UK students are preparing for the 2026 GCSE exam season, which runs from Monday 4 May to Friday 26 June 2026. The national contingency day is set for Wednesday 24 June 2026, and GCSE Results Day is confirmed for Thursday 20 August 2026. Students are advised to confirm their individual timetables with their exam boards.
Students sitting GCSE Maths, Physics, and Combined Science in 2026 will continue to benefit from formula and equation support. The Department for Education has confirmed that formula sheets and exam aids will remain available until at least 2027, following a public consultation by Ofqual that found continuing their use levels the playing field for students.
A-Level and AS-Level exams for 2026 run from Monday 11 May to Tuesday 23 June. Year 6 Key Stage 2 SATs take place in May 2026, with SATs results released to schools on Tuesday 7 July 2026. Families are urged to plan revision schedules around these confirmed dates.
England’s largest exam board is pushing forward with on-screen assessments. AQA is aiming to roll out digital exams over a period of years, with the reading and listening components of GCSE Italian and Polish — subject to regulatory approval — set to be the first to move to digital exams in 2026. The board’s ambition is that students will sit at least one major subject digitally by 2030.
The GCSE 2026 changes aim to prepare students for a more dynamic and technologically advanced world, with greater emphasis on problem-solving in Maths and Science, digital exam options, and more integrated coursework in subjects like History and English. Students are advised to adapt their revision strategies accordingly.
In the 2026–27 academic year, over 140 GREAT Scholarships are offered by over 60 universities across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, available to students from 18 countries. Each scholarship is jointly funded by the UK government’s GREAT Britain Campaign and the British Council.
International students from Indonesia, India, and Ghana have just days left to apply. Anglia Ruskin University is offering three GREAT Scholarships worth £10,000 each in the form of fee deductions for full-time taught postgraduate students starting September 2026. Applications close at 11:59pm BST on 30 April 2026.
The GREAT Scholarships 2026 programme, launched by the British Council together with over 60 UK universities, supports postgraduate students from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam in accessing UK higher education, offering a minimum of £10,000 towards tuition fees. The University of Manchester’s applications close today.
The Black Academic Futures Scholarships at Oxford are available for UK-resident applicants of Black or mixed-Black ethnicity applying to full-time and part-time DPhil and master’s courses. Selection is expected to take place in April 2026.
The Care-Experienced Academic Futures scholarships offer financial support to students who have experienced being in care in the UK to pursue graduate study at Oxford, covering course fees and a grant for living costs for the full duration of the agreed course. Eligible applicants are being invited to submit applications this month.
The University of Bristol’s Think Big international scholarships, with the university investing up to £5 million, offered undergraduate awards valued at £6,500 and £13,000 and postgraduate awards up to £26,000. Applications closed on 10 April 2026. New for 2026, awards were extended to several additional subject areas.
Hunter Coady, a student from Crestwood, Kentucky, was recently awarded a 2026 English-Speaking Union Scholarship, which covers full tuition and expenses for a three-week experience at the University of Oxford. The award underscores Oxford’s continued global reach in student exchange programmes.
The UK apprenticeship system is undergoing one of its most significant changes in recent years, with new reforms taking effect from April 2026. The government is encouraging employers to support 16–25-year-olds in apprenticeships, particularly those starting their careers or not currently in employment or education.
From April 2026, the government has introduced apprenticeship units — short and flexible training modules — to upskill workforces in priority sectors. These units are designed to address immediate skills shortages and meet employer demand.
In March 2026, the UK government revealed plans to defund 16 apprenticeship standards effective no earlier than September 1, 2026, targeting programmes seen as better suited to on-the-job training. Among those affected are the Level 6 Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship and the Level 5 Operations Manager.
The government launched a £2.5 billion package including a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for hiring 18–24 year-olds on Universal Credit for six months (aiming for 60,000 placements) and £2,000 SME incentives for 16–24 apprentices. The reforms aim for 50,000 more youth apprenticeships and 500,000 opportunities over three years.
From January 2026, the government restricted funding for Level 7 apprenticeships to younger apprentices — specifically those aged under 22, or under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or care leaver status — meaning master’s-level apprenticeships will be harder to access for those outside these groups.
A new Level 2 Administrative Assistant apprenticeship will launch from 1 August 2026, specifically targeting 16–24-year-olds, providing an entry-level pathway into business administration roles and supporting school leavers and career starters.
The UK government published its long-awaited Schools White Paper in February 2026, setting out proposals for reforming the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system, with reforms planned to be implemented in phases from 2026–2029, including new National Inclusion Standards and guidance on Individual Support Plans.
The new National Curriculum will be published in Spring 2027 for schools to use from September 2028. It will include citizenship in primary education, triple science entitlement, removal of the EBacc, and inclusion of climate and sustainability education, financial literacy, digital literacy, and media literacy.
The UK is set to introduce compulsory financial education for students in both primary and secondary schools from September 2028. The new curriculum aims to give children practical life skills — from understanding money and savings to identifying financial risks and the basics of digital financial behaviour.
From September 2026, academies will be required to follow the national curriculum and standard pay and conditions, reducing previous flexibilities but increasing consistency across the sector. All teachers in academies will also need to hold, or be working towards, Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
The Department for Education ran a consultation on AI and EdTech in education with a closing date of 10 April 2026, alongside work towards a new Enrichment Framework that will set benchmarks for a new enrichment entitlement for all children, with Ofsted’s updated inspection toolkits taking effect from September 2026.
The Treasury Committee has launched a new inquiry into student loans and the broader taxation of graduates. Separately, new research found the Treasury made over £600 million surplus from 2022–23 Plan 2 student loans. The findings have reignited debate on higher education funding fairness.
In a blog published on 22 April 2026, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Universities and Skills Ian Sollom MP stated that higher education in the UK is in a moment of crisis, calling for a grown-up debate on the future of the sector amid financial and policy pressures.
The National Audit Office has predicted a drop of 56,300 primary pupils in 2027, warning this could result in schools receiving £288 million less in per-pupil funding — raising concerns about school viability and resourcing in the years ahead.
The 14th European Conference on Education (ECE2026) will be held in partnership with Birkbeck, University of London and University College London (UCL) from 9–13 July 2026. The final abstract submission deadline was 17 April 2026, with registration for presenters open until 22 May 2026.
The AI in Education Conference and the EdTech World Forum Summit are both scheduled for 12 May 2026 in London, bringing together researchers, educators, and industry professionals to explore cutting-edge developments in educational technology.
An International Conference on Education took place on 22 April 2026 in London, part of a packed calendar of UK education conferences this spring, including the International Conference on Higher Education (ICHE), the International Conference on Educational Sciences, and the International Conference on Pedagogy and Psychology — all held in London in April 2026.
The 9th International Conference on English Pronunciation: Issues and Practices (EPIP9) took place on 14–15 April 2026 at the University of Manchester, UK — a major academic gathering for linguists, language teachers, and researchers focused on English pronunciation pedagogy.
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