Exams Officer update April 2026

In this month’s Exams Officer Update, you will find information and guidance on:

• Protecting the integrity of exams
• May/June 2026 exam series
• May/June 2027 provisional timetable for comment and feedback
• International GCSE Media Studies (9257) pre-release material for paper 1
• Special considerations – key reminders for applications
• Contacting us
• Dates for your diary

Protecting the integrity of exams

It is essential that you act as soon as possible if you:

• suspect malpractice
• witness malpractice
• receive a report of malpractice
• receive an allegation of malpractice.

In all cases, you must inform OxfordAQA by:

• using an OxfordAQA M1 form to report student malpractice
• using an OxfordAQA M2 form to report centre or staff malpractice.

Please remind your students of the consequences of engaging with any online or social media accounts claiming to sell OxfordAQA question papers. Whether the question papers are found to be real or fake, trying to buy them, sell them or share them, could lead to loss of qualifications and complete disqualification from OxfordAQA exams. This could also impact onward progression such as University applications.

If you suspect any suspicious activity, please report it to us as soon as you can with as much information as possible to info@oxfordaqa.com.

You can find our top tips for avoiding malpractice on our website, along with our malpractice policy.

May/June 2026 exam series

We recently sent you detailed exams guidance for the May/June 2026 series. You can also find information on our website. Exam Officers are encouraged to check their Centre Services access before their first exam. You can find information and support on changing or adding an Administrator account on our website.

See our recent emails for more information on:

• non-exam assessments (NEA)
• speaking tests

Certification Warning Reports (CWR)

Please check for CWRs in Centre Services. If you have received one, there may be data missing from your entries for May/June 2026.

You can find the CWR using the following steps:

• login to Centre Services
• click ‘Pre-exams’
• click ‘Entries’
• select ‘Certification warning reports’
• choose the relevant year and series
• click ‘search’.

Please act as soon as possible to correct the entries. Without this information we cannot issue a result to your student(s) on results day.

May/June 2027 provisional timetable for comment and feedback

The provisional May/June 2027 timetable is available for comment until Friday 8 May 2026. Please send any feedback to timetables@aqa.org.uk

The confirmed timetable will be published shortly after the end of this consultation period. It is important that you send your feedback to us by the deadline as any feedback received after the closing date cannot be included in the review of the draft dates.

International GCSE Media Studies (9257)

The May/June 2026 pre-release material for International GCSE Media Studies (9257) Paper 1 – Media Knowledge and understanding – is now available to teachers and Exams Officers.

You can find the material by using the following steps:

• log into Centre Services
• select 'Resources'
• select 'Assessment and training'
• click on 'Media Studies’
• tick ‘9257 Media Studies (Oxford International)' in the Specification list
• click on 'Teachers Notes | Oxford International AQA – GCSE | 9257/W Media Studies written paper | June 2026'.

Special considerations – key reminders for applications

To help make sure special consideration applications are processed smoothly and on time, here are some helpful hints and tips:

• Do not delay submitting requests
  Some applications may need additional information or evidence. Submitting early allows time for any follow-up, helping to make sure applications can be reviewed and processed before results day.
• Select the correct special consideration option
  Choosing the most appropriate option at the point of submission helps avoid delays.
• Answer all questions in full and provide clear, accurate information.
  By telling us what has happened, and the impact on the student at the time of the assessment, this will help us to quickly decide whether the request meets the criteria for special consideration. The description does not need to be long, just give us the key facts.
• Check the status of your application online
  Email notifications are only issued where an application is pending evidence or rejected by one of the Special Requirements team. You will not be notified by email if the request is accepted. The status of all applications, including those that have been accepted, can be seen in Centre Services.
• a status of ‘Pending’ means the application was received but will need to be reviewed by the Special Requirements team. This review may take some time depending on a variety of circumstances. As long as you have submitted the application by the deadline you do not need to take any further action.
• the system will automatically time out if you are inactive for a while, so when you start your application, it is a good idea to make sure you will not be interrupted

Making applications for present but disadvantaged candidates:

• Only submit an application for disadvantaged candidates once all of the candidate’s exams in the series are completed. You should only submit a single application per candidate for all affected components.
• Do not include a paper that was missed entirely in a disadvantaged request. The missed exam should be dealt with separately by making an ‘absent request’. For example, a student sat Paper 1 but was unwell during the exam. The student did not attend Paper 2. You should only submit a disadvantaged candidate request for Paper 1. Paper 2 must not be included in the same request or described as being affected by illness, as it was missed entirely.
• Submit individual disadvantaged applications first, before submitting any group disadvantaged applications. If the application will not submit, there may be an application for the candidate and component already in the system. Please check this in the ‘View request’s section in Centre Services.

Making applications for absent candidates:

• Make an application for every exam the candidate was absent for. For example, if a candidate was absent for 3 days of exams, then you will need to make 3 applications.
• A reminder to only submit absent requests if a student has completed at least one component for the qualification.
• Submit absent requests before disadvantaged and/or group requests.

Making applications for non-timetabled requests:

• If the candidate was absent/partially absent, select ‘Missing or incomplete work including any work for which the candidate was absent’ and complete the steps.
• If the candidate completed all their coursework but may have been disadvantaged, select ‘Other problems with completed non-timetabled assessments’ and follow the steps.
• For lost coursework that was complete and marked before it was lost/damaged, select the ‘Lost coursework’ status in Centre Marks Submission (CMS) and record the mark. The candidate will not be selected as part of the sample. You do not need to do anything else.
• For lost coursework that was not marked before being lost and the school is responsible for the loss, select the ‘Lost coursework’ status but leave the mark blank (do not put a zero) on Centre Marks Submission (CMS), in addition to making a special consideration application.
• For lost coursework that was not marked before being lost and the candidate is responsible for the loss, select the ‘Absent status and leave the mark blank (do not put a zero) on Centre Marks Submission (CMS). This will not be eligible for special consideration.

If you have any queries or need further support, please contact us by emailing SpecialConsiderationQueries@aqa.org.uk.

Thank you for your continued cooperation during this busy exam period.

Contacting us

To help us process your queries as quickly as possible, please make sure you are using the correct details to contact us – email us at info@oxfordaqa.com or you can call us on +44 (0)161 696 5995.

When emailing us, please copy in your local OxfordAQA representative.

Please note, our UK offices will be closed on the following dates for national bank holidays:

• Monday 4 May 2026
• Monday 25 May 2026

Please continue to get in touch if you need us and we will respond to any emails when we return.

Dates for your diary

January 2026 exam series

31 May Date by which January 2026 series certificates will be issued

May/June 2026 exam series

27 Apr Date of first May/June 2026 exam

28 Apr Last Date for dispatch for May/June 2026 series. Orders will be processed until the day before

01 May Last date to submit internally-assessed marks/grades for moderated components including International Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) for May/June 2026

01 May Last date to conduct all GCSE English as a Second Language, French and Spanish speaking tests

04 May Last date to submit media files of recordings for English as a Second Language, French and Spanish speaking tests for May/June 2026

See full key dates calendar.