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A Level Exam Dates 2027: The Big Papers, the Last Exam and Results Day

A level exam dates for 2027 are now set: the first paper on the common timetable is on Monday 10 May 2027, the last is on Tuesday 22 June, and A level results day is Thursday 12 August 2027. Those dates come from the key dates document published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which coordinates AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC. Below are the dates that matter for Year 13 students and their parents, with paper-by-paper dates for the most popular AQA subjects.

The key dates for the 2027 A level series

The JCQ document lists the dates that are common to every awarding body. For students, five matter most:

• 21 February 2027: the deadline for schools to enter students for the summer exams. Your school handles this, but if your child is dropping or adding a subject, sort it out before then. Late entries usually cost the school, and sometimes the family, a fee.
• 10 May 2027: the first exam on the common timetable.
• 22 June 2027: the final A level exam. GCSEs finish earlier, on 18 June.
• 23 June 2027: the contingency day, a reserve date used only if national or significant local disruption stops an exam going ahead. Students should not book holidays or travel before it has passed.
• 12 August 2027: A level results day. Schools get results on 11 August under embargo; students receive them on the 12th.

Coursework deadlines arrive earlier than the exams. AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC must receive centre-assessed marks for A levels by 15 May 2027, so schools set their own internal deadlines for non-exam assessment (the history essay, English coursework, the computer science project) weeks before that, often in March or April.

AQA A level exam dates 2027 for popular subjects

AQA is the biggest exam board in England, and its May/June 2027 timetable gives a date for every paper. These are the dates for the most popular subjects. Check the specification code on your child's entry statement: if it does not match the code here, your child is with a different board and the dates will differ.

Morning exams start at 9.00am and afternoon exams at 1.30pm. Two things stand out in the 2027 AQA timetable. First, AQA has scheduled no papers in the week beginning 31 May, which is the late May half term for most schools in England. Second, the AQA Business A level (7132) is in its final sitting in 2027, with Paper 3 on the afternoon of Tuesday 8 June; a new AQA Business specification (7137) has its first AS papers the same summer.

Maths students should note that AQA papers are all in afternoon sessions, while Pearson Edexcel and OCR set their maths papers on different days.

OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC dates

The common timetable means the first and last days, the contingency day and results day are the same whichever board your child sits. Individual papers are not. OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC Eduqas each publish their own timetables, and a student taking AQA chemistry, Edexcel maths and OCR history will have a personal timetable drawn from all three.

The quickest way to get the right list is the personal exam timetable or statement of entry that the school's exams officer issues in the spring term. It shows every paper, the date, the session and the candidate number. Check it carefully the day it arrives: a wrong tier or a missing option paper is easy to fix in March and very hard to fix in May.

Schools in Northern Ireland using CCEA, and in Wales using WJEC's Welsh specifications, should go to those boards for paper dates, as the JCQ document itself notes.

What if exams clash?

Clashes happen when a student takes two subjects whose papers share a session. The exam boards build the timetable to keep the most common subject combinations apart, but unusual combinations can still collide. When they do, the school does not move the exam to another day. Instead the student usually sits one paper, has a supervised break, and then sits the second paper in the same day, without contact with anyone who has already taken it. If your child has more than three hours of exams scheduled in one session or a very long day, talk to the exams officer early.

Illness, bereavement and special consideration

If something serious affects your child on an exam day, the school can apply to the board for special consideration, a small adjustment to the mark. For the 2027 series, applications can be submitted from 10 May and the deadline for schools to send them is 30 June 2027. Tell the school straight away and keep any evidence, such as a GP note. Special consideration cannot make up for missing a whole subject, so if illness means your child misses several papers, ask the school about the board's rules on the minimum number of components needed for a grade.

Access arrangements are different: extra time, a reader or a word processor have to be in place before the exams. The JCQ deadline for schools to process them is 21 March 2027, so if your child needs them and has not been assessed, raise it with the special educational needs coordinator this term. Our guide to SEND rights at school explains how support is agreed.

Results day, 12 August 2027

A level results day is also the day UCAS updates university applications, so many students know whether their firm choice has confirmed them before they collect their grades. If a place is not confirmed, Clearing is open the same day. A student who narrowly misses an offer can still be accepted, so it is worth calling the university directly rather than waiting.

If a grade looks wrong, the school can ask for a review of marking. Ask the school about the deadlines on the day: priority reviews, which matter when a university place depends on the result, have a much shorter window than standard ones.

Planning the year

For most Year 13 students the hardest stretch is the six weeks from 10 May to 22 June, with half term in the middle. Mock exams usually run in January or February, and many schools build the revision timetable backwards from the first real paper. Plan around the dates above and leave a few days clear before each subject's first paper.

If you have a younger child as well, our GCSE exam dates 2027 page lists the GCSE timetable, and our guide to sixth form vs college helps with the choice after Year 11. For school term and holiday dates, see school term dates explained.

Sources: JCQ, Key dates in the examination cycle, June 2027 series; AQA, exam timetable May/June 2027, AS and A-level (version 1.2).