THOUSANDS of pupils returned to school last Thursday to open their long-awaited GCSE results.

After GCSE pass rates were revealed to have slumped to a seven-year low, many students are now weighing up their resit options.

An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows Secondary school children sitting at desks during exam, girl with long hair writing in bookletEnglish, Maths and Science GCSE resit dates have already been scheduled for the next academic year Credit: Getty

Resit dates have already been scheduled for a number of core school subjects, providing relief to students who may have missed the mark.

Students are able to resit in the upcoming term, with all boards scheduling exams between November 3 and 9.

In England, students who do not pass both English Language and Maths are expected to retake the subjects until they receive a necessary grade 4, with around 30 per cent of students facing .

says: “Since 2014, the maths and English condition of funding (CoF) requires all students who did not achieve a GCSE grade 4 or above in maths, English or both to continue studying an appropriate qualification.”

If a school, college or training provider fails to make specific students study GCSE English and Maths, they can lose government funding and money.

For any other , including English Literature and Sciences, it is not compulsory for a pupil to resit, and they will have to wait until the summer exam period in May and June 2027 to do so.

A number of exam boards have already released the scheduled dates for their English Literature and resits, including a list for other optional subjects.

For English Literature, all pupils will complete the first paper on May 12, 2027 and the second paper on May 19, 2027.

Full list of GCSE resit exam dates for English Language, Literature, Maths and Sciences

AQA, Edexcel (Pearson) and OCR GCSE English Language Resit Dates

  • Paper 1 – November 3, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 2 – November 5, 2026 (morning)

WJEC/Eduqas GCSE English Language Resit Dates

  • Component 1 – November 3, 2026 (morning) – Eduqas
  • Unit 2 – November 4, 2026 (morning) – WJEC
  • Component 2 – November 5, 2026 (morning) – Eduqas
  • Unit 3 – November 10, 2026 (morning) – WJEC

AQA GCSE Maths Resit Dates

  • Paper 1 (Foundation & Higher) – November 4, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 2 (Foundation & Higher) – November 6, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 3 (Foundation & Higher) – November 9, 2026 (morning)

Edexcel (Pearson) GCSE Maths Resit Dates

  • Paper 1 (Foundation & Higher) – November 4, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 2 (Foundation & Higher) – November 6, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 3 (Foundation & Higher) – November 9, 2026 (morning)

OCR GCSE Maths Resit Dates

  • Paper 1 (Foundation) – November 4, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 4 (Higher) – November 4, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 2 (Foundation) – November 6, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 5 (Higher) – November 6, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 3 (Foundation) – November 9, 2026 (morning)
  • Paper 6 (Higher) – November 9, 2026 (morning)

WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Maths Resit Dates (England & Wales)

  • Numeracy Unit 1 (Foundation & Higher) – November 3, 2026 (morning)
  • Component 1 (Foundation & Higher) – November 4, 2026 (morning) – Eduqas
  • Unit 1 (Foundation, Intermediate & Higher) – November 5, 2026 (morning) – WJEC
  • Numeracy Unit 2 (Foundation & Higher) – November 6, 2026 (morning)
  • Component 2 (Foundation & Higher) – November 6, 2026 (morning) – Eduqas
  • Unit 2 (Foundation, Intermediate & Higher) – November 9, 2026 (morning) – WJEC
  • Numeracy Unit 3 (Foundation & Higher) – November 11, 2026

AQA, Edexcel (Pearson) and OCR GCSE English Literature Resit Dates

  • Paper 1 – May 12, 2027 (morning)
  • Paper 2 – May 19, 2027 (morning)

WJEC/Eduqas GCSE English Literature Resit Dates

  • Component 1 – May 12, 2027 (morning) – Eduqas
  • Component 2 – May 19, 2027 (morning)

AQA, Edexcel (Pearson) and OCR GCSE Sciences Resit Dates

  • Biology Paper 1 (Separate & Combined) – May 11, 2027 (morning)
  • Chemistry Paper 1 (Separate & Combined) – May 17, 2027 (morning)
  • Physics Paper 1 (Separate & Combined) – May 25, 2027 (morning)
  • Biology Paper 2 (Separate & Combined) – June 10, 2027 (morning)
  • Chemistry Paper 2 (Separate & Combined) – June 15, 2027 (morning)
  • Physics Paper 2 (Separate & Combined) – June 18, 2027 (morning)

WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Sciences Resit Dates

  • Biology (WJEC) Unit 2 / Science (Double Award) Unit 4 / Applied Science (Double Award) Unit 3 / Applied Science (Single Award) Unit 1 – May 11, 2027 (morning)
  • Chemistry Unit 2 / Science (Double Award) Unit 5 – May 17, 2027 (morning)
  • Physics Unit 2 / Science (Double Award) Unit 6 – May 25, 2027 (morning)
  • Biology (WJEC) Unit 1 / Applied Science (Double Award) Unit 2 / Applied Science (Single Award) Unit 1 – June 10, 2027 (morning)
  • Chemistry Unit 1 / Science (Double Award) Unit 2 – June 15, 2027 (morning)
  • Physics Unit 1 / Science (Double Award) Unit 3, Applied Science (Double Award) Unit 1) – June 18, 2027 (morning)

The schedule for Science exams is considerably more varied, with all Biology, Chemistry and Physics papers taking place over a four- week window between the middle of May and the middle of June.

In most cases, and education centres will allow pupils to resit GCSE exams free of charge in the following academic year if the first attempt was below a grade 4.

Those who achieved a grade 4 or above, and want to get a higher grade, may have to pay a fee, with schools charging as much as between £75 and £150 per exam, with some third- party agencies charging up to £500.

Resits for any other GCSE subjects will also take place during the exam window, with the full timetables available on the relevant exam board’s website.