The University of Exeter, Centre for Social Mobility Exam Centre Pilot Information for families with children out of school
We believe that every young person should have an entitlement to free GCSEs. This project is our chance to work with you to provide the evidence that this provision is needed and that when given the opportunity, young people can make progress. We hope this project will continue to grow into a free or low-cost exam centre for home-educated young people in the South west and surrounding areas.
We are pleased to share details of our project offering free, full exam-style marked mocks and full exam entry in GCSE English Language and Maths for home-educated and alternatively educated young people who do not otherwise have access to a free exam centre. This opportunity has been developed in partnership with Exeter University and Exeter College as part of our local civic agreement to support our community.
We are funded by philanthropic donations, and by Devon LA and Torbay.
Key Dates 2026/27
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9 October |
Applications open |
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28 October |
Applications close |
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3 November |
Candidates notified |
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15 DEC OR 21 DEC |
Mock 09:00 -12:00 English and Mathematics STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND ONE MOCK IN DECEMBER AS A CONDITION OF A PLACE AT THE EXAM CENTRE The mock will be taken from paper 1 in mathematics (non-calculator) and English Language. |
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10 MAR |
FULL MOCK English paper 2, Mathematics paper2 |
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23 APR |
English Language Non-exam assessment submission deadline for (8700/C) June 2027 series |
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14 MAY |
Mathematics 1 (non-calculator) (8300/1F) (8300/1H) |
Start time: 9:30AM | Duration: 1h 30m |
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24 MAY |
English Language 1 (8700) |
Start time: 9:30AM | Duration: 1h 45m |
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27 MAY |
Mathematics 2 (calculator) |
Start time: 9:30AM | Duration: 1h 30m |
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8 JUN |
English Language 2 (8700) |
Start time: 9:30AM | Duration: 1h 45m |
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14 JUN |
Mathematics 3 (calculator) |
Start time: 9:30AM | Duration: 1h 30m |
Eligibility and selection
The University of Exeter will offer 60 free places for GCSE exams in AQA English Language and Maths for the 2027 May / June series. We will allocate 60 places for both English and Maths and a waiting list of 10 places by lottery as below. Any student who is unsuccessful in the preceding lottery will be entered into all subsequent lotteries.
If students offered a place do not wish to take both English and maths, then those places will be offered to students on the waiting list.
Students with an offer or a waiting list place will be invited to either mock exam in December 2026.
STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND ONE MOCK IN DECEMBER AS A CONDITION OF A PLACE AT THE EXAM CENTRE
Any student who does not attend the mock will have their place offered to the next student on the waiting list.
Access arrangement discussions will take place after the December mock with those who have been offered a place and attended the mock.
Lottery 1 Devon and Torbay funded places
Pupils in Year 11 (DoB 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011[1])
Registered as EHE with Devon County Council or Torbay Council [2] and indicating this on the application form.
Living in either Devon or Torbay
https://www.devon.gov.uk/support-schools-settings/safeguarding/elective-home-education/
https://www.torbay.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/home-education/
Lottery 2 includes unsuccessful applicants from lottery 1 plus
Pupils in Year 11 (secondary) DOB 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011
Living in the South West (Cornwall, Devon, Torbay, Plymouth, Somerset, Dorset)
Not registered at school or with confirmation of EHE registration
If there are still places available then we will consider pupils from year 10 or 12 or equivalent and those in Year 11 from outside the South West
The application form is available here:
UoE Exam Centre 2027 Application form
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/xpGZ66AHZj
Your application is not scored or ranked and other than the criteria above has no bearing on your chances of being accepted.
[1] If the candidate would be in Year 11, but their DoB is not in this range you will need to explain that on the application
[2] Confirmation of registration can be provided directly to us, or we can contact the council
What are we offering
For out of school students, we are offering 60 free places to sit GCSE maths and 60 places to sit GCSE English language exams in May and June 2027. For these students, we are also offering free full exam-style mocks which expert teachers at Exeter College will mark, in-line with grade boundaries, and give feedback (see key dates above).
Access Arrangements, SEND and Wellbeing
We want this project to work for a wide range of learners. We may be able to provide additional support and exam access arrangements if needed. We will work with you to determine eligibility should you be selected for the exam centre.
Progression to Exeter College
One of the key aims of this project is to support progression pathways. For Year 11 aged students currently not in school, Exeter College and North Devon College are partners in the University of Exeter Exam Centre and will provide one-to-one progression advice and an appropriate college offer informed by your participation on this project. Where appropriate, the college will make conditional offers for courses based on the maths and English GCSEs alone. You will be fully supported to apply to the College, and we will provide you with further information on this.
A marked mock does not guarantee a college place, but both Colleges have agreed to support candidates “wherever possible” based on the marked mock alone. No other qualifications will be required for this supported. Course level discussion with Exeter College (Level 2, Level 3, or fast-track GCSE) will be based on mock grades and decided by the college.
