Guidance

What to do if you think there is a mistake in your results

Published 20 November 2024

Applies to England

How do I request a review of my results?

If you think there has been a mistake in the marking of your exams or assessments, you should talk to your school or college.  

Your school or college can ask the awarding organisation to check if there were any errors in how your exam or assessment was marked. Most awarding organisations do not accept requests directly from students. Schools and colleges must give students the opportunity to appeal against any decision they take not to ask the awarding organisation to review its marking. If a school or college (or a student, where the awarding organisation allows them to) requests a review, the awarding organisation must do this in line with Ofqual’s rules and communicate the outcome of the review to the school or college or student.   

For some qualifications, including GCSEs, AS and A levels, and Technical Qualifications within a T Level, your school or college can ask to see your marked assessment or exam paper. They can do this before deciding whether to ask for a review of marking, to see whether they think there was a mistake when your work was marked. The awarding organisation may charge for this. 

If you are a private candidate, you can contact the awarding organisation directly to ask for your marked paper or a review of marking. Or you can ask the school or college you took your exam at to put in a request for you.

If your school or college asks for a review of marking and the awarding organisation does not find any mistakes, your mark will not change, so your grade will not change. If the awarding organisation finds a mistake, your mark could go up or down. If your mark changes, this could mean that your grade stays the same, goes up or goes down. 

An awarding organisation cannot give you extra marks just because your mark was close to a grade boundary or because you did not get the grade your school or college predicted. It is important to remember that, in most years, only around 20% of students accepted to university meet or exceed the grades they were predicted. If you don’t get the grade your school or college predicted, it does not automatically mean something has gone wrong with the marking or grading of your exam.

For GCSE, AS, A level, and T Levels, your school or college can apply for a review of moderation of non-exam assessment that was marked by your teacher, if marks were changed by the awarding organisation following moderation. This review would apply to all students taking the qualification at your school or college, not just to you. 

If the awarding organisation finds a mistake with the moderation, your grade could stay the same or go up, but it cannot go down. This is because the review affects many students, and schools and colleges may not be able to get permission from everyone to request the review. 

The awarding organisation may charge fees for reviews of marking or moderation if your grade does not change. There will be no fees if your grade changes following a review. Your school or college will be able to tell you about any fees that you may need to pay. 

If you are not sure whether this would apply to the qualification you are taking, you should speak to your school or college.

Deadlines 

Awarding organisations publish details of the deadlines for seeking reviews of marking or moderation, and appeals, on their websites. 

Your school or college can request a priority review of marking if you need the outcome of the review to get your higher or further education place. Awarding organisations will aim to complete priority reviews by 3 September 2025, which is UCAS’s advisory deadline for higher education providers to hold places open for students. 

If you are a private candidate, you should make your request for a priority review directly to the awarding organisation.

Can I appeal over the review of my marks?

For all qualifications, if you and your school or college still have concerns, your school or college can challenge the review decision through an appeal. If you are a private candidate, you can submit an appeal directly to the awarding organisation. The possible outcomes of an appeal are the same as for reviews of marking or moderation, explained above. Your school or college will be able to tell you about any fees you may need to pay. 

Your school or college can also challenge awarding organisations’ decisions about Reasonable Adjustments, Special Consideration, other administrative decisions and malpractice sanctions. If you have concerns about any of these decisions, speak to your school or college.

What if I still have concerns about my results?

If your qualification is a GCSE, AS or A level, Level 3 Project (EPQ) or Technical Qualification within a T Level, and your school or college thinks the review of marking or moderation and/or appeal were not completed properly, they can ask Ofqual to review the case. This is called the exam procedures review service (EPRS). An application can only be made to EPRS after your case has been considered at the awarding organisation’s final appeal stage. There is no fee for the EPRS. 

The EPRS will look at whether the awarding organisation has followed its own procedures and Ofqual’s rules. Ofqual will not review your work or change your grade. Your grade will only change if the awarding organisation decides your grade was wrong and needs to be corrected. It is important to remember that a new grade could be higher or lower. Ofqual can ask the awarding organisation to look at your appeal again if we think the awarding organisation has made a mistake when it completed the review of marking or moderation, or when it considered your appeal. 

See guidance on the EPRS for more information.

When can I resit my exams?

For GCSE English language and GCSE mathematics, exams are available in November, but only for students who were aged 16 or above on 31 August of that year.

As most exams for GCSEs, AS and A level take place in May or June each year, students who want to resit these exams would need to wait until the following summer to do so.

Students who resit an exam(s) for GCSEs, AS and A level would need to resit all exam components. Students can either retake or carry forward their non-exam assessments.  

Some VTQs have assessments throughout the year. Students may be able to take their assessment again, at the next available opportunity.  

You should talk to your school or college if you would like more information about resits.