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Examinations

Our pupils work towards GCSE and International GCSE (IGCSE) qualifications. Tarbiyyah Secondary School enters its pupils for their exams as private candidates, usually at Cranford Community College. This page explains how that works, which qualifications our pupils take, and the key dates and costs families need to know.

Dates, fees and arrangements on this page were checked against the exam boards’ and Cranford Community College’s published information on 8 October 2026. They can change, so please always check your son’s personal timetable and the official links at the bottom of this page.

Our qualifications and exam boards

SubjectExam boardQualificationBoard entry fee
English LanguageEdexcelGCSE£58.10
English LiteratureEdexcelGCSE£58.10
MathematicsEdexcelGCSE (Foundation or Higher tier)£56.65
ArabicEdexcelGCSE (Foundation or Higher tier)£55.85
ScienceEdexcelInternational GCSE: Double Award (combined science), or separate Biology, Chemistry and Physics£138.05 for Double Award; £69.05 for each separate science (provisional)
BusinessEdexcelInternational GCSE£69.05
Islamic StudiesEdexcelInternational GCSE£69.05
GeographyAQAGCSE£56.50
Computer ScienceAQAGCSE£47.85

GCSEs are graded from 9 (highest) to 1. Whether a pupil takes combined or separate sciences depends on his ability and his teachers’ recommendations. Board entry fees are the exam boards’ published prices for summer 2027 at UK exam centres (Edexcel 2026/27; AQA summer 2027). The fee for the separate sciences is provisional: it assumes the exam board’s standard International GCSE rate, and this page will be corrected once it has been confirmed. Pupils are entered for the subjects they study; optional subjects are explained in the Key Stage 4 Options Booklet.

Exam fees

Exam entry fees are not covered by the tuition fee. The cost of each entry is the exam board’s fee (shown above) plus an administration charge set by the exam centre. Our Fee Policy currently gives a total of approximately £150 to £200 per entry.

Entering after the deadline costs much more: roughly double the entry fee after the deadline, and more again after 21 April 2027. Charges for reviews of marking, clerical re-checks, access to scripts and resits are paid by parents, unless the school made an administrative error, in which case the school meets the cost.

Summer 2027 exam dates

SubjectPapers and dates (2027)
English Language (Edexcel)Paper 1: Mon 24 May (am)
Paper 2: Tue 8 June (am)
English Literature (Edexcel)Paper 1: Wed 12 May (am)
Paper 2: Wed 19 May (am)
Mathematics (Edexcel)Paper 1: Fri 14 May (am)
Paper 2: Thu 27 May (am)
Paper 3: Mon 14 June (am)
Arabic (Edexcel)Paper 1 Listening and Paper 3 Reading: Mon 24 May (pm)
Paper 4 Writing: Mon 7 June (pm)
Paper 2 Speaking: test window 15 April to 20 May 2027, with the date set by the exam centre
Science, Double Award (Edexcel)Biology paper: Tue 11 May (am)
Chemistry paper: Tue 18 May (pm)
Physics paper: Tue 25 May (am)
Science, separate sciences (Edexcel)Biology: Paper 1 Tue 11 May (am); Paper 2 Thu 10 June (am)
Chemistry: Paper 1 Tue 18 May (pm); Paper 2 Tue 15 June (am)
Physics: Paper 1 Tue 25 May (am); Paper 2 Fri 18 June (am)
Business (Edexcel)Paper 1: Wed 12 May (pm)
Paper 2: Fri 21 May (pm)
Islamic Studies (Edexcel)Paper 1: Wed 26 May (am)
Geography (AQA)Paper 1: Tue 18 May (am)
Paper 2: Wed 26 May (pm)
Paper 3: Thu 10 June (pm)
Computer Science (AQA)Paper 1: Mon 10 May (am)
Paper 2: Wed 19 May (pm)

Edexcel dates are from Pearson’s final summer 2027 timetables. AQA dates are from AQA’s provisional timetable; AQA publishes the final version in early May. Cranford’s published start times are 9:00am for morning papers and 1:10pm for afternoon papers, and the centre’s times apply. Your son’s personal timetable comes from the exam centre.

