A-Level exams as a private candidate in London

Can I take A-Levels as a private candidate in London?

Yes. A-Levels can be entered privately at any age, with no requirement to be studying at a school or college, and the qualification is identical to one taken at a sixth form. London Elite Exams makes the entry with AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, WJEC Eduqas or Cambridge International, pays the awarding body fee and secures your seat at a JCQ-registered partner examination centre in the part of London you choose. You sit the same papers on the same dates as school candidates and receive the same certificate from the awarding body.

Entries for the Summer (June) 2027 series are open now, and the standard price applies to bookings completed by the standard deadline shown below. Most of the private candidates we enter for A-Level are retaking one or two subjects to meet a university offer, home-educated students sitting for the first time, and adults returning to study for a course with a specific A-Level requirement. A-Levels are examined in the summer only, so the entry deadline is the date to plan everything else around.

How to enter an A-Level as a private candidate

1. 1Choose your subjects, the exam board and the options that matter: written papers only or with the science practical endorsement, and for coursework subjects whether the NEA is new or carried forward from a previous entry.
2. 2Book online and tell us the part of London that suits you. The fee for each subject is itemised before you pay.
3. 3Upload your photo ID and a photograph, and sign the declaration. If you have sat A-Levels before, give us your previous candidate details so your results are linked.
4. 4We make your entry with the awarding body through the partner centre before the deadline and send your Statement of Entry with your candidate number, papers, dates and centre details.
5. 5Sit your papers at the partner centre in May and June. We send your results on results day in August and let you know when your certificate is available.

Which A-Level subjects can a private candidate take?

Written-only A-Levels need nothing arranging beyond the entry: Mathematics and Further Mathematics, Economics, Business, Psychology, Sociology, History, Politics, Law, Religious Studies, Geography and Philosophy among them. The sciences, languages and coursework subjects are all available too; they simply need the right option chosen at entry.

• Biology, Chemistry and Physics: enter the written papers alone, or with the practical endorsement completed at a partner centre with CPAC-approved laboratories.
• English Literature, English Language and Literature, History, Computer Science and Media Studies carry non-examined assessment: choose "with NEA" for the partner centre to supervise and mark the work, or "NEA carried forward" if you are resitting and the awarding body allows your previous mark to count.
• French, Spanish, German and other languages include a speaking test, conducted and recorded at the partner centre.
• AS-Levels are entered separately; Cambridge International AS & A Level follows the same route with its own deadlines.

The full A-Level subject list, by board and with the fee for each option, is on the fees page.

Sciences: do you need the practical endorsement?

Biology, Chemistry and Physics A-Levels report a practical endorsement separately from the A* to E grade. It is a Pass or Not classified, based on twelve required practical activities completed under supervision and assessed against the Common Practical Assessment Criteria. Many university courses, medicine, dentistry and most science degrees among them, ask for a Pass.

You can sit the written papers alone and take the grade with the endorsement not classified, which is enough for some purposes and a blocker for others, so check your course's requirement before you choose. The endorsement cannot be added after the entry deadline.

Resitting A-Levels for a university offer

A-Levels are linear, so a resit means re-entering the whole subject and sitting every paper again in the summer; your earlier grade stays on your record and the better result is the one you use. Each subject is entered separately, so retaking one and keeping the others is normal.

The next sitting is Summer (June) 2027, with results in August, in time for a deferred place or a fresh UCAS application. There is no autumn series for A-Level.

Where will I sit my A-Levels in London?

At a JCQ-registered partner examination centre in the area you choose: East (Stratford), North-East (Ilford), West (Ealing), North-West (Harrow), North (Camden), Docklands, South (Croydon), South-West (Kingston and Wimbledon), South-East (Greenwich) or Central London. Science practicals take place at partner centres with laboratories, so tell us at booking if you need the endorsement and we choose a suitable centre.

The centre, its address and arrival instructions are confirmed to you in writing once your booking is complete and appear again on your Statement of Entry.

UCAS and university applications as a private candidate

Admissions decisions are made on grades and the personal statement; the certificate does not show how you were entered. What a private candidate has to arrange is the UCAS reference and predicted grades, which a school normally provides. Our UCAS Support & Reference option arranges a marked mock examination at a partner centre, from which predicted grades and a reference are issued for your application.

What the fee covers

One published fee per subject, itemised before you pay. It covers the awarding body entry, your seat and invigilation at the partner centre, your Statement of Entry and personal timetable, support up to and on exam day, your results on results day and notification when your certificate is available. The practical endorsement, NEA marking, access arrangements and optional add-ons are shown separately on the fees page.

Access arrangements for private candidates

Extra time, rest breaks, a reader, scribe or separate room can be applied for with current evidence of need and of your normal way of working. They are approved by the partner centre and the awarding body under JCQ rules, not by us, and applications must be in well before the entry deadline.

A-Level entry deadlines: Summer (June) 2027

Book before the standard deadline to pay the standard price. Each later window carries the awarding body's late fee, and entries close completely in April; with no autumn series, a missed deadline means a full year.

The standard price applies to bookings completed by the standard date; late and higher-late prices apply after it. No entry is possible after the closing date.