Information about sitting external IGCSE and GCSE exams

Wolsey Hall Oxford students take their external examinations as private candidates. We can support you to find a Cambridge or Pearson Edexcel examination centre located within a distance suitable for you, so that you can plan ahead for the exam period.

In the UK, the Cambridge and Edexcel exam boards have centres throughout the country. Outside the UK, the British Council is often the exam centre of choice or there may be a nearby school which will accept you as an external candidate.

Exams for IGCSE English (second language), French, Spanish and German include an oral component. You should check that the centre you have chosen offer this type of assessment.

Wolsey Hall Oxford is a registered online Cambridge International School.

One family share their experiences of finding an exam centre.

Finding an exam centre

Finding a Cambridge exam centre

When you enrol with Wolsey Hall Oxford, you will have access to the Wolsey Hall Exam Advice course which contains a live list of exam centres with full details of contacts which have been verified by our Exams Officers. You may also find a local exam centre at the Cambridge Exam board or Pearson Excel. In countries where there is a British Council exam centre, this will usually be a good choice.

We strongly advise you to contact a centre to be sure you can make the necessary arrangements before enrolling with Wolsey Hall.

IGCSE course fees calculator

Booking your exam entry

Before you register for your/your child’s exams, you will be sent the exam timetable with exam codes and a subject timetable.

There is a deadline for booking exam entry. Some exam centres will accept late entries, but the fees will be higher. Exam centres will advise you of their exam fees, as these can vary between centres.

For more information, see Exam Guidelines for Private Candidates.

Exam revision tips

Examination entry deadlines

The deadline for entry for the May/June sitting – 31^st January.

The deadline for entry for the October/November sitting – 1st August.

The deadline for entry for the March sitting (India only) – 1st November.

We strongly advise you to make contact with a centre as soon as possible, as centres often have limited spaces for private candidates. Do contact exam centres prior to standard school holidays to ensure that the relevant person is available. (E.g before the end of June as school centres close for the summer holidays.) For October/November sittings, you may need to travel further, to a Tutorial College (in the UK) or to an International School outside the UK. Exam fees may also be higher.

Access arrangements

If you have a special need and require access arrangements, you should contact your chosen exam centre at the earliest opportunity. Not all exam centres can accept candidates requiring access arrangements and some may charge additional fees for doing so. Access arrangements that may be available include: extra time in the exam room; a separate room; a scribe; the use of a laptop; modified papers (coloured/enlarged paper); arrangements for candidates with other disabilities. Centres can also advise you what evidence may be required to support an application for access arrangements.

Which exam sitting to choose

The May/June sitting is the most popular and therefore you may find more centres are available to private candidates. Our Admissions Team will be happy to advise you further.

I would recommend Wolsey Hall Oxford to anyone considering homeschooling. Each course has plenty of resources on canvas and the course books are very informative. Any questions or help that we needed (preparing and arranging exams etc) have always been dealt with by the friendly tutors and student progress manager. My daughter achieved excellent IGCSE results and is now taking an A Level course.

Donna Hogan – IGCSE Parent

supplementary homeschooling is a choice for many students

Contact us

If you’re thinking of enrolling your child at Wolsey Hall Oxford and you’d like to know more about what we do or how to enrol, please get in touch. We’re ready to enrol new students throughout the academic year.