As we all know, exam boards make small changes to their papers, grading and conditions every exam season. What those changes are remains to be seen. From the students' perspective, the only sure thing is that there will be exams, whether it's GCSE or the A-Levels. Will they be harder than last year's? Will we benefit from lenient grading, as recent test-takers did? Will their grades qualify them for UCAS Clearing or deliver an unconditional local or international university offer?
Key Takeaways
- When the A-Level season starts, and its overview schedule
- How to have the best scheduling practice for each paper
- Grading boundaries for A-Level exams
- Qualifications of special considerations and ways to request them
📅 A Levels 2025 Exam Dates and Schedule
The phrase 'exam season' is non-specific; it reveals few details about what it entails. And even fewer leads on what it takes to navigate it. And, unlike what most people think, exam season ends on results day, not with the last scheduled exam. Here are the scheduled key dates for the A-level exams in 2025:
May 12, 2025
Start Date of A-Level Exams
June 24, 2025
Last Date of A-Level Exams
August 14, 2025
Official A-Level Exams Results Release Day
To start with, AQA, Pearson Edexcel, and OCR are the three most common A-level exam awarding boards in the UK. Do check with your school or Sixth Form college before registering. Some subjects include non-exam unit assessments with deadlines scheduled before the actual exams.
All exam papers set by these boards follow a timetable aligned with the exam window set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). For example, all candidates who are taking the A-level Mathematics paper will sit for the exam on the same day and at a similar time (usually in the afternoon), regardless of their exam boards.
🎓 Choosing Between the AS or A-Level Pathway
The only factor that determines differences in students' A-level schedules from May to June 2025 is whether they are on the AS pathway or the A-level-only pathway. Before 2015, students pursuing the A-level qualification were required to sit both AS Level and A Level exams, with the AS Level contributing 50% to the final A-level grade.
Since 2015, the UK Department for Education has implemented reforms to the AS and A-level examinations, which it is now linear exams taken by students during the summer. Let's now explore the key characteristics of these two pathways:
Advanced Subsidiary (AS Level)
- Taken at the end of Year 12 (first year of A-Levels)
- Easier syllabus (First half of A-Level syllabus)
- Does not count towards final A-Level grades for college application
- Optional to take now as students usually skip this paper as it's a separate qualification from A-Level.
Advanced Level (A Level)
- Taken at the end of Year 13 (second year of A-Levels)
- Covers full syllabus (Combining AS and Year 13)
- The final grade is the final qualification for college application
- The common route to take as a pre-university course now without any external exams in between
Here's an example of a table outlining the 2025 AS and A-Level exam schedules for Biology across the AQA examination board:
| Level | Paper | Test Date | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS | Paper 1 | 15 May | 1 hour 30 mins |
| AS | Paper 2 | 22 May | 1 hour 30 mins |
| A Level | Paper 1 | 3 June | 2 hours |
| A Level | Paper 2 | 10 June | 2 hours |
| A Level | Paper 3 | 17 June | 2 hours |
🕒 A-Level Scheduling Best Practices
Each exam board publishes its exam schedule in plenty of time for test takers to note their test dates and times. You might print and go through your board's general schedule to highlight your exam dates from May to June. Tacking those highlighted pages to your wall or mirror gives you a visual of your exam season's plans.
Exam boards may update or revise their timetables or subject dates right up until the start of the exam period. If you're an A-level candidate from May to June this year, be sure to check regularly for any final changes to the dates and times of your subjects according to your registered exam board.
Some students go digital with their exam scheduling. They use their phone's calendar or another application to record their exam dates and timetables. Such apps allow users to set reminders for their upcoming obligations and give them space to make notes. These notes might include the exam subject (like Physics paper, Biology paper or Mathematics paper), which paper they'll sit that day and how much time they'll spend on it.
The best students go further still. As soon as their exam board timetables drop, they create a printable pdf graph containing all of their exams' particulars. Their personalised timetable might look like this.
| Subject | Paper | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics (7357) | 1 | 4th June | PM, 2 hours |
| 2 | 12th June | PM, 2 hours | |
| 3 | 19th June | PM, 2 hours | |
| Chemistry (7405) | 1 | 10th June | AM, 2 hrs |
| 2 | 16th June | AM, 2 hrs | |
| 3 | 20th June | AM, 2 hrs | |
| Physics (7408) | 1 | 23rd May | PM, 2 hrs |
| 2 | 9th June | AM, 2 hrs | |
| 3 | 17th June | AM, 2 hrs |
☑️ Scheduling Private Exams and Retakes
A-level candidates retake exams for many reasons. Some want to score higher grades for a core subject like Mathematics. Others weathered an event beyond their control that kept them from doing their best on their first go. These students fall in with the growing body of test takers who opt to take the exams privately.
Such a learner might be newly arrived from an overseas territory or a mature learner returning to academics. Students who need or want an exam retake should discover all there is to know about them.
Here, we highlight only one of the takeaways: the student must register for them. Like every other A-Level aspect, these exam registrations have deadlines.
