Students know that GCSEs are the most serious and challenging exams they have sat so far. They ask about the exam schedule, which exam board will administer exams, and what those papers present. This year's exam season runs from May 5 through June 20. Along with listing other dates, this article lays out all you need to know about GCSE exams 2025.
May 5, 2025
Begin the 2025 GCSE exam season
June 20, 2025
Last day for exams
August 21, 2025
Results Day
GCSE Exams 2025: Start and End Dates
The exact timetable for each exam board’s GCSE exams vary. However, exam season dates remain the same. As in years past, exam boards space their schedule across roughly six weeks.
We must make a distinction between the exam season, and dates for individual exams. The exact dates for each exam depend on which exam board your school offers. Exam boards spread their papers across roughly six weeks, with the span between the dates in the highlight box below.
In 2025, the GCSE exams start on May 5 and run through June 20.
For most students, this means their exams will be reasonably well spaced out. That should give test-takers time for revision, ahead of each exam they will sit. Of course, that depends on which exams students select. Still, Edexcel, OCR, and AQA space out the most popular exams:
GCSE Maths exam dates
- first paper 15 May
- second paper 4 June
- third paper 11 June
GCSE English exam dates
- first paper 23 May
- second paper 6 June
GCSE Science exam dates
- depends on which science
- Average 3 weeks between first and second papers
As much as possible, the exam boards try to accommodate students' exam selections. When they detect that a group has signed up for one subject's exams, they do their best to space out that subject's dates. Doing so has many effects:
When Is the Last GCSE Exam 2025?
The last exams take place on June 20th. That is also the day students must hand in their coursework, and possibly their art portfolios.
When Is GCSE Results Day 2025?
Arguably, the greater dread is facing results day. After all, exams are exams; we students have sat them our entire academic career. Granted, none are so consequential as the GCSEs.
Still, by this time, we (should) have our test-taking strategies mapped out, and know our study material.
Waiting for results can be (is!) excruciating. Some students imagine potential outcomes, while others ponder how their efforts might stack up against other students'.
In 2025, GCSE results day is Thursday, the 21nd of August.
All your stress has time to build during your two-month wait for results. To save you from going mad, Superprof offers these tips:
- Once you're done (taking exams), let the whole concept go. There's nothing you can do to change anything now. (You may ask for a grade review or dispute your results later.)
- Avoid comparing your efforts with other students' potential results. Their outcomes have no bearing on yours.
- Accept being satisfied with your efforts, especially as you know you've done your best.
When are GCSE Exams 2025 in Wales?
Wales' exams fall during the same dates as the ones in England. The most important difference to note is that their exam board uses the old grading system (A*-G grading system). England now uses the 9-1 grading system for GCSEs. Otherwise, the exam content is comparable to other exam boards' papers.
By contrast, Scotland has its own education system. There, students do not sit GCSEs after Year 10/11.
How long are GCSE exams in 2025?
The exact length of a given exam will vary from subject to subject. Some exams will comprise multiple different papers of various lengths. Others may have one or two longer papers. Note the contrast between Maths and English papers, outlined above. Maths presents three papers; English only two.
Most exams are around 90 minutes to two hours in length.
Coursework and art portfolios are the notable exceptions to this general statement. Due to their nature - the time and effort needed, students will have more time. Art exams take several days to complete.
Subjects with a coursework component call for that work to be done over months. Some people prefer this, while others find they perform best in exam conditions.
Will the GCSE 2025 Exams Be Easier?
Post-pandemic, the 2023 exam cycle presented a return to normal for GCSE students. Last year's exams became a benchmark for exams, going forward. Those results helped set expectations, both for learning, and for exam outcomes.
The 2025 exams should neither be either easier, nor more challenging, than those from last year.
We may find some exceptions, depending on how last year's students performed.
Poor student performance
exam boards simplify content.
Average student performance
exam boards maintain the difficulty levels.
Great student performance
exam boards make questions more challenging.
Regardless, the difficulty level you sensed from last year’s past papers will give you an idea of how hard your exams will be.
