Appeals

On this page, you will find information about the appeals process and how to appeal.

Who can appeal

You can submit an appeal to us if you are a:

  • Head of centre
  • Private candidate
  • Centre staff member who has been subject to malpractice sanctions.

If you’re a student or parent and you'd like to appeal, please contact your school or college.

What you can appeal against

You can use our appeals process for:

  1. Exam and non-exam assessment (NEA) results. You can only make an appeal if you've already requested and received the outcome of a review of marking or a review of moderation. Appeals should focus on whether an awarding body has:
      a) used procedures that were consistent with regulatory requirements.
      b) applied its procedures properly and fairly in arriving at judgements.
      c) properly applied the mark scheme.
  2. Malpractice decisions – when we have applied a malpractice penalty.
  3. Access arrangements and special consideration decisions – if we’ve declined your application or you disagree with the level of adjustment made.

Fees

You will be charged a fee for each stage of the appeals process:

  • Stage 1: preliminary stage £120.05
  • Stage 2: appeal hearing £205.80

For review of marking appeals, you will be charged per individual candidate at the component/unit level.

You will not be charged if your appeal is upheld at either stage. If you do need to pay, we’ll send you an invoice when the appeals process is complete.

If you are a private candidate you will be required to make payment before your appeal can be started. Once we receive your application we will get in contact with you to let you know how payment can be made.

Stages of an appeal

There are two stages to the appeals process, the preliminary stage and appeal hearing.

Stage 1: preliminary stage

The preliminary stage is the first step of the appeals process.

You need to submit your preliminary appeal application within:

  • 30 days of receiving the outcome of the review of marking or moderation; or
  • 14 days of receiving the original access arrangements or special consideration decision.

When submitting your appeal, you must clearly set out the grounds for appeal.

We’ll use regulatory documentation to evaluate your grounds for appeal. If your appeal goes ahead, we’ll confirm this to you in writing. A member of staff with no previous involvement in the case will investigate it and we’ll send you a report of the outcome.

For appeals made on the grounds of an unreasonable application of the mark scheme, we’ll commission a review and report from a senior examiner who will be provided with your grounds of appeal.

We aim to complete our investigation within six weeks of receiving your application.

Stage 2: appeal hearing

If you're unhappy with the outcome of the preliminary stage, you can request an appeal hearing.

You must have completed the preliminary stage in order to proceed to an appeal hearing. You need to submit your appeal hearing application within 14 days of receiving the preliminary stage outcome.

The appeal will be heard by an appeal panel which will include one independent member. We’ll contact you to arrange a suitable date for the hearing and all hearing documentation will be circulated to you a week before the hearing takes place.

If you're still unhappy with the outcome, you can make a further appeal to Ofqual's exam procedures review service

How to make an appeal

You can submit an appeal to us using our online application form.

Before you start, make sure you have the following information ready:

  • Centre name
  • Contact details
  • Exam series, specification and unit code
  • Candidate name(s) and number(s) – not needed if the appeal is for a full cohort
  • Your statement which explains your reasons for appealing
  • Any files (under 9MB each) that can be uploaded to support your appeal – this is optional.

Start your application for an appeal

If you need help or you'd like to make an appeal related to teacher malpractice, please email appeals@aqa.org.uk

Useful guidance

Before deciding whether you wish to make an appeal and the grounds upon which you are making your appeal, you may find the following information from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Ofqual helpful.

From JCQ

From GOV.UK (Ofqual)