GCSE and A-level exam results days revealed for August

Grades for cancelled GCSEs and A-level exams in England will now be published on their original planned days, the Department for Education has announced.

After schools were closed by the coronavirus, exams due to be taken this summer were cancelled.

Grades will be decided by teachers’ assessments – with an initial suggestion that results could be issued earlier than usual this year.

A-level results will be published on 13 August and GCSEs on 20 August.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said it would give pupils and families some “reassurance and clarity”.

As a replacement, exam boards are gathering assessments from teachers about what they expected pupils to achieve and these predictions will be moderated so the overall national results and shares of grades are in line with previous years.

Teachers’ predictions will be based on an overall professional judgement, using the evidence of previous exams, coursework, essays, homework and mock exams.

Mr Gibb said: “We know that this is an important milestone for students, parents and teachers and so I hope this news will provide them with some reassurance and clarity.

For those pupils who think they would have done better in an exam, there is the promise of another exam that can be taken in the autumn.

But for A-level students planning to use their results to go to university, or deciding whether to defer a year, it is still uncertain whether university campuses will reopen in the autumn or will be teaching online.