English and maths are essential qualifications for progressing into further education, university, apprenticeships, and employment. At NKC Tonbridge College, these skills are an important part of your study programme.

English and maths at NKC Tonbridge College are only available as part of a full-time study programme. We do not offer stand alone English and Maths qualifications.

• Do I need to study English & Maths?

  If you have not achieved a GCSE Grade 4 or above in English and/or maths, you will be required to continue studying these subjects as part of your course. This is a government requirement for students aged 16-18 (and up to 25 with an EHCP).

  English and maths will be built into your timetable and form a compulsory part of your study programme.

• What will my timetable look like?

  You will study English and maths for a minimum number of hours each week, usually as dedicated sessions within your timetable. These lessons will not clash with your main course.

  Attendance is essential, and regular participation is required to remain on your course.

• What level will i study?

  NKC Tonbridge College students will study GCSE English and maths. A small number of learners may begin with Functional Skills as a stepping stone before progressing to GCSE (for learners enrolled on mainly Entry 3 and Level 1 courses and where they have achieved a Grade 2 or below in English/Maths).

  All learners working towards a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths will work towards the GCSE. We do not offer Functional Skills Level 2 to 16-19 (or to 25 with an EHCP) learners on a full study programme. As per the Condition of Funding, by which we are bound, all learners with a GCSE Grade 3, irrespective of whether they achieve a Functional Skills qualification externally, must continue with the GCSE.

English and Maths Exam Dates 2026-2027

GCSE May/June Timetable 2027

Please note that these are nationally timetabled exams and cannot be amended. 

Contact Us 

If you have any questions about studying English or Maths at NKC Tonbridge College, please contact the English and Maths team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Do we accept external candidates for English and Maths qualifications?

  No. Please contact a local training provider or your local adult education centre if over 19.

• Do we offer Functional Skills Level 2?

  No, our curriculum offer of the Level 2 qualification in English/Maths is GCSE only. The Conditions of Funding state that colleges can offer FS Level 2 or GCSE for learners at Grade 2 or below, but not that colleges have to provide it. All Grade 3 learners have to do GCSE. No local colleges offer FS Level 2 to 16-19 learners as part of the study programme for varying reasons.

• My young person has a GCSE Grade 3 and a Level 2 Functional Skills from another institution. Do they need to continue to study English/Maths?

  Yes, the Conditions of Funding, by which we are bound as a mainstream college, states that learners must continue with GCSE if they have ever achieved a GCSE Grade 3.

• For how long does my young person need to continue with English and/or Maths?

  All learners who are 16-18 when they enrol on a course (or 16-24 with an EHCP) must continue with the English/Maths lessons until the end of the course.

• My young person is 19 and is in the second year of their 2 year course, do they still need to continue with English and/or Maths?

  Yes, since they were 18 or below when they first enrolled on that course.

• Can my young person be exempted from English and/or Maths?

  There are only two possibilities for consideration for approval, as per the Conditions of Funding :

  1. If a learner has an overseas qualification equivalent to a Grade 4 or above

  2. If a learner has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and has been assessed as being unable to access a GCSE or Stepping Stone qualification (such as Functional Skills Level 1 or below).

• Do you offer November resit exams?

  Yes, but only a small proportion of the higher achieving learners are considered for the November series. Historically 4% achieve a Grade 4 in the November series and we will enter 12% of the highest achieving learners based on an initial assessment in September. This also complies with the Condition of Funding which states “Where a decision is made to enter a student into an exam, this should be based on their institution’s assessment that they are ready to improve their grade.” and “Institutions must carefully consider whether to enter these students into the November resit series, by considering if they have demonstrated suitable readiness”. As such we assess learners soon after the start of term, in time for the exam entry to be made to the exam board.

  All GCSE learners are entered for the GCSE exams in the summer series

• My young person has to come for a 4th/5th day for their English and/or Maths. Can the timetable be changed?

  All English and Maths lessons are timetabled prior to the vocational timetable and the vocational timetable should wrap around the English/Maths lessons. The capacity within the English/Maths groups for movement is very limited and so amendments can not always be accommodated.

• My young person has English Literature Grade 4, and English Language Grade 3. Can they do English Language at college?

  This is looked at on an annual basis, dependent on the requests and the capacity in English lessons. If there is capacity, we would provide tuition, but payment is required for exam costs. Recently it has not been possible to approve these requests due to very limited capacity from increasing numbers of learners requiring English.

• What exam boards and papers do learners take?

  We use Edexcel for all English and Maths exams.

  For English we use the Edexcel Lift 2.0 Specification which is likely to be different to the specification followed at school, since it was specifically written for Post 16 learners.

  For Maths the vast majority of learners are entered for Foundation paper.

• Can my young person take the Higher Tier Maths exam?

  If teacher assessment and mock results clearly demonstrate that the learner is consistently at a Grade 5 and should be targeting a Grade 6 or higher, then we would consider the Higher tier. This is in addition to the learner having previously had experience with the Higher Tier content, that they are motivated to completing independent work at this level and have a valid reason for not achieving a Grade 4 previously at Higher Tier.