Assessment dates and core exams

You’ll find these in our Key Dates Schedule. 

Each T Level consists of two components. The first is the core component, and the second is the occupational specialism. Final grades for each component are combined to provide students with an overall T Level outcome.   

The core component consists of two sub-components. Students must complete both to get a core component grade. The two sub-components are the core exam and the Employer Set Project (ESP).   

Each year, we offer two opportunities to complete the core component, in either the autumn or summer series. Providers can book students onto either or both sub-components in any series from the summer of their first year and beyond.   

Generation 1  

Core exams are a pair of set date and time exams which can be completed either online or as paper-based assessments. Providers must select the mode at the point of booking, and both papers must be attempted within each series booking. Results cannot be combined between papers A and B across different series.   

Online assessments are completed in our Surpass online assessment platform, and paper-based assessments are completed on paper scripts, dispatched to arrive 3 to 5 days before the assessment date.   

If you don’t currently have approval to use our Surpass platform, please complete the online assessment request form on our website here. 

Both papers (Papers A and B) must be completed in the same format (paper-based or online) in the same series. There is no opportunity to mix and match or change mode between papers A and B.    

A PDF of the exam paper is available on our Portal on the day of assessment against student bookings in the bookings screen. You should only access this PDF for reasons such as a late booking (where no papers have been dispatched) or  where a coloured paper is required but not been requested, so a provider can print themselves (this must be in line with the assessed needs of the student and in keeping with their usual ways of working. Only the used assessment paper should be returned – there is no need to return unusual copies of assessment papers). 

Generation 2  

Students registered on the latest generation of Education and Early Years (610/5748/4) from September 2025 will sit a single Core exam which can be completed either online or as a paper-based assessment. Providers must decide which mode their students are going to complete at the point of booking. 

Online assessments must be completed in our Surpass online assessment platform, and paper-based assessments will be completed on paper scripts, dispatched for arrival 3 to 5 days before the assessment date.   

A PDF of the exam paper is available on our Portal on the day of assessment against student bookings, which should only be accessed if needed for reasons such as a late booking (where no papers have been dispatched) or late Reasonable Adjustment or Access Arrangements.  

All bookings should be checked to ensure they are against the correct mode, as changes, especially at short notice, may not always be possible.  

Please contact our dedicated T Level Customer Support team to support with this: [email protected]  

Papers are dispatched before each assessment, and should arrive three working days before the date of the exam. 

We can accept late bookings until the day before core paper A for Gen 1 T Levels or before the core paper for Gen 2 within the series for the qualification.  

If the booking is made within 10 working days of core paper A for Gen 1 T Levels or the core paper for Gen 2, we will not be able to print and dispatch papers to your Provider. If this is the case, you’ll be required to print the papers from the Portal, which will be available one hour before the scheduled assessment time.  

Providers can start an assessment 30 minutes before or after the published start time of a set date and time assessment without our prior approval, as per our NCFE regulations, which align with JCQ GQ regulations.   

You should follow guidance in Section 21 of the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations.   

The supplementary answer booklet can be found on the qualification pages under the 'Assessment Materials' tab. We also accept JCQ or equivalent supplementary answer sheets.  

Yes, the core exams are the same. Only the occupational specialism (and sometimes the ESP) will differ based on specialism.  

Please contact our dedicated T Level Customer Support team to support with this. You can contact the team by emailing [email protected] or dialling 0191 240 8862. 

Yes, a statement of achievement can be requested here.  

The specification that students follow depends on when they enrolled. Students who enrolled before September 2023 will take the 'old specification', while those who enrolled after September 2023 will take the 'new specification'.