Examinations Information
All qualification exams and assessments and Year 11 Internal exams are carried out under the Joint Council for Qualification (JCQ) regulations. See links below for JCQ notices.
Qualification Information
Please click here to access the qualification information for 2025-2026.
Timetables
Students are responsible for arriving at the correct time on the correct day. Students that are absent will require medical evidence for the awarding board or they will be awarded zero for that exam. Timetables are displayed in school all year round in form rooms and public areas. Each student will also be issued 'statements of entry' throughout the year providing them with the full details. GCSE timetables are also published on the Arbor parent app from the end of February. It is essential that students are in the right place at the right time and if anyone has any doubts, they should speak with Mr Tate or their teacher prior to the exam period.
Internal Exams
Internal exams for Year 11 and Year 10 are all carried out under the JCQ regulations. Students will be prepared for their exams, have a dedicated assembly and issued with a candidate exam handbook prior to their exams.
Year 11 Internal Exam schedule:
Series 1 is scheduled to take place between Monday 20th - Thursday 23rd October, and Monday 3rd - Monday 9th November 2025.
Series 2 is scheduled to take place between Monday 22nd February - Friday 6th March 2026
In addition to these dates the following are currently scheduled:
Art and Textile students will have an internal 5 hour assessment on Tue 16th December 2025
French and Spanish Speaking assessments are scheduled to take place during week 12th January 2026
Year 10 Internal Exam Timetable:
The Year 10 internal exams are currently scheduled to take place between Monday 13th April - Friday 1st May 2026
Where a student is absent from any Year 11 or Year 10 internal exam, the department for that exam will set aside time in lessons or after school to catch up with exams. There is no capacity in the formal internal exam timetable for these to be taken under JCQ conditions outside of the published times.
External Exams
Summer 2026 Exam Timetable
The exam seasons starts on Friday 8th May 2026 through to Wednesday 24th June 2026; please do not book any holidays or appointments between these dates.
The timetable is set nationally and the exams have to be sat on the date and time published; there are no exceptions to this national regulation. These exams are set once a year on the day and time published (apart from English and Mathematics which has an exam series in November where some colleges/sixth forms may offer re-sits of the whole qualification (all papers) only for those who had taken the qualification the previous summer).
In addition to the main written exam, the following dates have been provisionally scheduled for those components where the dates are set by the school in conjunction with the awarding body, but are compulsory to complete the qualification.
GCSE Drama:
Wednesday 26th November 2025: Performance of Component 1 - Devising (40% of the qualification)
Week 9th March 2026: Proposed week where Component 2 – Performance from Text (20% of the qualification) will be performed in front of a visiting examiner. The date will be confirmed nearer the time when the awarding body have allocated the examiner and agreed the date.
Vocational Award in Hospitality and Catering:
Students are currently scheduled to take their practical final assessment, during the week of 8th December 2025.
GCSE Art and Textiles:
Monday 23rd – Thursday 26th March 2026 - The set external 10 hour assessment which takes place over 2 full days. Individual days will be allocated to each student nearer the time.
GCSE French and Spanish:
Tuesday 5th – Thursday 7th May 2026: Speaking Exam assessments. Individual day and time will be allocated to each student nearer the time.
Functional Skills:
Some Year 10 and Year 11 students will be entered for the Functional Skills English and Mathematics qualifications. These will be scheduled during the week of 19th January 2026 and week of 27th April 2026.
Exam Results Day 2026
The school will be open on Thursday 20th August 2026 between 9am and 11am for collection of results.
Results can only be handed to the named student. If students cannot collect their own results, they can nominate someone to collect the results on their behalf by providing us with their written authority. The letter/email should include the name of the person who is to collect the results on your behalf. Students can email mtate@claydonhigh.com from their school email. The person collecting the results on your behalf will need to have some photo id with them to enable us to pass the results onto them.
After 11am, all uncollected results will be sent in the post.
We are not able to provide results over the phone or by email.
Certificates
Class of 2025 - students will be invited to an awards evening in late autumn, where they will collect their certificates. Those who are not able to attend will be able to collect their certificates after the awards evening from the school's reception, between 9am and 3:30pm Monday to Friday (term time only). Only the named student can collect their own certificates unless they provide us with written authorisation to release the certificates to a named person. That designated person must bring photo id when collecting the certificates please.
We retain uncollected certificates for 2 years. If you have not obtained your certificates and you left Year 11 in either the summer of 2024 or 2023, these can still be collected in person from the school's reception office. Opening times and details are as above.
Due to the legal nature and cost to replace these documents, the school does not send certificates through the post. If you are unable to arrange collection of your certificates, you can provide the school with a self-addressed A4 envelope with the correct postage stamps for A4 letters and we will send them, at your own risk, through the postal system.
We are required by the awarding body to return or destroy uncollected certificates. If you have not collected your certificates having left before the summer of 2023, or you have lost your certificates, please use the links below to apply for copies directly with the appropriate awarding bodies. They all charge a fee for this service, so please look after your certificates. The school cannot reissue any certificate.
https://www.aqa.org.uk/contact-us/past-results-and-lost-certificates
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/Services/replacement-certificates.html
https://www.ocr.org.uk/students/replacement-certificates/
https://www.wjec.co.uk/students/certificates/
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/help/lost-certificates/
Useful Links
Please click to go to the JCQ website where you will find information for candidates.
Exams Policy
Please click to access the school's Exam Policy