GCSE exam dates 2023: when is results day next year, when are UK exams - timetable for school terms 2022/23

Secondary students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to receive their GCSE results on Thursday (25 August).

Grades are generally expected to be higher than they were in 2019 but lower than last year as a result of relaxed grade boundaries brought in in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you are a student or the parent of a pupil who is about to enter their final year of GCSEs, you may be wondering when the key dates will fall in the year ahead.

So, NationalWorld has put together a quick guide to GCSEs in the 2022/23 school year to help you out.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What is the timetable for school terms 2022/23?

When and for how long school terms run depends on where you or your child goes to school, and the type of school they attend.

In all cases, private schools tend to have longer holidays than state schools.

Here is a general guide to the state school term timetable for the 2022/23 academic year in England:

• Autumn term: Thursday 1 September to Friday 16 December (half term in week of 24 October)
• Spring term: Tuesday 3 January 2023 to Friday 31 March (half term in week of 13 February)
• Summer term: Monday 17 April to Friday 21 July (half term in week of 29 May - some areas may grant May bank holiday)

Schools in Wales and Northern Ireland will follow broadly similar dates.

Welsh schools will take their autumn half term a week later and will finish the term on 23 December.

The Spring term begins on 9 January 2023, with half term falling a week later than in England (week of 20 February).

Northern Irish pupils may get St Patrick’s Day off (17 March 2023).

Scotland’s term dates are also broadly similar - but variations occur across the country, so it’s best to check with your local educational authority.

When are GCSE exam dates 2023?

The only information we currently have about the secondary education exams timetable for 2023 comes from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

This is because students north of the border have already returned to school.

According to the SQA, 2023 GCSE-equivalent exams will begin on Monday 24 April and will finish on Thursday 1 June 2023.

All we know so far about GCSE exams for English, Welsh and Northern Irish students is that advance information on the subject topics will not be released.

In 2022, topics for some papers were released in advance to help students who had been impacted by the pandemic.

But this practice will not feature again next year.

One Covid feature that is likely to remain is the elongated exams period.

The 2022 exams - the first in-person assessments since Covid - were more spread out than in previous years.

Subjects with multiple exam papers are likely to continue to have those papers separated by more than a week to reduce the risk of students missing multiple papers due to illness.

Education regulator Ofqual will consult exam boards on this strategy ahead of the 2023 exams period.

When is GCSE results day 2023?

As with exam dates, the only official information we have at present comes from the SQA.

The organisation says results day will fall on Tuesday 8 August next year.

Typically, GCSE results day in England, Wales and Northern Ireland takes place on a Thursday towards the end of the month of August, and comes after A-Level results have been given out.

Looking ahead to August 2023, it means the most likely date for the next GCSE results day will be Thursday 24 August.

So far, all we know about 2023 GCSEs is that the marking is likely to become tougher again.

Education regulator Ofqual eased marking for students affected by the Covid pandemic to ensure they were not unfairly penalised for having their learning disrupted.

It has said it wants standards to be more in line with how they were in 2019 from next year - but it will assess 2022 grades before making any decisions.