You've studied for two years, submitted your coursework and are ready to sit your exam. But who writes the exam questions? How do they mark and grade your exam? Here is some information on what happens in the life cycle of an examination paper.

Before the exam day

Five awarding bodies, also known as exam boards, cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The exam boards set out what topics you will cover in your course (this is known as a syllabus or specification), write the exam questions, check your coursework and mark all your exam papers.

Your school chooses a syllabus from one of the exam boards for each subject. This means that you could be using different exam boards for different subjects, but the most important thing is that you know what work you will be covering in your particular syllabus. Your teacher will make sure of this, or you can find it on the relevant exam board website.

Throughout your GCSE, you will complete coursework. When you do your coursework is up to your teachers. They will choose a time that suits your class and fits in with the course you are studying. Coursework marks count towards your final grade, so it is important to take your coursework seriously and do it as well as you can. The best advice is not to leave it until the last minute!

Setting the exam questions

Almost as soon as you begin your GCSE course, examiners are thinking about what questions will be in your final exam papers. Each subject's exam paper takes about 18 months to prepare.

A principal examiner, appointed by the exam board, writes the exam paper and creates a detailed explanation of how the paper should be marked. At every stage along the way, experts check that:

• the paper is clear
• there are no trick questions or nasty surprises
• the standard is similar to the previous year's paper
• the paper can be completed in the time allowed.

Special arrangements

The awarding bodies aim to give all students a fair deal. They know that for some students the usual exam arrangements aren't suitable. For example, some students who have a disability or an injury like a broken arm, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia, or who speak English as a second language may need help. If you think the exam arrangements need to be adjusted for you, speak to your teachers well in advance of the exam. They'll be able to tell you more about the access arrangements offered by the exam board and advise you.

Exam day!

Once the papers have been delivered to schools, it is time for you to put your knowledge, understanding and skills to the test.

If you are ready to sit your exam, but on the day something outside your control affects your performance (such as a family crisis), you may be able to apply for special consideration after the examiners mark your paper. If you think this applies to you, speak to your teacher as soon as possible before or after the exam.

If you are ill on the day of your exam, you must notify your school immediately and they will tell you what to do. You may be able to apply for special consideration, but you must speak to your teachers as soon as possible so that they know that you won't be at the exam and can advise you on what to do next.

After the exam day

Marking the papers

It is compulsory for examiners and senior examiners to attend a meeting to understand exactly how to mark the exam. They mark a number of exam papers so that their marking can be checked to make sure that it is correct.

If the marking is not up to standard, the examiner has further training or is not kept on by the exam board. If this happens, the papers are given to another examiner. Further checks throughout the marking process ensure that you get the marks your work deserves.

After all the exam papers are marked and returned to the exam board, more checks are carried out. Individual exam papers are checked to ensure that all the questions have been marked and the marks have been added up correctly.

Setting the grades

Once all the marking is complete, an awarding meeting takes place. The awarding meeting is when the exam board decides the number of marks needed for each grade (called setting the grade boundaries) and ensures that the standard is the same as in previous years.

After the awarding meeting, the accountable officer (a very senior person in each exam board) considers the grade boundaries. Usually he or she accepts the grade boundaries. If an accountable officer wishes to change the grade boundaries, there must be sufficient evidence for this decision and the senior examiner has to agree to the change. If the accountable officer and senior examiner disagree, this must be reported and explained to the regulator. (For more information on what the regulators do, see 'Who's who in the GCSE world')

Results!

This is the day you've been waiting for! You'll be able to go to your school to collect your results or they will be posted to you.

You'll receive your results from each exam board on a separate slip. Each slip will list the subjects you studied and the grade you achieved for each one. If you have taken modular exams then your results slip may have a 'UMS' (Uniform Mark Scale) mark. UMS is the system that exam boards use to combine different modular marks to get your overall GCSE grade. If you would like to know more about the UMS system, then ask your teacher or exam officer for more information.

If you and your teachers aren't happy with your results and feel that something may have been done incorrectly, you can take action. You need to discuss your concerns with your school immediately. Your school can make a request for your paper to be re-marked or have the marks added up again. They can also request your exam papers from the exam board so that you can see how your papers have been marked. But don't expect comments telling you where you went wrong!

If you are still unhappy and think that the exam board didn't follow the correct procedures, then your school can appeal to the exam board. Once all other routes have been followed, your school can take your appeal to the independent Examinations Appeals Board.

What next?

Perhaps you've already decided that after finishing your GCSEs you would like to find a job, apply for an apprenticeship or study for more qualifications. There is a whole range to choose from - AS levels, A levels, NVQs, BTECs, OCR Nationals or other vocational courses. No matter what you have decided to do, GCSEs will be valuable to you in the future.

If you haven't done as well as you'd hoped, don't lose heart - there are lots of options open to you. Check the 'Where to go for help' section for some ideas on sources of help and advice.