Key deadlines

  • Entries: the exam boards’ final entry deadline for summer 2027 is 21 February 2027. Exam centres can set earlier deadlines, so please speak to the school early in the autumn term.
  • Access arrangements: Cranford requires any request to be made when registering and before its deadline of 10 February in the year of the exam, with supporting evidence.
  • Arabic speaking test: the exam centre must arrange it between 15 April and 20 May 2027.
  • Results: summer 2027 results are issued on 19 August 2027. November 2026 results are issued on 13 January 2027 (GCSE English Language and Mathematics) and 21 January 2027 (International GCSEs).

What being a private candidate means

  • The school teaches each course and prepares pupils for their exams. Entries are then made through the exam centre, usually Cranford Community College, and pupils sit their exams there.
  • A private candidate is entered at a centre but is not enrolled there. The centre has to agree to accept the candidate, and pupils follow the centre’s instructions as well as the exam board’s rules.
  • At the time of writing our exams are held at Cranford Community College. Arrangements can change from year to year, so please check with the school for the current year.

Sitting exams at a different centre. If a pupil chooses to sit his exams at another exam centre, he will need to contact that centre’s exams officer himself and make the arrangements, because each centre decides whether to accept private candidates and sets its own fees and deadlines. Please also let the school know.

On exam day

  • Photo ID: bring one form of photo ID, ideally a passport. Cranford accepts a passport or a driving licence, and checks ID on arrival.
  • Equipment: bring everything you need in a clear pencil case: two black pens, two HB pencils, a 30cm ruler, a sharpener, a rubber, a calculator approved for exams (with no lid) and a geometry set. Equipment cannot be borrowed. You may also bring a water bottle.
  • Not allowed: mobile phones, tablets, music players and all watches (including smartwatches). There is no storage at the centre, so leave them at home.
  • Arrival: arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of each paper. Late arrivals may get less time or may not be admitted.
  • Visitors: only candidates are allowed on the site, and parents should drop off and collect outside.

This follows Cranford’s published guidance for external candidates, which is updated each year. Please check their current guidance before the exams.

Sitting exams early

A small number of high-performing pupils may sit some exams in Year 10. Before a pupil is entered early:

  • he must be working at a level where grade 7 or above is achievable, shown by a full mock exam and prior attainment;
  • the subject teacher makes the judgement, and the Headteacher confirms it;
  • parents are consulted, and the decision is explained to them in writing.

More information is in the Key Stage 4 Options Booklet.

Access arrangements

Pupils with an identified need may be eligible for arrangements such as extra time, a reader, a scribe, a separate room, assistive technology or rest breaks. The SENDCo arranges these based on how the pupil normally works. Evidence has to be gathered during Years 9 and 10, so please raise any need as early as possible. See our SEND Policy, or contact the school.

Exam rules and conduct

  • The exam board’s rules apply to every public exam, and to internal exams too.
  • Breaking the rules can lead to a pupil being disqualified from a subject or from a whole exam series. The school cannot undo this.
  • Where a subject has coursework or non-exam assessment, the deadlines are set by the exam board and the school cannot extend them.
  • Regular attendance matters: courses are taught once, and missed lessons mean missed content that will be assessed.

Results, certificates and resits

  • Results: pupils collect their results from the exam centre. Cranford’s guidance says to bring photo ID.
  • Certificates: these are collected from the centre by arrangement. Cranford’s guidance says it keeps uncollected certificates for 12 months, and replacements can only be obtained from the exam board, for a fee.
  • Resits: pupils can resit exams, and the school can help arrange this. Only some subjects have a November series (GCSE English Language and Mathematics, and some Edexcel International GCSEs). Other subjects are resat the following summer. The standard entry deadlines for November 2026 have passed (late entries cost more), so the next opportunity for most resits is summer 2027.
  • Reviews of marking: these are paid for by the candidate, and a grade can go down as well as up.

Who to contact

  • At the school: speak to the Headteacher through our Contact Us page.
  • At the exam centre: Cranford Community College’s external candidates exams officer, through the college’s contact form. Cranford’s fees and deadlines for each series are given by that officer.
  • At another centre: that centre’s exams officer (see above).

Official information

Edexcel (Pearson)

AQA

Joint Council for Qualifications and Cranford Community College