Exams Administration

Information and resources for exams officers to plan ahead and stay on track throughout the whole exams lifecycle, from entries to results day.

Entries

Within this section, you'll find guidance on how to enter learners for exams. This includes when you can make entries, deadline dates, basedata, entry fees, resits and transfers.

What an entry is

An entry is how a school or college lets us know which learners, and how many, will sit which exams.

We need this information so that we can make sure that:

  • we send you the correct question papers for your learners
  • we have enough examiners to mark the question papers
  • your learners get their results on time.

Visit our student support area to find out how to make entries for private candidates.

Find out how to make an entry

Centre approval

You can only enter learners for exams with us if your school or college is an AQA approved centre.

Before you start to teach our qualifications, make sure you become an AQA centre.

Entry system

In the table below, you will find which entry systems to use for each type of qualification.

Type of qualification

Entry system

All qualifications (except Unit Award Scheme)

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or Centre Services

Unit Award Scheme (UAS)

Gateway

Opening and deadline dates

You can make entries as soon as we publish the basedata for an exam series.

See the table below to find out when the basedata will be available for each exam series and when you need to have made entries by.

If you submit an entry after the deadline date, you will be charged a late entry fee.

Exam series

Series and year code

Basedata available to download

Entries deadline date

Deadline for very late entries/amendment fees payable/withdrawal refunds

November 2024 series BG

BG24

2 September 2024

4 October 2024

25 October 2024

January 2025 series 1A

1A25

6 September 2024

21 October 2024

15 December 2024

March 2025 series 3G

3G25

4 October 2024

21 January 2025

21 February 2025

June 2025 series 6A

6A25

21 November 2024

21 February 2025

21 April 2025

June 2025 series 6G

6G25

21 November 2024

21 February 2025

21 April 2025

Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

To ensure that your learners get their VTQ results on time – you'll need to make the correct entries by the entry deadlines.

For Applied General qualifications, you must do the following before exams start:

  • make the correct unit and award entries
  • act on any warning reports we give you.

Learn more about level 3 VTQs

Age restrictions for the November series

For the November exam series, there are age restrictions for entering students for GCSE English Language and GCSE Maths. This means that only students who will be at least 16 years old on 31 August of that year can be entered.

If any students arrive to sit exams for these qualifications without an entry, you must make sure they meet the age restrictions before allowing them to do so. If a student who does not meet the age requirement sits the exam, this may be considered as maladministration.

Contact us

If you have a question about entries, get in touch: