Make a complaint
If there's something you're not happy with, we'd like you to tell us so that we can do better in the future.
Results cannot be changed through the complaints process. If you’re unhappy with a result, please use our post-results services.
Before you start
If you want to discuss a query or concern you have with a member of our customer support team, call us on 0800 197 7162 or email eos@aqa.org.uk
You can raise a complaint or ask for help in several ways. We'll help you find the best way to do that depending on who you are and what it’s about.
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Centres
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Subject-specific queries
If you have a subject-specific query, you should contact the relevant subject department.
Malpractice
If you suspect malpractice in exams or assessment, follow our malpractice guidance for exams officers.
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Students, parents and guardians
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If you’re a student, parent or guardian with concerns, we may not be the right people to contact. In most cases, you should speak to your school, college or exam centre. They’re in the best position to help you and they'll contact us on your behalf if they need to.
Results
If you have any concerns about your results, please speak to your school or college. All post-results service requests must come to us from them – unless you are a private candidate.
We can't:
- change results through the complaints process
- discuss results with students, parents or guardians
- accept post-results services (eg reviews of marking or appeals) from students, parents or guardians.
Exams
If you have concerns about exams – such as exam regulations, exam conditions or question paper content – please speak to your school or college.
Complaints about your school or college
If you have a complaint about your school or college, please get in touch with them and follow their complaints procedure. We don’t regulate schools or colleges so we may not be able to help you with your concerns.
If you suspect malpractice, find out how you can report it by visiting our malpractice page.
If your school or college has reported you for malpractice, you should speak to them. We can’t discuss any malpractice investigations with students, parents or guardians.
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Associates
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Technical problems
If you’re having technical difficulties with the marking platform you’re working on, please contact our examiner system support team on 0800 197 7163 or email help@aqa.org.uk
Payment and contract queries
If you have a query about payment, allocations or any other aspect of your contract, please email ar@aqa.org.uk
How to make a complaint
You can make a complaint by using our complaints form.
You should include:
- all relevant details
- what you’d like us to do to resolve the issue
- any supporting documents.
If you have more than one attachment, use a zip file. Or you can send attachments to us when we contact you to acknowledge your complaint.
Make a complaint
What happens next
We’ll choose which team is best placed to investigate and respond to your concerns.
When we receive your complaint, we'll:
- Acknowledge your complaint within two working days.
- Review your concerns and seek to resolve them.
- Respond to you fully within 10 working days.
If it’s not practical or possible to resolve your complaint within 10 working days, our team will talk to you about a revised timescale.
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If you’re not happy with our initial response
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You can tell the person who’s been handling your complaint that you’d like your case to be reviewed by our complaints team.
If you’re not happy with the response given by our complaints team, you can request that they conduct a final review of your case.
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If you’re not happy with the final outcome
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You can raise your concerns with our regulator, Ofqual
You can contact Ofqual by writing to:
Ofqual
Earlsdon Park
53-55 Butts Road
Coventry
CV1 3BH
You can phone them on 0300 303 3344
You can also email them at complaints@ofqual.gov.uk
Our principles when handling a complaint
We always do our best to resolve a complaint where it’s in our power.
We may not be able to resolve some complaints. This could be because it needs addressing elsewhere (eg by a school or college, or by our regulator, Ofqual). We’ll let you know if this is the case.
We reserve the right to stop communicating with you if:
- we’ve fully addressed a complaint
- we believe a complaint has become repetitive, unreasonable or abusive in nature.
We aim to treat everyone politely and with respect. In return, we expect our staff to be treated respectfully and not in a way that is abusive or threatening.
We are an inclusive organisation. We don’t tolerate discrimination on the grounds of religion, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, age or sexual orientation.
We reserve the right to stop communicating with anybody who breaches these principles.
See our terms and conditions >