When do GCSES start in 2024? The full timetable for maths, English and science exams

Zoe Chamberlain

29 April 2024 at 3:58 am·3-min read

Pupils across Birmingham are in the middle of revising ahead of the GCSE exams which start in May. The GCSE exam timetables for 2024 vary depending on which examination board a student's school is registered with.

The AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR, WJEC and CCEA exam boards released the dates of their exams back in February 2024. These dates are subject to change so students are advised to double check closer to the exam period. We have added links to each exam board in this guide.

Please be aware that assessments which don't involve formal exams, such as music, science experiments and foreign language speaking tests are decided by individual schools and may take place ahead of the official exam start date. Now is the time to get revising. Take a look at our revision guides with youtuber Mr Salles, learn how to Glow Up Your Grades with the BBC's Mehreen Baig and discover how to help your child balance their revision timetable with headteacher Nicola Lappage.

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When do the GCSEs start and finish for 2024?

GCSE exams in England will start around Monday, 6 May, 2024. They will finish on Friday, 21 June, 2024. This means that there is an intense seven week period of examinations.

Y11 pupils will then break up earlier than the rest of their school. Here is the GCSE exam timetable, as shared on BBC Bitesize. The CCEA exam board dates differ to the rest. The full timetables can be found on the exam board websites as follows:

GCSE maths dates exam dates for 2024

Thursday 16 May – Maths paper 1 foundation and higher (Edexcel, OCR, AQA and WJEC)
Monday 3 June – Maths paper 2 foundation and higher (Edexcel, OCR & AQA)
Monday 10 June – Maths paper 3 foundation and higher (Edexcel, OCR & AQA)
Tuesday 12 June - WJEC maths unit 2 for all tier students

Listen to Mr Salles' top GCSE revision tips on the Brummie Mummies podcast:

GCSE English language and literature exam dates for 2024

Monday, 13 May - English literature paper 1 (AQA, CCEA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR and WJEC)
Monday, 20 May - English literature paper 2 (AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR and WJEC)
Thursday, 23 May - English language paper 1 (AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, OCR and WJEC)
Thursday, 6 June - English language paper 2 (AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas OCR and WJEC)

GCSE biology exam dates for 2024

Friday, 10 May - biology paper 1 for both combined and single science students (AQA, Edexcel and OCR)
Friday, 7 June - biology paper 2 for both combined and single science students (AQA, Edexcel and OCR)
Monday, 10 June - WJEC biology paper 1

GCSE chemistry exam dates for 2024

Friday, 17 May - chemistry paper 1 (AQA, Edexcel, OCR) and WJEC chemistry paper 2 for combined and single science students
Tuesday, 11 June - chemistry paper 2 for both combined and single science students (AQA, Edexcel and OCR)
Thursday, 13 June - WJEC chemistry paper 1

GCSE physics exam dates for 2024

Wednesday, 22 May - physics paper 1 for both combined and single science students (AQA, Edexcel, WJEC and OCR)
Friday, 24 May - WJEC physics paper 2
Friday, 7 June - OCR 21st Century combined science paper
Friday, 14 June - physics paper 2 for both combined and single science students (AQA, Edexcel and OCR)
Monday, 17 June - WJEC physics paper 1

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