Exams Officer Update - November 2025
Welcome to our November 2025 newsletter
I hope you enjoyed your October half term, and that exams have gone smoothly for those with entries in the November 2025 exam series.
In this month’s Exams Officer Update, you’ll find information and guidance on:
Hot topics
NEA advisers – your non-exam assessment (NEA) adviser will often not have an AQA email address. If you’re concerned about any contact you receive, you can check your adviser’s details on Centre Services.
Summer 2025 certificates – certificates for the summer 2025 exam series have now been sent out and should be delivered to you soon, if they've not arrived already. If a learner's grade change has changed since their certificate has been printed, you can get a corrected version for free. For all other changes (eg name) there's a fee of £48.75 per learner. Find out how to change a certificate on our website.
November 2025 exam series
Checking your secure storage
Please make sure you have double checked your secure storage for any scripts or exam materials that you need to send to us.
If any exam materials are missed it can cause delays to marking and problems with us being able to issue your learners’ results in time.
Results day
Results day for the November 2025 exam series is Thursday 8 January 2026.
We’ll be in touch closer to the day with detailed results day guidance. In the meantime, you can find results information on our website. We're also offering Results and Post-results webinars for new and experienced Exams Officers at the end of this month, to give you the latest information and guidance. You can find out more about our training on our website.
Provisional timetables for November 2026 and January 2027
November 2026 exam series timetable
The provisional exam timetable for November 2026 is available on our website. You'll be able to review and send any feedback to timetables@aqa.org.uk until Friday 14 November 2025. We're sorry we're not able to offer a longer timeframe for feedback and hope this does not cause you any inconvenience.
Your feedback will be considered and the final November 2026 exam timetables will be published on Friday 28 November 2025. The JCQ will also publish a summary of all the feedback received and any changes made.
January 2027 exam series timetable
The provisional exam timetable for January 2027 is available on our website for review and comment. You’ll be able to send feedback on the January timetable to timetables@aqa.org.uk until Wednesday 26 November 2025.
Safeguarding during examiner and moderator visits
With the visiting window for summer 2026 opening in the new year, here's some guidance and reminders about safeguarding.
Visiting examiners and moderators:
- are not required to have a DBS certificate
- must carry photographic ID that can be shown to get into a school/college (schools and colleges should not photocopy this)
- will not have AQA badges, but will be able to provide a personalised document (this may be a printed or digital copy) that confirms they are your allocated visitor.
You’ll need to make sure you have a member of staff available to chaperone your visiting moderator or examiner through your premises for the whole visit.
You can find more information about safeguarding during visits on our website. We recommend that you also familiarise yourself with our safeguarding policy before the visiting period starts.
If you have any questions about these safeguarding measures, you can email VisitingModerators@aqa.org.uk or VisitingExaminers@aqa.org.uk
If you need to escalate any safeguarding concerns, please email safeguarding@aqa.org.uk
Core training for new Exams Officers
Are you new to the role of Exams Officer or looking to refresh your knowledge? Our face-to-face core training sessions offer a supportive environment where you can learn directly from experienced trainers and Exams Officers, ask questions, and share ideas and challenges with peers.
You can book onto one of our two-day training events on our website.
Here's some feedback from our previous sessions:
“I think having training like this works as a good refresher for experienced exams officers too and helps with my confidence in the job when I hear things that I am already doing.”
“The speakers are well prepared with lots of interactions, they can clarify all questions we have, point out key points in ICE and General Regulations.”
“The level of depth we went into was very helpful as well as the open and honest acknowledgement that it’s not an easy role. Very refreshing!”
JCQ updates
JCQ has launched a new infographic on their website, setting out the process and evidence requirements for centre staff to submit a request for 25% extra time.
Dates for your diary
November 2025 exam series
- 25 Nov: Last date to request a partial refund of fees on medical grounds for November 2025 series
- 5 Dec: Last date to submit special consideration requests for November 2025 series – GCSE English Language, GCSE Mathematics
January 2026 exam series
- 14 Nov: Centre marks for NEA can be submitted via Centre Marks Submission on Centre Services for the January 2026 series from this date
- 2 Dec: Last date to request transferred candidate arrangements for January 2026
Summer 2026 exam series
- 21 Nov: Summer 2026 basedata released on or before this date
- 21 Nov: Entries for the summer 2026 series can be submitted from this date
See our full key dates calendar.