If you're a private/retake student, be sure to check your exam board's schedule for registration deadlines. Otherwise, you might miss your chance to earn the marks you want.
Continue reading to have an overview of what to prepare ahead if you are registering as an A-Level private candidate from May to June 2025:
✍️ 2025 A Level Grade Boundaries
The coronavirus pandemic disrupted everything, including GCSE assessments and A Level exams. Schools had to scramble to arrive at a final grade so students could end their compulsory education. Exam boards had to put contingency plans in place to meet schools' and students' needs.
In all, the system didn't do badly for being in uncharted waters. Grading coursework and providing additional instruction were two such initiatives. Trouble areas, such as grade inflation and lack of instruction, took time to overcome.
Ahead of the May to June 2025 exam season, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) has confirmed that the transition period is now complete, with a full return to standard grading. Here's what every A-Level candidate should keep in mind:
🔹Tip 1: Final grade boundaries are set anew each year based on the performance of that year's cohort.
🔹Tip 2: They are designed to maintain consistent standards over time.
🔹Tip 3: Grade boundaries are only finalised after all marking is nearly complete.
🔹 Tip 4: They can vary between exam boards, even for the same subject paper, like Mathematics or Chemistry.
🧐 Will the 2025 A-Levels Exams Be Harder?
The question of exam difficulty follows students like a stubborn shadow. As they toss around the idea of whether the exams are getting "harder," many forget to ask the more important question: "Harder than what?" It’s true — A-Levels are more demanding than your GCSE papers. But are they tougher than past A-Level exams?
That said, if a larger number of students in 2025 find the questions more difficult than those in 2024, there's a strong possibility that grade boundaries will be lowered — which could actually lead to more students achieving higher grades. So it's not entirely a negative thing.
Objectively speaking, the course curriculum for each subject doesn't change much, apart from syllabus updates from time to time. Whether it's Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, or English Literature, the exam papers test students on the curriculum content. Thus, each year's exam must be roughly equal in challenge levels.
A-Levels aren't even more challenging from one exam board to the next. As each board, like AQA, Edexcel and OCR tests students over the same information, their difficulty level is roughly the same, even though the grading boundaries could differ. Looking through past papers, students find differences in wording or the papers' formats. But the curriculum elements they test on remain the same.
🤝 Special Considerations For Exams
To make A-Level exams as accessible as possible, every exam board (AQA, Edexcel and OCR) take into account that students may suffer hardship during their studies. Such difficulties might range from illness or injury to social and financial troubles.
Students needing such an accommodation should talk with their school and/or teachers as soon as possible. Qualifying students may receive special consideration for coursework as well as missed exams. They may also benefit from a more lenient grade structure.
Here are the general criteria for students to be eligible for A-Level exams with special considerations in 2025:
It's important to note that special consideration is different from students with special educational needs (SEN). For these students, schools and exam boards make reasonable adjustments so these learners won't be disadvantaged. Such an accommodation might include Braille or large-print exam papers for visually impaired students. For example, dyslexic learners might ask for someone to read exam texts and/or transcribe their answers on another paper.
| Types of Application | Special Consideration | Special Needs Education (SEN) Adjustments |
|---|---|---|
| Application Duration | Applied after the exam (for a subject/certain subjects) | Arranged before the exams |
| Aim of Application | Offer fair grading due to unforseen circumstances | Offer equal access to every exam candidate |
| Relevance | For ongoing and long term needs for SEN students | For sudden issues (illness, bereavement, financial issues) |
Special consideration students and those needing reasonable adjustments will sit the same exams as the rest of the student body. They will not receive any advantages - insider tips or preparation strategies, that could boost their exam performance. Like every other student, they must manage their learning and revision as best they can on their own by studying diligently for each paper or following a revision timetable.
Once again, please check the latest information on special consideration applications according to the respective exam board.
💯 Ace Your AS and A-Level Exams With Superprof
Whether you are an AS or A-Level 2025 exam candidate, you would benefit from academic support through private tutoring. A few sessions with a private tutor might help you put things into perspective. Such a mentor would be a great guide for your 2025 A-Levels. One-to-one tutoring lessons offer so much, from a personalised learning experience and building a strong foundation for every subject to effective exam revision methods.
At Superprof, you can find a private tutor for any A-Level subject from sciences and languages to humanities and master them comprehensively, regardless of your registered exam board in the UK. All you need to do is indicate your preferred learning subject (Mathematics, English Literature, Economics, Chemistry, Science, or Physics) and current location to start browsing a wide selection of experienced tutors' profiles.
As you review the tutors' profiles, you can learn more about their tutoring experience, qualification, teaching methodology, online reviews of their past students, and also their hourly rates before booking a first lesson. The best part? First lessons at Superprof are usually free!
Once you have decided on the tutor, you can contact them directly via the messaging feature on their profile. Learning has never been so easy and flexible! Gear up and get ready to ace your A-Levels!
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