Guidance

Factsheet: exams and assessments in England in 2023

Published 12 May 2023

Applies to England

Arrangements for GCSE, AS and A level exams and grading in summer 2023

Exams and other formal assessments are returning to normal this year with protection in place for students.

View an accessible version of this diagram

Grading protection means that even with the disruption experienced by students, we expect national results in 2023 to be similar to those in pre-pandemic years, even where the quality of work is a little weaker.

There is no set number, or ‘cap’, on the number of students who can achieve each grade.

Arrangements for T Levels

For the Technical Qualification (TQ) element of T Levels, awarding organisations will be generous when grading to reflect the fact that they are new qualifications. 2023 is the first year that results for the TQs within T Levels will be based completely on formal assessments rather than teacher assessed grades. This means results in some subjects may look different from last year, so it will be important not to compare them.

Arrangements for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

VTQs are assessed by a range of methods so awarding organisations will use suitable grading approaches for their qualifications. Awarding organisations will take into account the grading approach used in GCSE and A level, where appropriate to the particular qualification, so that students are not advantaged or disadvantaged irrespective of the qualifications they take.

Supporting students taking exams

There are resources for students and parents, such as:

• Ofqual’s student guide to exams and assessments in 2023 and guide on coping with exam pressure

• The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has information about exams and assessments on its website

• The Department for Education has a blog about this year’s exam arrangements

University and other higher education applications

The overall number of university places available isn’t decided by the number of top grades awarded. Universities take into account the grading approach when making offers. University admissions teams consider a range of information about students as well as their predicted grades when making offers, including the personal statement, teacher references, or other assessments (such as admissions tests, auditions, interviews or portfolios).

The Department for Education has a blog on UCAS applications and how universities make sure getting into higher education is a fair process, as well as alternative routes students can take such as degree apprenticeships.

Choices and next steps

Students have lots of choices for their next steps. The National Careers Service (NCS) provides free and impartial careers advice, information and guidance and runs a dedicated exam results helpline for students taking qualifications.

The Get the Jump content hub on the NCS website brings together all post-16 and post-18 education and training choices in one place.

The UCAS website contains information for students considering their options, on traditional undergraduate degrees through to apprenticeships.

Exam results 2023

Students will receive their results on:

• 17 August for AS and A levels and T Levels - VTQs taken alongside or instead of A levels at Level 3 will be released on or before 17 August

• 24 August for GCSEs - results for many Level 2 VTQs will also be available on or before this date

Infographic: accessible version

The image shows a line of four jigsaw pieces coloured blue, red, orange and green. Each individual jigsaw contains some text on one of the following four subjects:

Support materials

Students will get formulae and equation sheets in some GCSEs so won’t have to memorise as much.

Grading protection

Protection in place for GCSE and A level student cohorts

Spaced-out timetable

Exam papers in the same subject well spaced out in the timetable

Help with languages

Modern foreign language GCSE papers no longer have to test unfamiliar vocabulary