AQA · Pearson Edexcel · OCR · WJEC Eduqas

GCSE and A-Level exam boards explained

Which exam boards there are, how to find out which one your child is taking, whether it matters, and the course code and exams for each subject. Written for parents as much as students.

The exam boards

An exam boardThe organisation that sets and marks the exam, such as AQA, Edexcel or OCR. Each has its own syllabus. writes the course (called the specification), sets and marks the exams, and awards the grades. In England, four exam boards offer GCSEs, AS and A-Levels: AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC. [1] [2]

Northern Ireland has its own exam board, CCEA. Its GCSEs are graded A* to G, with an extra C* grade, rather than 9 to 1. [6] Each subject at your child’s school is taken with one board, and different subjects can use different boards.

How to find out which exam board your child is taking

1. Ask the subject teacher or the school’s exams officer. The school chooses the board and enters your child for the exams, and Ofqual, the exams regulator, says to speak to the school if you are unsure about any exam. [3]
2. Check the statement of entry. Before the exams, schools give students their own exam timetable. Exam boards’ statements of entry list each exam the student is entered for, and the name on it is the name that goes on the certificate, so it is worth checking. [3] [5]
3. Look at a mock paper or the textbook. The board’s name and the course code (for example 8300 for AQA GCSE Maths) are usually on the front of past papers and on the cover of the class textbook or revision guide.
4. Match the course code. Use the table below to match a code to its board, and to find the official specification and the number of exams.

Does the exam board matter?

Not for the grade’s value. Ofqual says its priority is “to make sure that it is no easier to get a particular grade with one board than another”, and it checks each year’s results to keep the boards in line. [4] A grade 7 means the same whichever board set the paper.

Yes for revision. The boards’ courses differ in the number and length of the exams, the topics and the style of questions. For example, GCSE History is 2 exams with AQA but 3 with Pearson Edexcel (see the table below). So past papers, mark schemes and revision guides should match your child’s board and course code.

Exam boards by subject

The course code, number of exams and total exam time for each board, for the subjects in our guides. WJEC Eduqas also offers many of these subjects: see its website for its courses.

11 subjects shown.

Questions about exam boards

Related: Grade boundaries for every boardAll subject guidesExam dates 2027

Sources

1. Ofqual, Ofqual student guide to exams and assessments in 2026 (published 15 January 2026).
2. Ofqual, student guide 2026: useful contacts, which names the exam boards as AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC.
3. Ofqual, student guide 2026: what you need to know before your exams.
4. Ofqual blog, Levelling the playing field (24 March 2017).
5. Pearson, Entry confirmation documents.
6. CCEA, Information on GCE and GCSE.

Course codes, exams and times come from each board’s specification, linked under each subject.