Although everyone has worked hard to make sure that students are issued with the correct grades on results day, there is also an appeals system in place to fix any administrative or procedural errors that were not previously identified.

Please ensure you have read the previously published appeals information letter before submitting an appeal.

Examination Appeals Letter 20.07.21

In summary

If a student believes an error has been made in determining their grade, they will have a right to appeal.

There are two stages to the appeals process:

Stage 1: Centre Review

If a student does not think that they have been issued with the correct grade, they can appeal to their school or college, who will review whether they:

• made an administrative error, e.g. they submitted an incorrect grade or they used an incorrect assessment mark when determining their grade;
• did not apply a procedure correctly, e.g. they did not follow their Centre Policy, did not undertake internal quality assurance, did not take account of access arrangements or mitigating circumstances, such as illness.

Stage 2: Appeal to the Examination Board

If a student still does not think they have the correct grade after the centre review is complete, they can ask their school or college to appeal to the examination board, who will review whether:

• the school or college made an unreasonable exercise of academic judgement in the choice of evidence from which they determined their grade and/or in the determination of their grade from that evidence;
• the school or college did not apply a procedure correctly, e.g. they did not follow their Centre Policy, did not undertake internal quality assurance, did not take account of access arrangements or mitigating circumstances, such as illness;
• the examination board made an administrative error, e.g. they changed their grade during the processing of grades.

At both stages of the process, students will need to submit their appeal to their school or college and give them their written consent to either conduct the appeal or submit it to the examination board on their behalf (depending on whether it is a stage 1 or stage 2 appeal). It is important to remember that grades can go down, up or stay the same through either stage of the process.

Further Information

Further to our previous letter the government has also released updated guidance on the Appeals process for results this summer.  Please refer to these documents for further information on possible grounds for appeal:

JCQ Student Handout Summer 2021

JCQ Student Guide Summer 2021

Submitting an appeal

If you believe you do have grounds to appeal under the options explained here, then please use the following links to apply for an appeal via a Microsoft Form:

Stage 1 Appeal

Stage 2 Appeal (an application for a Stage 2 Appeal can only be made once a Stage 1 Appeal has been applied for and been completed)