Private candidates

A private candidate is someone who takes an examination or assessment at an approved examination centre, but studies independently. 

For example, they may be a part-time student, someone taking a distance learning course or someone being tutored privately.

The JCQ publishes a searchable list of exam centres accepting private candidates to help private candidates locate a suitable centre. This is updated each December, for exam series the following year. Please be aware that centres may still accept private candidates even if they are not on the JCQ list and appearing on the list is not a prerequisite for supporting private candidates. 

The latest exam timetables are published on our key dates and timetables webpage.

You can find details of fees in the OCR fees list. These fees should be treated as an indication only. Although your centre will charge you the relevant fees for the cost of the assessments you are taking, they may also charge an administrative fee. These vary from centre to centre, so you will need to clarify this with the exams officer at your centre.

The GCSE, AS and A Level past papers are published on our website about 12 months after results day.

If you are a private candidate entered for an examination and need access to past papers from the latest exam series to support your exam preparation, you can request access to these materials:

• First, see whether the school or college that has accepted your entry is able to provide them.
• If this is not possible, you may also request the materials from our Customer Support Centre. 

To make sure we send materials to eligible students, we’ll first need to check your request against your entries.

Teaching resources for our qualifications are available from our secure website, Teach Cambridge. Home educators and private candidates studying for OCR qualifications can apply for restricted access to Teach Cambridge by completing this request form. Please note this access does not include past papers from the latest exam series. These should be requested through our Customer Support Centre (see above).

If you need any further information or support regarding private candidates, please contact our Customer Support Centre on 01223 553998 or at support@ocr.org.uk.