The grading system for GCSE exams has been changed in recent years and can seem confusing on first glance. Originally, students were graded with results A*G, but this has changed – with exam results coming in marked from 9 to 1. Here is Express.co.uk’s guide to GCSEs this year.

When are GCSEs this year?

The majority of exam board timetables begin on Monday, May 13 and finish between Wednesday, June 19 and Friday, June 21.

Here is when exams will take place based on the exam board.

Edexcel

Monday, May 13 to Wednesday, June 19

Full Edexcel timetable here.

OCR

Monday, May 13 to Friday, June 21.

Full OCR timetable here.

AQA

Monday, May 13 to Wednesday, June 19

Full AQA timetable.

WJEC

Monday, May 13 to Thursday, June 20

Full WJEC timetable.

CCEA

Wednesday, May 8 to Friday, June 21

Full CCEA timetable.

GCSE resits 2019

Students who are required to retake exams will have an opportunity to do so in November 2019 or in June 2020.

The following are how grades 9-1 compare with the previous A*-G

• Grade 9 is the equivalent of above an A*
• Grade 8 is the equivalent of in between grades A* and A
• Grade 7 is the equivalent of a grade A
• Grade 6 is the equivalent of just above a grade B
• Grade 5 is the equivalent of in between grades B and C
• Grade 4 is the equivalent of a grade C
• Grade 3 is the equivalent of in between grades D and E
• Grade 2 is the equivalent of in between grades E and F
• Grade 1 is the equivalent of in between grades F and G

The official grade boundaries are not released until after exams are taken, so will not be available until after June 21.

Check here (previous article) to see grade boundaries last year for example.

There is also the Attainment 8 score to factor in, which measures the achievement of a pupil across eight qualifications.

These eight qualifications include mathematics (double weighted) and English (double weighted).

There are three more qualifications which count in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) and three which can be GCSE qualifications or any other non-GCSE qualifications from the Department for Education approved list.

To calculate the Attainment 8, you add up the points of all your eight subjects and divide by 10.

A school’s Attainment 8 score is calculated from the average of all its students’ scores.

Source: Read Full Article