
- The school arranges this, not the family. You do not need to contact the exam board.
- Ask early. If you can see a clash on the statement of entry or timetable, raise it with the exams officer rather than waiting for the school to notice.
Study leave
Study leave is the period when Year 11 pupils stop attending timetabled lessons and revise, attending school only for their exams and for any revision sessions the school runs. Practice varies widely: some schools grant it once exams begin, some keep pupils in for a period first, and some do not use it at all.
Because it varies, do not plan around an assumption. Ask the school in the spring term what its policy is, and treat the answer as a scheduling fact for the household — study leave changes childcare, routine and supervision at exactly the point when routine matters most.
Where study leave is granted, the most common failure is not laziness but structure. An unstructured fortnight is much harder to use well than a timetabled one. A simple written plan — which subject, which topics, which paper practice, on which days — converts study leave from a risk into an advantage.
Marking, awarding and grade boundaries
Once papers are sat, they are marked by examiners against a mark scheme, with quality assurance across markers. Grade boundaries are then set after marking, using evidence about the paper's difficulty and the cohort's performance.
This is the part most worth explaining to a child. A raw mark on a past paper is only meaningful against that paper's own boundaries, and boundaries move between years by design — so that a harder paper does not produce lower grades for equivalent work.
Results day, and what happens after
Results are issued to schools and given out to candidates on the published national results day for the series. Schools usually open for a limited window and staff are available to talk through options.
Three routes follow from a result:
- Accept and move on. For most subjects and most pupils, this is the end of the process.
- Request a review of marking. If a grade looks wrong, the school submits a request to the exam board. There are firm published deadlines for the series, and the outcome can move a grade in either direction — so it is a decision to take with the subject teacher rather than alone.
- Resit. English and maths in particular have established resit routes for pupils continuing in education.
Certificates arrive later, usually in the autumn term, and are worth storing somewhere safe and permanent. Replacing them years later is possible but slow.
What parents can usefully do
- Get the timetable on the wall as soon as it is issued, with each paper's date and time.
- Check the statement of entry for missing subjects, wrong tiers and name errors.
- Confirm the study leave policy before making any plans around it.
- Protect sleep and food across the whole series, not just the first week.
- Keep the last day in view. Many families relax too early because the biggest subjects finish first.
Frequently asked questions
What is an exam series?
An exam series is one complete round of exams run to a common national timetable — covering entries, the papers themselves, marking, awarding and results. GCSEs have a main summer series, and there are limited opportunities for certain resits at other points in the year. Each series has its own timetable, its own grade boundaries and its own deadlines for reviews of marking.
What happens if my child has two exams at the same time?
The school resolves it under the established rules for exam clashes, usually by rescheduling one paper to another session on the same day and supervising the candidate between the two so that the paper's security is maintained. Families do not need to contact the exam board. If you spot a clash on the timetable or statement of entry, flag it to the exams officer early.
Do all schools give study leave for GCSEs?
No. Study leave policy is decided by each school and varies considerably — some release Year 11 once exams begin, others keep pupils in lessons for part of the period, and some run a full timetable of revision sessions instead. Ask the school directly in the spring term rather than assuming, because it affects supervision and routine at home during the series.
When are grade boundaries set?
After the papers have been sat and marked. Boundaries are decided using evidence about how difficult that particular paper proved and how the cohort performed, so that pupils are not advantaged or disadvantaged by the specific paper they happened to sit. This is why boundaries shift from year to year, and why a raw mark on an old past paper needs that paper's own boundaries to be interpreted.
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