Private Candidate Questions

London Elite Exams is an examination entry service for private candidates in London. We register your GCSE, IGCSE, AS or A-Level entry with the awarding body, pay the board fee on your behalf, secure your seat at a JCQ-registered partner centre and manage the process through to your results and certificates. Every fee is itemised before you pay.

London Elite Exams is an examination entry service. Every exam we arrange is sat at a JCQ-registered partner centre, under the same JCQ regulations and invigilation as that centre's own candidates. The JCQ registration and centre number belong to the partner centre where you sit and appear on your Statement of Entry; your certificate is issued by the awarding body and looks the same as any other candidate's.

You choose the part of London that suits you — East, West, North, South or Central — and we place you at a JCQ-registered partner examination centre in that area, subject to availability for your subjects and series. We confirm the venue, its address and arrival instructions to you in writing once your booking is complete, and they appear again on your Statement of Entry.

Many schools and colleges in London do not accept external candidates, and those that do often fill early and may not offer practicals or speaking tests to private candidates. We check availability across partner centres in every part of London, make and check your entry, pay the board fee, and stay your single point of contact from booking to results day.

Anyone sitting an exam outside a school or college can register as a private candidate. This includes home-educated students, distance learners, adults returning to study, and students retaking a subject to meet a university offer or an employer requirement.

For the summer series, the standard entry deadline is usually in mid-February, with a late-entry window that carries higher awarding body fees, and a final high-late deadline around mid-April. November series deadlines fall in the preceding September and October.

Entries submitted after the standard deadline attract a late fee set by the awarding body, typically around 50% above the standard entry fee, rising to roughly double after the high-late deadline. Once the final deadline passes, the entry can no longer be accepted for that series.

We recommend booking at least two to three weeks before the awarding body deadline. That leaves time to verify your identity documents, confirm subject and specification codes, and resolve any queries without paying an avoidable late fee.

Not before you book. If you have sat a regulated UK qualification before, you will already have a UCI and possibly a ULN, and providing it keeps your results linked to your existing record. If you do not have one, we arrange it as part of your entry.

Everything you need to sit your exam as a private candidate, in one published fee per subject. We make and check your entry with the awarding body and pay the board fee, arrange your seat and invigilation at a JCQ-registered partner centre, send your Statement of Entry and personal timetable, support you up to and on exam day, send your results on results day, and let you know when your certificate is available. Full current pricing per subject is published on our fees page.

Fees are normally payable in full at the time of booking. Where a candidate books well in advance of the entry deadline, we may agree a structured instalment plan at our discretion — terms and eligibility criteria apply, and any plan is confirmed in writing. Speak to our admissions team on WhatsApp or by email to discuss your options. In every case the examination entry is submitted to the awarding body only once the full fee has cleared, so the final instalment must reach us before the entry deadline.

It depends on the awarding body's deadline, not on how many days remain. If your written cancellation reaches us before the standard entry deadline for the series, we refund the fee for that paper less a £30 administration fee. After the deadline, and for all late and November series entries, the fee is non-refundable because the board fee and the desk have already been committed on your behalf. For a documented medical emergency we help you apply for JCQ Special Consideration or to carry the entry forward to the next series, subject to the awarding body's rules — see our Refund & Cancellation Policy.

Yes, where you have current, formal evidence of a diagnosed need. Access arrangements such as extra time, a reader, a scribe or a word processor must be applied for well before the entry deadline, as the centre applies to the awarding body on your behalf and JCQ deadlines are fixed.

You need a current assessment report from a suitably qualified specialist teacher or an appropriate medical professional, together with evidence that the arrangement reflects your normal way of working. Tell us at the point of booking so there is time to process the application.

You must bring valid government-issued photographic identification, normally a current passport or UK photocard driving licence, in the exact name used for your entry. This is a JCQ requirement. If you hold neither, contact us before booking so an alternative official photo document can be agreed with the centre in advance. Candidates who cannot present acceptable photographic ID will not be permitted to sit the examination.

Arrive at least 30 minutes before the published start time. Late arrivals may be admitted up to 60 minutes after the start at the invigilator's discretion but receive no additional time. Candidates arriving more than 60 minutes late cannot sit the paper.

Bring your equipment in a clear pencil case: black pens, pencils, a ruler, an eraser, and where permitted a calculator with the memory cleared. Mobile phones, smartwatches and any internet-enabled device are prohibited in the examination room without exception.

Yes. Practical endorsements for A-Level Biology, Chemistry and Physics are arranged at CPAC-approved laboratory facilities within our partner network, so candidates can complete the mandatory practical assessments alongside their written papers.

Your statement of results is issued on the national release date set by the awarding bodies, in August for the summer series. We send your results to your registered email address on the morning of results day, and certificates follow once the awarding body issues them.

Formal, examiner-marked mock assessments can be arranged at our partner centres. The centre issues predicted grades based on those results, which you can then submit in support of your UCAS application.

Yes. Reviews of marking are requested through the centre that entered you, within the awarding body's deadline after results day. Contact our examinations team as soon as you receive your results and we will start the request, including any fee the awarding body charges.