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 are combined to provide students with an overall T Level outcome.  

The core component consists of two sub-components, which must both be completed in order to give a student a core component grade. The two sub-components are the core exams, and the Employer Set Project (ESP).  

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

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

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.  

Both papers within a series (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 between papers.   

There are no requirements for you to access SharePoint or the NCFE Portal, download papers, or re-upload after the assessment within the core exams. This is a more traditional paper-based assessment, or purely online assessment.  

The only time you may need to print your own paper is if you access a PDF copy following a late amendment or late booking. In this instance, the paper must be accessed from the NCFE Portal, must still be printed, sat by the student, and returned to us in a physical form alongside other papers. (You will receive details from NCFE following late bookings on how to complete this process) 

Please contact our Customer Support team to support with this. 

 You’ll receive physical papers 3 working days before the scheduled date of the assessment. 

We can accept late bookings until the day before core paper A within the series for the qualification. 

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

You should follow guidance in Section 21 of the Regulations of Controlled External Assessment.  

The supplementary answer booklet can be found on the qualification pages. 

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

Please contact our Customer Support team.  

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'.