Key Dates – GCSE

Event DeadlineOther information 
Despatch of Externally Set Assignment and these instructionsJanuary/February 2007If not received by mid-February, contact the Edexcel Entries and Certification Centre to check estimated entry information.
Actual EntriesDue 21 February 2007

If estimated entries have not been received previously, the allocation of a visiting moderator may be delayed.

Date for distribution of Externally Set Assignment to candidatesPlease see section 3The Externally Set Assignment should be given to candidates at the beginning of the eight week preparatory period. Candidates have eight school weeks in which to do preparatory supporting studies prior to the timed test.
Submission of Application form Centre Consortium Arrangements for Centre-assessed Work28 February 2007If the form is not received prior to this date, different moderators may be allocated to the consortium centres.
Earliest date for timed testMarch 2007The timed test lasts for ten hours.
Despatch of OPTEMS to centresApril 2007Full despatch schedule will be displayed on the Edexcel website during March.
Visiting moderator to make contact with centreMarch/April 2007Contact will be directly with centres to arrange date/time of the visit.
Marking of work, completion of assessment documentation and return of top copy of OPTEMS/marks to Edexcel

Before the Moderation visit (or by 3 June 2007 if work is to be moderated at Edexcel)

A final mark for each candidate, for each component, must be submitted to Edexcel on the OPTEMS/via Edexcel Online/via EDI.
Moderation period9 May - 1 July 2007Only the work of those candidates in the moderation sample (those indicated by an asterisk on the OPTEMS plus the highest and lowest candidates) should be presented for moderation, however all work should be available
Receipt of work to be moderated at Edexcel3 June 2007 
Retention of workUntil 20 September 2007All sampled candidates’ work must be retained by the centre until the deadline for requests for Enquiries About Results has passed. Requests for EARs cannot be accepted if work for all candidates in the sample has not been retained by the centre.