Exam entry fees will rise at a greater rate than school funding again next year, with England’s largest exam board putting up the price of some language GCSEs by over 8 per cent.
Analysis for Schools Week by Lee Hitchen of Arc Exams shows the cost of most popular GCSE and A-level qualifications will increase by between 3 and 4.2 per cent in 2026.
In comparison, per-pupil funding is due to rise by less than 1 per cent once existing pressures are taken into account. CPI inflation was 3.6 per cent in the 12 months to June 2025.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Exam boards really do have schools over a barrel when it comes to these fees, which they have no choice but to pay.”
The analysis looked at fees due to be charged for GCSEs with over 100,000 entries and A-levels with over 30,000.
It found that AQA, the largest board, will put most subjects up by around 3 per cent, the lowest of the four organisations providing GCSEs and A-levels. But the cost of its French and Spanish GCSEs will rise by an inflation-busting 8.4 per cent.
The analysis estimates that through its fee rises, AQA will bring in additional income of around £6.1 million.
‘Disappointing’
Julie McCulloch, director of strategy and policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was “disappointing” to see price rises of more than 8 per “given the extremely challenging circumstances.
“We would urge AQA to reconsider those increases. We also urge the government to be more realistic about the rising costs faced by schools and colleges, and to ensure they have the funding that they require to meet those costs and avoid having to make further cutbacks to provision.”
A spokesperson for the exam board said that as a charity, it invested entry fees “back into education and research.
“Nearly all of our fees are in line with inflation. We increased fees by a rate higher than inflation for modern foreign language qualifications to better reflect the cost of providing them to schools, colleges and exam centres.”
They also pointed out that across EBacc GCSE subjects, AQA exams “generally cost less for schools, colleges and exam centres than those from other exam boards”. Even after the increase, the cost of a French and Spanish GCSE with AQA is less than with Edexcel.
The board also offers some exams “at a loss due to low volumes because it’s the right thing to do”.
‘Budgets are stretched’
OCR will raise fees by between 3.77 and 4.23 per cent, with the biggest rises in GCSE maths and business studies. The raise equates to increased income of around £1 million.
An spokesperson said the board had “kept our fees in line with inflation to ensure they remain the same in real terms.
“OCR is a not-for-profit and our fees cover our operational costs. OCR fees give schools and colleges a full package of services, insights and resources to help their students reach their full potential.
“This includes personalised subject-specific support, insights to help teachers and students improve, subject forums, and extensive teacher resources.”
Edexcel’s increases range from 3.71 per cent for A-level maths to 3.89 per cent for GCSEs in biology, chemistry and physics. Its rises would equate to a £3.5 million increase in income.
A spokesperson said they “recognise that budgets are stretched, and we will always aim to keep fee increases to a minimum, while providing as much value for money as possible for our qualification fees.
“Included within our fees is two full years of support for teachers. This includes access to scripts at no extra charge, as well as data for school staff to help inform more personalised teaching and learning at both individual school and MAT level.
“We also continue to invest in additional qualification support and further improvements to our qualifications to support schools throughout the delivery of the course.”
‘We need to cover increasing costs’
And Eduqas, the English arm of Welsh board WJEC, will raise fees across the board by 3.72 per cent.
It too said it was “committed to re-investing in continuously improving the support we provide to schools, colleges, and learners.
“Our fees not only cover the costs associated with running and delivering qualifications; they’re also needed to fund the redevelopment of current and creation of new qualifications.
“We look to keep fee increases to a minimum, but we need to ensure that we are able to cover the increase in our cost base.”
The increases come at a challenging time for school finances. The chancellor announced at the spending review that the schools budget would grow by £4.7 billion over the next three years.
But Treasury documents admitted that once existing cost pressures are taken into account, such as pay rises and the extension of free school meals, “the core schools budget will grow by an average of 0.9 per cent per pupil in real terms each year”.
‘Difficult to swallow’
Whiteman pointed out many of the increases were above inflation, “and all are above the rise in per-pupil funding.
“Schools will find them really difficult to swallow at a time when many are facing severe financial pressures and having to review spending on everything from staffing to learning resources.
“Schools can of course choose to use a different exam board for the qualifications they offer, but the reality is that there is little difference between them, and schools understandably want to make decisions based upon what is best for their students.”
But Whiteman welcomed the earlier publication of fees, “which we had called for previously to better help schools plan”.
With schools juggling “competing cost pressures”, Bethan Cullen, deputy CEO of the Institute of School Business Leadership, suggested leaders could “use the recent increases in exam fees as a trigger for internal review in this area.
Leaders could consider “standardising exam board use across subjects, where this is educationally viable, and perhaps reduce the number of boards to streamline costs”.
Your thoughts