Exams Officer guidance: preparing for results days

We know how important results days are for students, parents, teachers and schools alike, and we know the key role our Exams Officers play in ensuring these days run as smoothly as possible.

As the results days for our May/June 2024 exam series approach, we have collated some useful information for Exams Officers to help you get prepared.

Special consideration

If a student has been affected by a temporary illness, injury or some other event outside of their control at the time of an exam, you can apply for special consideration through Centre Services.

The deadline for special consideration requests for the May/June 2024 series was 26 July 2024. However, the window to submit requests will reopen on results day.

Check for examination materials

We recommend you do a final check of your secure area in case there is a completed attendance record, question paper/answer booklet or word-processed material that may impact a student receiving a grade reflective of their efforts. If you find any materials, please contact us immediately.

If we have not been able to identify if a student sat the exams as part of our usual checks, we will be in touch throughout the exam series with any attendance queries. Attendance records for each component should be returned with the completed exam papers (scripts).

To make sure we can reach you with important updates or queries, we advise that you have someone available to monitor emails to your Exams Officer outside of term time.

Amending student details

To avoid any delays in providing students with their results, all details must be correct in Centre Services. If changes are needed, the original method of entry must be used (Centre Services or EDI).

There is a restricted number of characters permitted in a student name on our system; to amend students’ names that fit within the 40-character limit, please use the original method of entry. To amend a name which has been shortened to fit within the limit, you must use our name variation form. We will inform you if the form has been used incorrectly for names you should amend in the system.

If a student is taking exams under more than one series code (6Y for International GCSE, 6X for International AS/A-level), the same change must be made in each series the student is entered for.

You can find further information and guidance on updating student details on our Entries page.

Amending entries

Up to a certain date, Exams Officers can update Entries/Awards details. If we seen an issue that can be corrected, we will be in contact with you – however, if this issue is not resolved, a student may not receive a result or results as expected.

For further guidance, please see our supporting information.

The deadlines for the May/June 2024 exam series:

  • No amendments can be made after 1 August for International AS/A-levels or the International EPQ.
  • No amendments can be made after 8 August for International GCSE.
Results and post-results training webinar

Every year our exams administration experts lead a free webinar for Exams Officers, designed to take you through every stage of the results and post-results cycle. If you missed this year’s session on 7 August 2024, you can watch the recording here.

The session covered the following topics:

Results days:

  • Results timeline- including restricted release and on results day itself
  • Accessing and navigating Centre Services

Results:

  • How results appear
  • Available services for analysing results
  • How to identify issues with results

Post-results:

  • Available post-results services
  • Student involvement regarding results enquiries

Certificates:

  • What to expect when receiving students’ certificates
  • Name variations

I’m a teacher, is there information available for me?

We have also created a guide specifically for teachers on our post-results services for the May/June 2024 exam series. Find out the options available if you’re not happy with an exam result here.