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Most eventualities are covered in the (ICE) booklet including contingency planning, late arrivals and incidents of malpractice, and centres should follow the guidance provided in this document.

Late Arrivals

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Candidates who arrive late may sit an examination at the discretion of the centre. Any candidate who arrives more than an hour after the published start time is Very Late, and centres must report this via the JCQ Centre Admin Portal (CAP), available from . The candidate must be warned that WJEC may not accept their script.

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More information about very late arrivals is provided in the .

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Timetable clashes

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A timetable clash occurs when two or more exams for which a candidate is entered are timetabled within the same session. Centres should manage timetable clashes according to the guidance set out in the .

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A centre which is managing a timetable variation must ensure that appropriate supervision is maintained at all times in order to preserve the integrity of the examination.Ìý

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Malpractice

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Any incidents of candidate malpractice must be reported to us and form JCQ/M1 must be completed and submitted. More information is available on our malpractice page.

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Report a potential question paper error or security breach

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If you believe you have found a potential question paper error or security breach, then contact WJEC immediately:

GCE A/AS level question papers: 029 2026 5336
GCSE question papers: 029 2026 5420
Other qualifications: 029 2026 5444

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For security breaches, please contact the Compliance Team directly: 029 2026 5351 or malpractice@wjec.co.uk.

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Please make sure that you have the following information to hand when you call:

• Details of the suspected error/breach and the number and name of the paper affected
• Time within the examination session when the error was discovered
• Initial indication of the way in which the error/breach has affected candidates

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Further information regarding the unlikely event of an error in a question paper is available here.

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Contingency Planning

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In accordance with JCQ regulations, centres should have their own contingency plans in place in the event of a major disruption and ensure that the relevant staff are familiar with the content. More information is provided in the .

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The regulators, JCQ and educational government departments have prepared a Joint Contingency Plan to ensure there is a consistent response to any major disruption to the examination system affecting a large number of candidates. Examples could include severe weather, widespread illness, travel disruption or system failures.

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Key documents relating to contingency planning for examinations are available here:

• WJEC Contingency Questions and Answers

Centres should have their own contingency plans in place in the event of a major disruption and ensure that the relevant staff are familiar with the content.

Checking information

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Before putting the scripts in the sack for dispatch, centres should check candidate and subject information on the front cover of answer booklets against the details on the attendance register in order to identify any discrepancies.Ìý

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Any incorrect information such as wrong centre or candidate number, incomplete candidate name or incorrect unit/component code, can be amended but must be counter-signed on the script. Centres must not alter the contents of the candidate's scripts.

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Packing scripts

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Completed scripts and the accompanying attendance register must be sent to the notified examiner using the plastic script envelopes and address labels provided.Ìý

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To ensure that scripts are processed correctly, centres should ensure that all the following details are included and not obscured during the packing process:

• Centre number
• Subject and unit/component code
• Number of scripts in the envelope.

Any A3 scripts should be placed on top of the other candidates' scripts so that these will be the first scripts seen when the package is opened.

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Despatching scripts

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Scripts must be despatched on the same day as the exam wherever possible and certainly within one working day of the examination. Any scripts kept in the centre overnight must be stored in the centre’s secure storage facility.

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Centres in England should refer to the instructions issued by the Department of Education for despatching scripts:

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• (centres in England only)
• Yellow Label service checklist (centres in England only)

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Scribe cover sheets

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Scribe cover sheets can be downloaded from the .

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For examinations completed with the use of a scribe, a completed JCQ Form 2 must be placed inside the candidate’s completed script.

The JCQ Transferred Candidate arrangement allows a candidate to be transferred to another WJEC registered examination centre to sit their examinations in certain circumstances. The entry remains with the original ‘entering’ centre, however question papers are despatched to the ‘host’ centre.

Further information regarding this arrangement is available on the .

Applications for transferred candidates must be processed through the JCQ Centre Admin Portal available from the WJEC secure website.

Requests must be submitted online as early as possible and no later than the dates below of the respective examination series: 

There is a charge for this service, please see our fees document for further details.