Year 13: applications, A Level exams and results
The application year and the exam year at once. Autumn is UCAS, spring is revision, June is exams, and 12 August is the day it resolves.
Key dates, 2026 to 2027
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Thursday 15 October 2026 | UCAS deadline: Oxford, Cambridge, most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses |
| Wednesday 13 January 2027 | UCAS equal-consideration deadline for all other courses |
| Thursday 25 February 2027 | UCAS Extra opens, for applicants with no offers |
| Monday 10 May 2027 | A Level written exams begin (JCQ common timetable) |
| Tuesday 22 June 2027 | Last scheduled A Level exam |
| Wednesday 23 June 2027 | JCQ contingency day: keep free |
| Wednesday 30 June 2027 | Final UCAS application deadline before Clearing |
| Friday 2 July 2027 | Clearing opens |
| Thursday 12 August 2027 | A Level results day |
Dates are from UCAS and the JCQ key dates document, checked 6 September 2026; the Clearing opening date is provisional until UCAS publishes its 2027 cycle page. Schools’ own mock dates vary.
Between application and exams
Offers arrive between November and May. Once all have arrived the student chooses a firm and an insurance. Interviews and admissions tests, where they apply, sit in the autumn and early spring. Revision for the exams that decide everything runs alongside; the spring mocks are the last full rehearsal.
Results day
Results are released on 12 August 2027. UCAS Track updates that morning: a confirmed firm place, a confirmed insurance place, or Clearing. If grades are better than expected there is a short window to look at other courses. Universities publish Clearing vacancies from early July and fill most of them in the days after results.
What Fincho does in Year 13
The roadmap holds the dates above with their sources and counts down. The shortlist, offers and the firm/insurance decision live under Ahead with the requirements beside them. Revision runs on real past questions by topic, linked to the exam board’s paper and mark scheme, with Pip marking and explaining. On results day the plan is whatever the student needs it to be.
Common questions
- What are firm and insurance choices?
- Once all offers are in, the student picks one firm (first choice) and one insurance (a back-up, normally with a lower offer). Meeting the firm's conditions on results day confirms the place; missing them and meeting the insurance's confirms that one.
- What is Clearing?
- The UCAS route for students without a confirmed place after results, or who apply late, or who decline their place to look elsewhere. Universities list courses with spaces from early July; most activity is on and after results day.
Sources
- UCAS: when to apply (2027 entry deadlines) checked 8 September 2026
- JCQ key dates, June 2027 examination series checked 8 September 2026
- UCAS: the personal statement for 2026 entry onwards (three questions) checked 8 September 2026
Updated 7 September 2026. Dates change every year; we re-check them each September and January.