Why do I need an examination centre?
If you want to take final examinations in IGCSEs, GCSEs, AS and A Levels, it is your responsibility to find a Registered Examination Centre that will accept private candidates. Private candidates need these centres but no centre is obliged to accept private candidates. Thus you should present yourself in a respectful manner and to be a good ambassador for private candidates everywhere.
It is worth remembeing that access to a Registered Examinations Centre adds time and effort to the Exams Officer's job, and this officer's first priority is to the students in the school. You may have to choose somewhere that is not very close by, but allows access to private candidates, and you may have to budget for the cost of the exams and associated fees.
It is worth remembeing that access to a Registered Examinations Centre adds time and effort to the Exams Officer's job, and this officer's first priority is to the students in the school. You may have to choose somewhere that is not very close by, but allows access to private candidates, and you may have to budget for the cost of the exams and associated fees.
Where can I find a Registered Examinations Centre?
Finding a Registered Examination Centre can be much harder than it should be for private candidates. The examination boards have started to publish information on their websites specifically for private candidates, including centres that have accepted private candidates in the past. If you don't know where to start, ask someone who has already been through the procedure. I am happy to try answering any questions, so contact me at samantha@eddistutorial.com OR sameddis@gmail.com You can also check the following databases first when trying to access nearby Registered Examination Centres:
AQA
www.aqa.org.uk/student-and-parent-support/private-candidates/finding-a-school-or-college
CAIE
https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/exam-administration/private-candidates/
Pearson Edexcel
qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/understanding-our-qualifications/where-can-i-take-edexcel-exams.html
OCR
https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates/
WJEC
https://www.wjec.co.uk/home/student-support/private-candidates/
www.aqa.org.uk/student-and-parent-support/private-candidates/finding-a-school-or-college
CAIE
https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/exam-administration/private-candidates/
Pearson Edexcel
qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/understanding-our-qualifications/where-can-i-take-edexcel-exams.html
OCR
https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates/
WJEC
https://www.wjec.co.uk/home/student-support/private-candidates/
Private Candidates in the UK
If you have looked at the examinations board and have not found any suitable exam centres, have a look at HE-Exams Wikia, created by some hardworking home educators: he-exams.wikia.org/wiki/Finding_an_exam_centre
There are several organizations working with home educators, run by home educators, and all are knowledgeable about our community. If you belong to a local or national home education group, ask around for exam centre help. Please look through the link above. There are several companies who work with private candidates, so have a look around. For example, Tutors and Exams, have several exam centres located around the UK.
There are many more centres, so don't despair! Contact me at samantha@eddistutorial.com OR sameddis@gmail.com to see if I can help you find one.
There are several organizations working with home educators, run by home educators, and all are knowledgeable about our community. If you belong to a local or national home education group, ask around for exam centre help. Please look through the link above. There are several companies who work with private candidates, so have a look around. For example, Tutors and Exams, have several exam centres located around the UK.
There are many more centres, so don't despair! Contact me at samantha@eddistutorial.com OR sameddis@gmail.com to see if I can help you find one.
Private Candidates Centres in the USA
Not every state offers Cambridge Assessment International Examinations (CAIE), but it seems as if only CAIE exams are offered in the USA. There are many Registered Examination Centres now in the USA, and some have accepted private candidates before (my children accessed two centres). Please check the CAIE link to find a school:
www.cambridgeinternational.org/why-choose-us/find-a-cambridge-school/
www.cambridgeinternational.org/why-choose-us/find-a-cambridge-school/
What does a private candidate need to do?
A private candidate will:
- Find an exam centre as soon as he or she starts studying, and ask if it will still accept private candidates for the exam session;
- Do some research on the exam centre, by finding out if private candidates have been accepted in the past, when final certificates are issued etc. (Note – although you are paying for the service of sitting exams in a Registered Examination Centre, you will need to ensure that the centre is well organised and will send out paperwork and documents as needed.)
- Fill out all administrative paperwork in a timely fashion;
- Pay the relevant examination and administrative fees in a timely fashion;
- Communicate (email works best) about any issues that arise, but remain respectful of the exams officer’s time;
- Make the exams officer aware of any special accommodations (with supporting documentation) well in advance of the exam session;
- Check the exam timetable received from the exam centre, and if possible check it against the timetable from the Examination Board (available online);
- Keep a paper trail or record of all communication and instructions from the exam centre;
- Keep the official timetable document safe (sometimes called a Statement of Entry);
- Turn up on time for examinations (fifteen minutes early is ‘on time’);
- Bring all equipment needed for the examination;
- Bring a form of photo identification to every exam;
- Ensure that the exam centre has a postal address to send paperwork and final certificates
- Thank the exams officer and the school for allowing access to complete final assessments.
When do private candidates find out about examination timetables?
Private candidates can find out about examination timetables at the links below, and after they have completed the required paperwork with the Registered Examination Centre. The timetable for the individual private candidate is printed on the ‘Statement of Entry’ that is either emailed or mailed to the candidate.
It is important for candidates to carefully check over the Statement of Entry to verify that the examination subjects and specific papers are correct. The document also shows the examination time as a morning or afternoon session, and the date when the individual exam paper will be taken.
