Subject content and exam arrangements announced for summer 2023

Published: Tuesday 10 May 2022

The Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual have confirmed the arrangements for subject content in GCSE, AS and A-levels and non-exam assessment (NEA) in qualifications taking place in the academic year 2022 to 2023. This means that schools and colleges should now have the information they need to plan their teaching and NEA from September.

Given that public health restrictions are no longer in place the DfE and Ofqual have confirmed:

• the usual arrangements for NEA, fieldwork and practical science will be in place
• subjects which had choice of topics (GCSE English Literature, history and ancient history) and a choice of content (GCSE Geography) in 2021–2022 will return to full subject content coverage
• for vocational and technical and other qualifications, adaptations are no longer necessary.

The DfE and Ofqual will continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic and evaluate the arrangements this year before finalising 2023 arrangements.

Their plan is to return to the well-established pre-pandemic assessment arrangements as quickly as possible.

For GCSEs, AS and A-levels, Ofqual will, as planned, consider the approach to grading for 2023 in light of outcomes in 2022.

Ofqual will also ask exam boards to look carefully at the design of the exam timetable for next year to see if the increased spacing between subjects in the exam timetable should continue.

You can read the full guidance on the Ofqual website.

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