Improving the exam experience for students in 2026 and beyond

We continue to listen to your feedback and analyse our assessment performance data for our GCSE Geography exams. As a result, we have received approval from Ofqual to increase the duration of the following exam papers by 15 minutes, starting from May/June 2026:

GCSE Geography A Paper 1: 1GA0/01 - The Physical Environment - change from 1 hr 30 mins to 1 hr 45 mins

GCSE Geography B Paper 2: 1GB0/02 – UK Geographical Issues - change from 1 hr 30 mins to 1 hr 45 mins


This change will support students in these two papers that have several 8-mark questions requiring the use and interpretation of resources, giving them more time to engage with these resources, plan and check answers during their exam.

There is no change to the timings of the other GCSE Geography exam papers. GCSE Geography A Paper 3 and Geography B Paper 3 already have time included in the exam duration to allow for reading and analysis of the resources.

When making these changes we were mindful of the assessment burden on students in what is a very full exam timetable. These changes reflect the majority of teacher and student views and our research with teachers supported increasing the exam duration of these exams by 15 minutes.

By adding in extra time, we do not expect students to write longer responses than they currently do, and answer spaces for questions are unchanged.