You will still need to apply separately to the college. We will confirm the details with you and can support you to apply. The colleges will have staff available to support you at the March mock. Even if you are unsuccessful in getting onto the exam centre project, both colleges will still support you onto a suitable project for you. If you let them know that you applied for the University of Exeter Exam Centre, but were unsuccessful they will be able to guide you to a suitable course.
Exam and Mock Exam Information
The mock and exam dates and exam papers are outlined in the key dates section above.
Maths AQA spec 8300
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/gcse/mathematics-8300
English Language spec 8700
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-8700
Exam location
All exams (all the mocks and GCSE exams) will be held at Exeter University, St Luke’s Campus.
Parking at St Luke’s Campus is limited, but the site is accessible by public transport. Toilets and a café are on site. For the December Mock we would prefer parents / carers to stay on site, and you can wait in the café.
Data, Privacy, Transparency
We understand that data protection is especially important to home-educating families. We will ask for information similar to that requested by independent exam centres require, but in addition we will ask for some data about your out of school experience and other contextual data to use to make the case that the exam centre service should be expanded to more families. Data will be seen by us at Exeter University and Exeter College will have access to the data they need to make the GCSE entries for the project candidates. We will not share any information with the local authority, nor any schools without your explicit permission (this is indicated on the application form linked above). We will provide the student’s marked papers and comments after each mock. We will record their grade, but this is not used to exclude candidates from the GCSE exam.
Safety and Safeguarding
Staff will be DBS checked. Safeguarding and emergency procedures are in place and will be shared after booking. We are experienced in running exams at different levels and subjects across the university.
This project was developed based on the feedback of home-educating families and out-of-school students to meet the need for accessible exams, fair progression routes, recognition of students’ abilities, practical, wellbeing-minded provision, and lower financial and logistical pressure. A feedback box will be included on the sign-up form, and you are very welcome to contact me directly.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
No, just something you are comfortable in.
You can to eat after the exam, or during rest breaks if medically needed.
Yes, we would encourage you to do so, in a clear bottle with the label removed.
Yes, it will be under full exam conditions
We will support you, there will be a quiet space you can go to.
A marked mock will provide an official predicted grade.
As soon as possible (we hope within 2 weeks of the mock)
Eligibility:
No, you can not apply if you are on school roll.
We are prioritising those in year 11. But please apply as it helps our case that there is a need for this service and we will run a reserve list.
Any as long as you have no other access to free exams or are not on a state, private or special school roll.
For this year they can be registered to do other subjects and still be eligible to sit maths and English with us. If they have sat English or maths previously and not got a passing grade and are not booked this year, yes they are eligible. If they are booked for maths or English this year they are not eligible. We are prioritising those with no access to an exam centre.
Exam Centre & Mocks:
Yes, by Exeter College GCSE Maths and English teachers.
Yes, for this year.
Yes, we are supporting this project under our local civic agreement to support local communities.
Yes, for the project group the GCSE exams are free.
Progression to Exeter College:
We will work with the college to support you in how to apply. The Colleges are guaranteeing a specialist interview with a member of staff who will be informed about the exams project you are in.
An appropriate offer will be made informed by your participation in the project. The College will make conditional offers based on your predicted GCSE maths and English grades for the summer exams.
If the missing grade is English or Maths, then they will use the evidence from the mocks where they can.
Yes, but you can let them know you are part of the pilot.
SEND and Mental Health:
You will need evidence of learning and/or medical need often referred to as ‘normal way of working’. We may be able to provide additional support and exam access arrangements if needed. We will work with you to determine eligibility should your child be selected for the pilot.
We For the mock exams we will offer as much support as we can. If you do not have a formal diagnosis, we can ask for a parent or guardian declaration.
We are not able to accommodate individual candidates in one room as we have a limited number of invigilators.
No guarantee, but we will do our best if space is available.
Wherever possible yes.
Not available this year but missing access arrangements will be considered when marking.
Capacity / Booking:
From 9/10/26
If more than 60 apply, we will use the lottery system above.
We will keep a reserve list and you will find out as soon as we know.
Location / Practicalities
Exeter University St Lukes campus.
Limited parking (disabled), public transport available.
No but we do have a cafe if you want to wait.
Data, Privacy, Transparency
We will ask for the data we need to enter you into the exam. We are also asking for additional voluntary data to support the project.
Us at The University of Exeter and Exeter college Exam admissions team for those entered, and those who wish to use the interview service.
The university will store the data, and pass the details needed to the college for those entered into the GCSEs.
No absolutely not.
Safety / Safeguarding:
Staff with enhanced DBS who are employed by the university or Exeter college will supervise the mocks and the exams
There will be information and a full briefing. We have established procedures in place.
Future of the Pilot
We hope to expand the number of places next year and include more subjects.
We would like to, but we have to focus this year on maths and English.
Text box on the form or email us directly.