AQA exams in countries where exams have been cancelled

What this means for schools and their students

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We understand the last few months have been extremely difficult for schools and colleges in the Gulf and the Middle East with the ongoing conflict.

Here you’ll find all the guidance you need as it evolves.

Ofqual’s plan where exams cannot go ahead

Ofqual has confirmed to exam boards, that its post-covid resilience arrangements such as Teacher Assessed Grades were designed for events that have a system-wide impact, and not for localised or regional disruption.

This means exam boards cannot issue results based on mock exams or other forms of evidence, to students where exams cannot go ahead in their country.

We appreciate that this may not be what schools and students were expecting and recognise the challenges it may bring. We’re here to support schools in the next steps and guide them through the options available.

Switching to OxfordAQA exams

OxfordAQA - our joint venture with Oxford University Press - has equivalent qualifications in many of the subjects that we offer. In most instances they are very closely aligned to AQA specification content.

OxfordAQA qualifications are not regulated by Ofqual, as they do not regulate International GCSEs and A-levels. This means that by switching to OxfordAQA, your students can still receive grades by submitting evidence of student performance.

There are some AQA subjects that already have an equivalent OxfordAQA qualification to switch to. Where an equivalent OxfordAQA qualification does not already exist, we will create additional OxfordAQA international A-levels and GCSEs, to make sure all AQA qualifications have an alternative OxfordAQA option, this includes Further Maths. These qualifications have been created for these exceptional circumstances and will only be available in the summer 2026 series, for students in the Middle East and the Gulf where exams have been cancelled.

OxfordAQA International GCSEs and A-levels have been independently evaluated by UK ENIC as being at the same standard as the British GCSEs and A-levels accredited by the UK exams regulator, Ofqual.

This means that schools can trust that OxfordAQA qualifications are equivalent to qualifications sat in the UK, and that they are recognised by universities around the world. This includes the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and all of the UK’s Russell Group, the USA’s Ivy League and Australia’s Group of Eight.

OxfordAQA entries: what evidence to submit

Please make sure you follow the steps so that all evidence can be reviewed successfully by an OxfordAQA examiner. Please gather the evidence for your students as set out in the OxfordAQA guidance document which outlines what evidence is needed and includes examples for specific subjects and components. This can include AQA past papers as evidence.

Whether your learners switch to an existing OxfordAQA specification or to one of the additional OxfordAQA international A-levels and GCSEs that we’re making available, the evidence should reflect the work carried out as part of students’ preparation for assessment through the AQA specification. You do not need to address any content differences between AQA and OxfordAQA specifications.

OxfordAQA entries: how to submit evidence through ShareFile

All evidence must be uploaded through ShareFile using the instructions in our Centre Alternative Evidence Upload Instructions. This document includes the correct naming conventions for each file, and the folder structure for each subject and component.

OxfordAQA entries: Centre declaration form

Once all evidence has been uploaded, you’ll need to complete the Centre Declaration Form to confirm that:

the evidence submitted is authentic and that of the individual students named
all required evidence has been submitted
the evidence is final and ready for an OxfordAQA examiner to review.

You should submit one form per specification.

OxfordAQA entries: submission window

You can submit student performance evidence from 1 May until 12 June 2026. The main Exams Officer at your centre will receive an email on Friday 1 May to let you know that you have access to ShareFile and that the relevant folders have been created for your students.

Our trained examiners will carefully consider all evidence submitted, awarding grades based on the evidence provided, while also taking into account the context in which the work was produced, and the challenges students have faced.

Student predicted grades

You can submit student predicted grades using this form.

Switching your entries

We appreciate that some of your students might still want to receive their AQA grade as they have completed sufficient NEA. Learners who’ve not completed enough of their NEA will most likely want to switch to OxfordAQA to receive a grade through evidence of student performance.

Please make sure that you discuss the options with your learners before making any decisions, and reassure them that both AQA and OxfordAQA qualifications are recognised and accepted by universities around the world.

If any of your learners would like to use their completed NEA to receive an AQA grade, please email us at HyperCareSupport@aqa.org.uk by Friday 1 May 2026 to let us know and we will keep their AQA entry.

We will automatically transfer all of your other entries to OxfordAQA specifications.

If your centre is not already approved to offer OxfordAQA exams, our Centre Approvals team will follow up to get you temporarily set up for the summer 2026 exam series.

If your students would like to defer to another series. Please cancel your AQA entries by Friday 8 May 2026, and you will receive a full refund or credit note.

Late entries

If you’ve not already made entries for a student for OxfordAQA or AQA, we’ll need some evidence to support that these students were preparing to sit exams this series. We cannot accept any new entries after 15 May 2026.

Fees

There will be no additional fees for this arrangement - only the standard entry fee for the AQA qualification. We’ll be back in touch to explain any changes for invoices.

Special consideration for AQA entries and support with NEA and speaking tests

To help support as many students as possible to receive an AQA qualification under the Special Consideration arrangements, we can help you to deliver AQA GCSE MFL spoken language assessments or other oral or performance-based components remotely. Please take a look at our remote speaking tests guidance document.

If your school is open and you can carry out speaking tests safely, please deliver them with your students as usual.

We’ve automatically applied a two-week extension to the deadlines to submit marks and grades for NEA. Please submit your special consideration request no later than seven days after you’ve submitted the NEA.

If your students have not completed their NEA, they will not be able to use this to get an AQA grade, but they can use this as evidence towards an OxfordAQA grade.

Deadlines

Here’s a list of the deadlines in one place so you know what you need to do, and by when:

Date	Action
1 May 2026	Start submitting evidence of student performance for OxfordAQA entries Last date to let us know if you want to keep AQA entries Last date to apply for a statement of recognition Last date to transfer a candidate to a private candidate entry
8 May 2026	Last date to defer to another series
15 May 2026	Last date for late entries
1 June 2026	Last date to submit GCSE speaking tests
9 June 2026	Last date to submit A-level speaking tests
12 June 2026	Last date to submit evidence of student performance for OxfordAQA entries

You can find the original NEA deadlines for your subject on the AQA website.

Statement of recognition

If students are not eligible for special consideration and need evidence of attainment for progression, particularly to higher education, schools can request a statement of recognition.

This statement recognises that the student has been fully prepared for their qualifications but has encountered exceptional mitigating circumstances outside their control which prevent them from completing any components in an award.

The Statement of Recognition is not an award but uses predicted grades to recognise the grades the student was expected to achieve had they been able to sit their exams. Please see Section 5.2, p.18 of the JCQ A guide to the special consideration process for more information.

While this is not a qualification certificate, it can inform discussions to facilitate progression. Ofqual is speaking with UCAS to ask for their support for students applying for UK higher education.

To apply for this, please email specialconsiderationqueries@aqa.org.uk by 1 May 2026 and they can support you through this process.

Transferred candidates

If you have students who have relocated to the UK and they would like to enter as a private candidate at a centre in the UK, please get in touch with us on HyperCareSupport@aqa.org.uk and we can arrange this for you. There will be no additional fees for this service. Please make sure you have made your requests by 1 May 2026.

Results and post-results services and appeals

We know that you’ll have questions about if this process will mean changes to how you’ll receive results. For these exceptional arrangements, results will only be available through Centre Services. If you made your entries through EDI, we’ll support you throughout the summer to make accessing results as easy as possible for you.

We’re working through the plan for post-results services and appeals and we’ll be back in touch about this closer to results days.

Our support

We really appreciate your patience as we work through these arrangements. If you have any questions or need support, please get in touch with us on HyperCareSupport@aqa.org.uk - we’re ready and waiting to help.