Unlike previous years, the appeals process for GCSEs and A-level qualifications in 2021 will initially be run by the school or college, rather than the exam board.

Without the exam scripts to review, any student who wishes to appeal their grade must first request a centre review is conducted. This is a check to see if an administrative or procedural error has occurred during the calculation of their grade.

But how do you run a centre review? What are students’ rights? And what should you not do? Here’s a quick overview of what’s required

Reasons why a centre review is conducted

If a student requests a centre review, it must be for one the following reasons:

• The student believes the centre made an administrative error, for example, an incorrect grade was submitted or an incorrect assessment mark was used when determining the grade. 
• The student believes the centre did not apply a procedure correctly: For example, the centre did not follow its centre policy, or it did not undertake internal quality assurance, or it did not take into account access arrangements or mitigating circumstances such as illness.

What is checked in a centre review?

Centres would have already completed quality assurance checks as part of the TAGs process. All of these checks should be documented by the centre, therefore it is not necessary to repeat these checks as part of the centre review.

The JCQ guidance says: “If a centre has completed checks in advance, it does not need to repeat the checks after results day as long as the issue raised by the student has been addressed by the checks carried out previously and the records are available and provided to the awarding organisation in the event of an appeal to the awarding organisation.

“In cases where a student raises an issue that hasn’t been considered in checks that were conducted in advance of results day, then this new issue will need to be considered for the centre review to be completed.”

Centre reviews must be conducted if requested

Even if a school feels the grade is the right one for the student and no error has been made, the guidance clearly states that all students have a right to ask for a centre review.

The JCQ guidance says: “If a student does not consider that they have been issued with the correct grade, they can ask their centre to check if an administrative or procedural error has occurred...The centre must conduct a centre view and must also submit an appeal to the awarding organisation if requested to do so by a student.”

All students need the correct documents before a centre review is conducted

In order to request a centre review, students must have copies of:

• the centre policy;
• the sources of evidence used to determine their grade along with any grades/marks associated with them;
• details of any special circumstances that have been taken into account in determining their grade, for example, any access arrangements, or mitigating circumstances such as illness.

There are two windows of reviews for priority and non-priority students

The priority appeals window is from 10 August to 7 September for students whose place in higher education relies upon the grades.

• Student requests centre review: 10 August to 16 August
• Centre conducts centre review: 10 August to 20 August
• Centre submits appeal to awarding organisation: 11 August to 23 August

For all other students, the window for appeals will be from 10 August to the end of October.

• Student requests centre review: 10 August to 3 September
• Centre conducts centre review: 10 August to 10 September
• Centre submits appeal to awarding organisation: 11 August to 17 September 

Centre reviews can cause grades to be moved down as well as up 

It is important that all centres notify their students that as a result of a centre review, their grade could decrease.

The JCQ guidance says: “The centre will need to ensure the student is aware that their grade could go down, up or stay the same.”

Student consent must be obtained

Because of the risk of a result being downgraded, even if a student asks for a centre review to be done, the school or college cannot go ahead unless consent has been officially obtained from the student.

The JCQ guidance says: “The student must provide their written and recorded consent. Their grade could go down, up or remain the same at any stage in the centre review and/or appeals process.”

Errors found during centre reviews must be shared with exam boards

If the centre review finds an administrative or procedural error has occurred, then the centre must contact the exam board and notify them of this news.

The JCQ guidance says: “If the centre finds that an error has occurred, they will be able to submit a request to the awarding organisation to correct the error and amend the grade without the need to make an appeal to the awarding organsiation.”

There is help available for the paperwork

Although you are able to use your own paperwork if you wish, there are proformas and templates supplied by JCQ for you to use during the centre policy review.

These documents include:

• Centre Policy Summary Form;
• Head of Department Checklist;
• Assessment Record;
• Grade Descriptors for A level and GCSE.

Appeals cannot be put to the exam board until a centre review has been completed

Until the student has been given the result of the centre review, an appeal cannot be submitted to an exam board.

The JCQ guidance says: “A student will first need to be informed of the outcome of the centre review. If they wish to appeal to the awarding organisation, they must then submit a request to their centre to proceed. The appeal must be submitted according to the requirements of the awarding organisation to which it is being submitted.”

Incorrectly following the procedure may trigger investigations

Students who disagree with the outcome of the centre review can request an appeal be conducted by the exam board. If the school or college fails to process a requested appeal, or if the appeal highlights a failing on behalf of the school, then these appeals may result in the exam board investigating the centre.

The JCQ guidance says: “Where an appeal raises significant concerns about a centre’s implementation of its policy, or where appeals do not appear to have been submitted as requested by students the centre may be referred to the awarding body’s malpractice investigation team for potential review and further action.”

All centre reviews requests and outcomes must be recorded by the school or college.

The JCQ guidance adds: “The centre must keep a record of all review applications received, and the outcomes of those reviews.”

The two documents referred to in this piece are the JCQ appeals guidance and the JCQ guidance on the determination of grades