Pay attention to what examiners say about the last exam cycle. That gives you a clue of what to expect on your exams.
What Are Exam Conditions for Students Taking GCSEs?
While you will likely have done plenty of practises before the actual exam, knowing the exact details of proper exam conduct can make the experience of sitting your GCSE exams that bit less stressful.
Being less stressed makes you more likely to succeed, so here's what you need to know. Typically, GCSE exam conditions are straightforward:
- total silence
- no access to internet-enabled devices
- no programmable calculators
- clear pencil cases
- only clear water bottles
Exam conditions are a set of rules to prevent cheating in any capacity. Note that invigilators must also follow strict rules. This explanation video details exam conditions, while showing you what a typical testing centre room looks like.
What are the GCSE grade boundaries 2025 is likely to have?
The moving grade boundary system is a bit hard to understand. We can sum it up by stating that it makes grading fairer for all students, but that doesn't explain much.
Students worry greatly about grade boundaries, so let's take a moment to see how they work.
- The marks you earn on your exams determine your score relative to all the other students who took that exam.
- Exam boards distribute students' marks along a number line - the grading scale, in roughly equal numbers.
- The grading scale's midpoint (4 / 5) marks the boundary between passing and not.
Based on grade boundaries from previous years, it’s possible to predict roughly how many students will fall into each of these brackets.
This is a grading scale that shifts, based on students' performance on a specific test or assessment.
Fixed grade boundaries remain constant, no matter how students do. Statistically, that means an uneven spread of student accomplishments. By contrast, moving grade boundaries distributes grades more fairly.
The point of this system is to account for exam difficulties. Some years, the exams are more challenging. So, it's impossible to predict the percentage of students who will fall within any boundary.
What we can predict what percentage of students will obtain each grade, based on past exam results. The distribution is likely to be roughly as follows:
The top 5%
can expect a 9
The next 7%
can expect an 8
The next 10%
can expect a 7
Moving into lower grades, the next 14% can expect a 6, the next 16% can expect a 5, and the next 16% can expect a 4. The most likely prediction is that the grade boundaries will be quite similar to where they fell in 2024.
Students often fret over grade boundaries.
Nobody knows where those boundaries lie before results are tallied, not even the examiners.
Worrying over grade boundaries does nothing for you. These grade boundaries don’t tell us anything about the actual marks needed to reach these percentile brackets. So, it's best for you to focus on your test-taking strategies and on revision.
What were the GCSE grade boundaries 2024?
In 2024, the grade boundaries were close to what we expect to see after the 2025 exams. We've put pandemic-era learning troubles (and grading scandals) behind us. Our Department for Education is now back to teaching, and marking papers correctly.
Each exam board sets its grade boundaries according to its exams' particulars.
As you likely know, Edexcel and AQA are the main exam boards in England. This sampling of GCSE maths grade boundaries for 2024 gives you an idea of how much grades vary, from one board to the next.
Also, keep in mind that Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales each have their exam boards, and follow different grading systems.
What are the changes GCSE 2025 brings to students?
Above, we gloated about how pandemic-era changes to GCSE exams had all been rolled back. It's nice to think our ship is on even keel once more, but that's not the whole truth.
While COVID raged, schools went above and beyond to ensure student success. That included issuing information sheets covering exam topics, and formula sheets for maths and science GCSEs.
The Education Secretary announced that students will have access to exam aids until 2027.
That's good news for the current student cohorts. Even better news: you'll find few changes to the 2025 GCSE exams, and those that exist are minimal. Students should not worry about their exams being different.
If you’re worried about your exam preparation for GCSEs, it’s not too late. You still have time, before the exam season begins, to improve your grades. A Superprof tutor can help you save your GCSEs!
Tutoring is the most efficient way to learn any academic subject, making it the perfect tool to study for your GCSEs. A few sessions with a tutor can leave you confident, and ready to tackle your exams.
You have a wide selection of tutors to choose from on Superprof, in every subject. Many of them offer their first lesson for free, making exam preparation easier and less stressful. So, as your GCSE season draws closer, level up your preparation with a Superprof tutor.
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