Conduct of Examinations

Each examination must be taken on the day and at the time as shown on the timetable.

The published starting time of all examinations for centres is either 9.00 a.m. or 1.30 p.m. local time. Candidates with more than one examination in a session should take these consecutively. A supervised break may be given between consecutive examinations.

Centres may start an examination earlier than, or later than, the published starting time for the session without prior approval from Pearson. However, in order to maintain the security of the examination all candidates must start examinations scheduled for a morning session no earlier than 8.30 a.m. and by 9.30 a.m. and for an afternoon session no earlier than 1.00 p.m. and by 2.00 p.m., except where arrangements have been made for dealing with timetable clashes. No other departure from the timetable is permitted without the prior written approval of Pearson. Examination centres should refer to the JCQ publication ‘Instructions for Conducting Examinations’ in the first instance.

UK based candidates who take an examination earlier than the published starting time shown on the timetable must remain under centre supervision until one hour after the published starting time for that examination.

UK based candidates who take an examination later than the published starting time shown on the timetable must remain under centre supervision from 30 minutes after the published starting time for the paper concerned until the time when those candidates begin their examination.

When a change is made to the published starting time for an examination it is the responsibility of the centre to inform all candidates affected by the alteration.

Key dates

Key dates including dates for the release of results and for any pre-released materials can be found in the key dates section of the Information Manual available at http://qualifications.pearson.com/infomanual