What Happens If You Miss a GCSE Exam?

Life can be unpredictable, and sometimes we can be taken by surprise by unforeseen circumstances. Exam season is no exception – if anything, things can be even more turbulent and unpredictable during this often-stressful period. 

You may find yourself in circumstances which mean you cannot attend your exam, be it illness, bad weather or travel disruption. Having been a teacher myself, I know this happens regularly and, luckily, so does your exam board.

In this article, we will look at the different scenarios that may cause you to miss an exam and explain what happens in each of them.

What Happens If You Miss a GCSE Exam Due to Illness?

Your health is a priority and is even more important than your exams. If you are too ill to be able to attend your exam, this is beyond your control, and you may be able to apply for something called ‘special consideration’. The process for special consideration is outlined in more detail below.

Exam boards have to follow guidance on what constitutes circumstances which are ‘beyond your control’ and some of this guidance is very specific. These circumstances do take into account your emotional and mental wellbeing, as well as your physical wellbeing. However, one element which is very important in the guidance is that the illness, injury or bereavement must have occurred at (or very close to) the time of the assessment.

If you find yourself too unwell, in any capacity, to sit your exam, then your first action should be to contact your school or college immediately. It is their job to request special consideration on your behalf. If you are ill, you may be expected to produce a ‘fit note’ or ‘sick note’ from your doctor. 

After this, your main priority should be to rest. It is easy to stress about this scenario but, if you are genuinely unwell, then the most productive thing you can do is recover for upcoming exams.

What Happens If You Miss a GCSE Exam Because You’re on Holiday?

Exam boards do not consider optional circumstances as a good enough reason to miss an exam. A family trip to Greece is not ‘beyond your control’, so if you miss your exam for this reason, you will be awarded zero marks and will not be eligible to apply for special consideration. You will take the results of your GCSEs with you for the rest of your life, so make sure you do everything in your power to actually attend them!

It is also worth pointing out that missing an exam for illness is taken seriously, and medical evidence of your condition will almost certainly be required in order to retake the exams in the next series.

What Happens If You Miss a GCSE Exam Due to the Weather?

The drive to your exams can be a very stressful one, so ensure that you leave a large margin for error. If the school or college is able to open the examination room or hall, the exam will proceed as normal. 

You can’t always predict traffic, road closure or poor weather and there is no downside to arriving really early to your exam. Getting there early may be a nice way to do some last minute revision or do something entirely different to relax.

In a situation where it is not physically possible to get to your exam, regardless of how early you set off (snow drifts or flooding, for example), then applying for special considerations is the next step. Again, make sure you have clear evidence that you were unable to reach your examination. This is outlined in the JCQ guidelines.

What Happens If You’re Late for Your Exam?

Again, this depends on the circumstances which caused you to be late. Being late to the exam means that setting off earlier could have prevented this, so it is very unlikely that you will be given special consideration in this scenario.

If you do arrive late, you will most likely be allowed to sit your exam, but you will finish at the same time as all the other candidates. This is the last thing you need after all your hard work while revising, so plan ahead and ensure you can get to your exam at least one hour before it begins. 

Special Considerations

There are different types of special consideration. These can apply if you:

• were able to attend the exam but disadvantaged (e.g. by illness)

• were unable to attend the exam at all

• have lost or not completed a piece of coursework, practical or oral assessment

• are applying for special considerations as a group of students

To apply for special considerations, one of the following must have happened:

• You attended the exam but in a demonstrably disadvantaged condition

• You were unable to attend one exam of several for a given subject

• You were unable to attend any of the exams for a given subject

In the first scenario where you attended but were disadvantaged (unwell, bereaved 3 months before the exam, significant distraction in the exam), you may be awarded up to 5% of the total marks in addition to your score, depending on the disadvantage. Note that the exam board must decide if your disadvantage is sufficient to allow the special consideration – sadly, an annoying noise outside your exam room will probably not qualify for additional marks.

Next, let’s consider the scenario where you have completed one exam for a subject but have missed at least one other. In this case, a special team from your exam board will use the results from the exam you did attend to estimate what you would have scored in the other exam. Your performance in the first exam is compared to the national average, then it is assumed you performed the same in the second exam compared to the national average. For a GCSE exam board to be able to use this method, you must have been formally examined on at least 25% of the course before or after your absence. 

If you were unable to be examined on 25% of your course, then the next best option is to resit your exams in the next series. If you were sitting summer exams, then you may be able to complete them in Autumn instead, but this depends on your exam board. If you are applying to a college, this will, of course, disrupt that process. Contacting the college and making them aware of your situation is your best course of action here – it may be possible to start slightly late in the school year, for example.

This is summarised in the table below.

What to Do If You Miss Your GCSE Exam

If you do end up missing your exam, here’s what you should do:

1. Immediately contact your school or college and inform them

2. Make a note of the circumstances that caused you to miss the exam

3. Take photographs if weather has prevented you from being able to leave your home

4. Get a fit note from your GP if you are too unwell to attend

If appropriate, your school will send an application for special considerations for you. Once this has all been done, the best thing you can do is move on to the next exam, if you are able. Worrying about the previous exam will not help improve your results, but revising may distract you and help you to get even better results in your other exams.

Do You Get Fined for Missing a GCSE Exam?

No, you will not get fined. If you do not have a valid reason beyond your control for missing the exam, however, you may automatically fail that exam. For the subjects of English and maths, you will have to resit these if you fail.

Do You Automatically Fail If You Miss an Exam?

Again, this depends on the circumstances under which you miss the exam. If it was ‘beyond your control’, then you can apply for special conditions and, if successful, you will still gain marks for the exam. The guidance for exam boards gives some example scenarios which are beyond control:

• Temporary illness, accident or injury

• Bereavement at the time of the assessment

• Domestic crisis at the time of the assessment

• Serious disturbance at the time of the assessment

• Being given the incorrect paper

• Failure of practical equipment

• Participation in sporting events for a club or country at an international level

• The centre fails to correctly arrange previously approved access arrangements for that exam series

In these circumstances, you are likely to be eligible for special consideration and will not automatically fail.

Other circumstances causing you to miss your exam are less likely to make you eligible for special consideration. In this instance, you will automatically fail that particular exam. Some examples of these circumstances may be:

• Heavy traffic

• Rainy weather

• Minor illness (runny nose, minor hayfever etc.)

• Family holiday

• Forgetting the date of the exam

Can I Still Get Into Sixth Form or College If I Miss My Exams?

This is something decided by the college or sixth form to which you are applying. If you have missed exams due to circumstances beyond your control, contact the sixth form or college and explain your circumstances.

If possible, do this before results day, as they are likely to be very busy with phone calls on the day itself. Every college is different, and so is every applicant, so there is no single rule, but giving them all the information is essential.

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References

AQA special consideration page

JCQ Special Considerations process

JCQ mark estimation for missing candidate

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