Awarding body performance

Performance of awarding bodies for general qualifications

We produce an annual report on the performance of the three awarding bodies based in England that offer A level and GCSE qualifications.
These annual reports include information on awarding body performance against our expectations for the quality of service provided to centres and compliance against the regulators' code of practice for general qualifications. The reports are available to download from this page.

Enquiries about results and appeals (EAR)

The regulators of external qualifications (Ofqual in England, DCELLS in Wales and CCEA in Northern Ireland) set deadlines that the awarding bodies are required to meet when responding to enquiries about results and appeals from centres and candidates. These targets help to ensure a quick and efficient service. The deadlines are reviewed every year to ensure that the best possible service continues to be provided.

Data on the enquiries and appeals for the summer 2007 examinations are contained in the March 2008 report. This provides information about the number of enquiries and appeals, and how well the awarding bodies met the deadlines.

The deadline for A level priority enquiries (those where a candidate's place at a further or higher education college depends on the outcome of an enquiry about results) was reduced significantly in 2004, from 30 to 20 days. For summer 2007, all the awarding bodies (except for CCEA, 99.6%) met this deadline in 100% of cases.

Deadlines for service 1, a clerical check, and service 2, a post-results review of marking were reduced for summer 2005, by 20 and five calendar days respectively. For summer 2007, all awarding bodies (except for CCEA for GCSE, 99.7%) met these deadlines in 100% of cases.

Where an enquiry has been carried out, but a centre is still dissatisfied with the outcome, an appeal can be made. The deadline for completing an appeal is 50 working days. Across the three awarding bodies that received stage 2 appeals, 49% were completed within this deadline. Ofqual will continue work with awarding bodies to improve their performance against this deadline.