Other information for candidates from the Centres include the time that candidates are expected to turn up (usually at least fifteen minutes prior to the examination session) and what responsibilities they have (such as bringing the Statement of Entry, photo identification, stationery and subject-specific tools as necessary).
If there are any problems with the Statement of Entry, or there is a clash of examination times (two exam papers scheduled for the same exam session), the private candidate should contact the Centre immediately to resolve any issues. For exam paper clashes, as long as the Centre is aware of the fact, the private candidate will have a short period of time between the two exam papers but will still have to complete them in the same session. It is worth remembering that the examination timetables are created by the Examination Boards, not the Centres. So the Centres will do their best to accommodate issues that arise with any of their candidates, but they should have as much advance warning as possible.
It is important for candidates to carefully check over the Statement of Entry to verify that the examination subjects and specific papers are correct. The document also shows the examination time as a morning or afternoon session, and the date when the individual exam paper will be taken.
Other information for candidates from the Centres include the time that candidates are expected to turn up (usually at least fifteen minutes prior to the examination session) and what responsibilities they have (such as bringing the Statement of Entry, photo identification, stationery and subject-specific tools as necessary).
If there are any problems with the Statement of Entry, or there is a clash of examination times (two exam papers scheduled for the same exam session), the private candidate should contact the Centre immediately to resolve any issues. For exam paper clashes, as long as the Centre is aware of the fact, the private candidate will have a short period of time between the two exam papers but will still have to complete them in the same session. It is worth remembering that the examination timetables are created by the Examination Boards, not the Centres. So the Centres will do their best to accommodate issues that arise with any of their candidates, but they should have as much advance warning as possible.
Can the examination timetables be found online?
Yes. Private candidates can usually access examination timetables on the individual examination board’s website a few months before the examination session. It is a good idea to check the examination board’s website and look at their published timetable to reference against the Statement of Entry document. The examination timetable can be very useful for revision purposes, as you will have an idea about the order of the exam papers, and also which subjects are combined on a particular day.
For each examination board, you will want to look at the following links:
For each examination board, you will want to look at the following links:
AQA
www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/dates-and-timetables
CAIE
http://www.cie.org.uk/cambridge-for/exams-officers/cambridge-exams-officers-guide/phase-1-preparation/timetabling-exams/exam-timetables/
Pearson Edexcel
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/exams/exam-timetables/provisional-timetables.html#%2Ftab-Internationalcentres
OCR
https://www.ocr.org.uk/administration/key-dates-and-timetables/
WJEC
https://www.wjec.co.uk/home/administration/key-dates-and-timetables/#tab_0
www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/dates-and-timetables
CAIE
http://www.cie.org.uk/cambridge-for/exams-officers/cambridge-exams-officers-guide/phase-1-preparation/timetabling-exams/exam-timetables/
Pearson Edexcel
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/exams/exam-timetables/provisional-timetables.html#%2Ftab-Internationalcentres
OCR
https://www.ocr.org.uk/administration/key-dates-and-timetables/
WJEC
https://www.wjec.co.uk/home/administration/key-dates-and-timetables/#tab_0
What information is relevant from the timetable or Statement of Entry?
When you get the Statement of Entry, or check the examination timetables on the examination board’s website, there are several important pieces of information to check.
First of all, find all the subjects that you have registered and paid for on the Statement of Entry.. Carefully look at the following:
First of all, find all the subjects that you have registered and paid for on the Statement of Entry.. Carefully look at the following:
- Syllabus/specification name – does it match the syllabus/specification that you have studied?
- Unit codes or course codes – are they the correct numbers for the syllabus/specification?
- Paper number and duration of examination – refer to the syllabus/specification and check that all the papers you have to sit are on the Statement of Entry, and that the length of time for each examination paper is the same as the syllabus/specification information.
- Type of examination – as all GCSEs, IGCSEs AS and A Levels are found on the examination board’s published timetable, make sure that you have located the correct examination type that you have registered to sit.
- Morning or afternoon session – the examinations can only be taken at a specific time, and if you miss the session, you cannot enter the examination room, and you will forfeit the money spent. Carefully check the session time for each and every paper.
- Date of exams – write down all the dates for all the papers that you are going to take. I would even get a calendar and map out all the exam papers and session, so that you can clearly see the spread of exams. It helps a lot of candidates to do this, so that they can then plan a strategic revision plan for the exams. At any rate, you need to know each and every date that you are supposed to be taking an exam paper, so that you can be prepared, be ready and do your best.
Where can past examination papers be found?
Every examination board’s website has a section where some freely available past examination papers can be found. They even have marking schemes or answer sheets, so that you can see what answers the examiners are looking for and how they allocate their marks. Some websites even have examples of exemplary candidate work – work of the highest standard is always good for revision as you know what to aim for when sitting the examinations yourself.
Those candidates who practice for the examinations by going over past papers and understanding what is expected of them as well as what to expect in the examination format are likely to do better than candidates who do not practice, study, consolidate their knowledge and skills
Those candidates who practice for the examinations by going over past papers and understanding what is expected of them as well as what to expect in the examination format are likely to do better than candidates who do not practice, study, consolidate their knowledge and skills
Websites need to be checked often to make sure they are still relevant and the links are still active.
All websites were checked and updated: July, 2025
All websites were checked and updated: July, 2025