"Should we ask for a remark?"

It's an understandable question, but few parents understand what the process actually involves or how to judge whether it's the right step. Whether your child is receiving GCSE, AS, A Level, BTEC or T Level results, this guide explains what to consider if you think a result should be reviewed and what to do next.

A note on BTECs and T Levels: Post-results arrangements vary according to the qualification, awarding organisation and type of assessment. Reviews of Marking are available for relevant externally assessed components, while internally assessed work may follow a different process. If your child has received a BTEC or T Level result they are concerned about, their school or college can explain which post-results services apply.

Most parents still refer to a "remark", but it’s officially called a Review of Marking, which better reflects what actually happens.

A Review of Marking is not a second examiner marking the paper again from scratch. Instead, a trained reviewer checks whether the original examiner applied the published mark scheme correctly and whether any marking errors have been made. A marking error might include not marking a question or section, making an unreasonable exercise of academic judgement, or an administrative error such as adding up the marks incorrectly.

One of the first things to consider is how close the result is to the next grade boundary, which isn’t necessarily obvious from the results slip. You may need to look up the grade boundaries published by the relevant exam board.

Being a few marks short of the next grade may feel significant, but the more important question is whether a different grade would change your child's next step. Some students secure their university place, sixth form offer or apprenticeship despite narrowly missing a grade, but a higher grade may be essential to meet the entry requirements.

If it could affect your child's next step, discuss the result with the school or college before deciding whether to request a Review of Marking.

If you’re considering a Review of Marking, contact the school or college as soon as possible. Depending on how Results Day is organised, this may be through the Head of Year 11, Head of Sixth Form or the exams officer. They will explain the process, any deadlines and coordinate the next steps.

Ask the subject teacher or Head of Department if they are available to discuss the result. They can provide the academic judgement needed to help you reach a decision. Once a decision has been made, the exams officer manages the formal submission to the relevant exam board. For students entered through a school or college, Reviews of Marking can only be submitted by the centre, and your child must give written consent before the request is sent.

If the outcome could affect a university, sixth form or college place, it is sensible to contact the relevant admissions team as soon as the Review of Marking has been submitted.

To proceed with a Review of Marking, you also need to decide which paper or papers should be reviewed.

Many schools first request consent for Access to Scripts, which allows the subject teacher to review the marked papers and determine whether there is evidence that the published mark scheme may not have been applied correctly. Questions requiring extended written responses involve more examiner judgement than questions with fixed right-or-wrong answers, although that does not necessarily mean they are more likely to result in a grade change.

The teacher may conclude that only one paper offers evidence to support a review. Alternatively, they may recommend starting with the paper where the evidence is strongest before deciding whether a further review is justified.

The decision to request a Review of Marking should be based on evidence, not simply on proximity to the next grade boundary.

The exams officer or member of staff responsible for post-results services manages the formal submission to the relevant exam board. Before the request is submitted, your child must give written consent confirming that they understand the mark and qualification grade could go down as well as up.

Reviews of Marking are normally submitted through the centre that entered your child for the examination. For most students, this will be their school or college. If your child was entered through an online school or as a private candidate, contact the exam centre that made the entry first to discuss the post-results process, as arrangements for private candidates can vary by awarding organisation.

A Review of Marking can result in the marks staying the same, increasing or decreasing. Many parents are surprised to learn that a change in marks does not always result in a different qualification grade. The qualification grade only changes if the revised total crosses a published grade boundary.

Any change to the qualification grade becomes your child's official result. If a certificate has already been issued, it will be replaced with one showing the revised grade.

If the revised grade affects your child's next step, contact the relevant admissions team as soon as possible.

There are fees for a Review of Marking, which vary by awarding organisation, qualification and review type. As a guide, standard Reviews of Marking commonly cost around £45–£75 per paper or externally assessed component. Priority reviews, where available, typically cost around £60–£85. Your school, college or exam centre can confirm the current charges for your child's qualification and discuss the options with you if cost is a concern.

If the overall qualification grade changes following a Review of Marking, the review fee is normally refunded or not charged, in line with the awarding organisation's policy.

If your child's university, sixth form, college or apprenticeship place depends on the outcome, contact the relevant admissions team or provider as soon as the Review of Marking has been submitted. Explain that a review is in progress and ask whether the place can be held pending the outcome. Many providers set deadlines for receiving revised results, so don't assume a place will be held automatically.

For university applicants, contact both the firm and insurance universities. The awarding organisation will not notify UCAS that a Review of Marking has been requested. However, if the overall qualification grade changes, the awarding organisation will update UCAS with the revised result.

Keep copies of the review confirmation and any correspondence with your school, college, exam centre or admissions team. You may be asked to provide evidence that a Review of Marking is underway.

A standard Review of Marking for GCSE, AS and A Level is normally completed within 20 calendar days of the awarding organisation receiving the request. For AS and A Level, where the priority service is available, a Priority Review of Marking is normally completed within 15 calendar days.

If your child's university place depends on an A Level or other Level 3 qualification result, act quickly. For A Levels in the June 2026 exam series, the deadline for a Priority Review of Marking is 20 August 2026. Priority or expedited services and deadlines for BTEC, T Level and other qualifications can differ, so check with your child's school or college as soon as possible. Schools and colleges may also set earlier internal deadlines.

According to Ofqual's report on the 2025 summer exam series, many standard Reviews of Marking were completed considerably sooner. The average completion time was 6.3 days for GCSE reviews and 4.5 days for AS and A Level reviews. Families should, however, plan around the published timescales rather than expect an earlier outcome.

Where a university place depends on the outcome, priority or expedited review services are intended to provide a quicker outcome. Even so, universities may have their own arrangements for holding a place while a review is underway and deadlines for accepting revised results, so contact them as soon as the review has been submitted rather than waiting for the outcome.

No one can predict whether a Review of Marking will change the overall qualification grade, but Ofqual's official statistics provide an indication of how often this happens.

For the 2025 summer exam series, the overall qualification grade changed in 24.2% of challenged GCSE grades and 24.1% of challenged AS and A Level grades. In around three out of every four cases, the overall qualification grade remained unchanged.

This reinforces why schools place so much emphasis on the evidence before recommending a Review of Marking, rather than simply on how close a student is to the next grade boundary.

Whether the result changes or not, there is reassurance in knowing that you understood the process, considered whether a review was appropriate and together made the decision that was right for your child's circumstances before they take their next step.

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