Carrying forward marks to a future series

You should enter candidates using the relevant entry option e.g. ‘June AS mark carried forward’. You should use the ‘Cambridge Guide to Making Entries’ for the November 2020 series which is available on Cambridge International Direct (Direct).

• If the entry is for a Cambridge IGCSE, O Level or Pre-U syllabus which allows the carry-forward of non-examination assessment (e.g. coursework, speaking tests), we will automatically carry forward the candidate’s marks from the June 2019 series.
• If the entry is for a Cambridge AS or A Level syllabus, or for Cambridge Pre-U Global Perspectives & Research (9777), we will automatically check our records for eligible marks from the June 2019 series and credit these to the candidate.
• If the candidate does not have an eligible mark from the June 2019 series but does have an appropriate AS Level grade from June 2020, we will grade the candidate using the ‘A2-only’ route.

For syllabuses where there have been changes to component codes between the 2019 and 2020 versions of the syllabus, use the entry option code in the November 2020 ‘Cambridge Guide to Making Entries’ which corresponds to the expected description of components. To help you, some examples are given in the table below.

We will carry-forward the marks from the equivalent carry-forward component from the June 2019 series. For AS and A Level this applies to both staged-route candidates and candidates entering best-of-both A Level options.

Carrying-forward non-examination assessment marks from the June 2019 series is not possible for the following syllabuses. This is because of the extensive changes to these syllabuses between 2019 and 2020:

• Cambridge IGCSE Art & Design (0400) and IGCSE (9-1) (0989)
• Cambridge O Level Art & Design (6090)
• Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (0500) and IGCSE (9-1) 0990)

We will not carry-forward AS Level marks from the June 2019 series where carry-forward from a legacy 2019 syllabus to a 2020 syllabus was not permitted (e.g. from legacy 9704 to 9479 in A Level Art & Design).

Where there was no AS syllabus available in the June 2019 series, e.g. 9231 Further Mathematics, we will not carry-forward any AS component marks from the June 2019 series to the November 2020 series.

Candidates with marks from a series before June 2019 will not be able to carry those marks forward to June 2020 or November 2020. This is in line with our usual 13-month rules for carry forwards.

To support you with making your entries, we have put together some information and examples:

• Example 1: ‘June carry-forward’ candidates with June 2019 AS Level marks and a June 2020 AS Level grade. Candidates will be graded using their June 2019 AS Level marks rather than by the A2-only route, see below. Candidates who do not want to receive a grade based on their June 2019 AS Level marks should be entered as linear route candidates.
• Example 2: Best-of-both route candidates (where we consider the best eligible results that the candidate has). We will not grade these candidates using the A2-only route. They have AS Level marks from a previous exam series (including June 2019 marks) which we will use instead of their June 2020 AS Level grade, see below. To use the A2-only route, enter candidates for the ‘June carry-forward’ option, provided that they have a June 2020 AS Level grade and do not have a June 2019 AS Level marks to carry forward.
• Example 3: Candidates with previous AS Level results only from June 2020. Enter these candidates in the linear or staged-route, not the best-of-both route.
• Example 4: In countries where we provide a Percentage Uniform Mark (PUM), candidates who only have AS Level results from the June 2020 series should be entered as linear route candidates. We cannot generate a PUM for candidates taking the A2-only route.

For candidates entering staged-route ‘June carry-forward’ A Level options, we will consider candidates’ AS Level results from the June 2019 and June 2020 series.

• Marks from our assessments provide the most reliable and valid measure of a candidate’s performance. Therefore, we will use AS Level marks from the June 2019 series, where available, to calculate a candidate’s A Level grade (see scenarios 1 and 2 below). This is an exception to our usual 13-month rule for carrying forward marks.
• Where a candidate only has an AS Level grade from the June 2020 series, they will be graded using the A2-only route (see scenario 3 below). They can progress to the full A Level without having to retake their June 2020 AS Level. Candidates who withdrew from the June 2020 series at any time will not have this option.

Note that we will not carry-forward AS marks from the June 2019 series where carry-forward from a legacy 2019 syllabus to a 2020 syllabus was not permitted (e.g. from legacy 9704 to 9479 in A Level Art & Design). In this case, candidates will be graded using the A2-only route (see scenario 3).

This summary table shows the results we use to calculate a candidate’s final A Level grade:

A ✔ indicates the candidate has a result in this exam series.
Shaded cells indicate the results used to calculate the final A Level grade.

For candidates entering a best-of-both A Level option, we will consider all previous AS Level marks, including from the June 2019 series. We will aggregate the best AS Level marks with the A2 Level marks to calculate candidates’ A Level grades.

The diagram below shows how this works for a candidate entering a best-of-both A Level option. They have AS Level results from three series: June 2019, November 2019, and June 2020.

1. We consider all the AS Level results which the candidate has. In this example:
   
   
   
2. We prioritise AS Level results where there are corresponding assessment marks. In this example, the June and November 2019 AS Level results are prioritised over the June 2020 AS Level results.
   
   
   
3. We choose the best of the remaining AS Level marks that the candidate has. The November 2019 AS Level result is selected.
   
   
   
4. Aggregate the better AS mark, from N19, with the marks that the candidate achieves in their A2 components in the November 2020 series (N20).
   
   

Linear route: Candidates taking both AS Level and A2 components in the November 2020 series.

Staged-route: Candidates carrying-forward their AS Level result from a specific previous series (e.g. the June 2020 series) and taking their A2 components in the November 2020 series.

Best-of-both route: Candidates taking both AS Level and A2 components in the November 2020 series and who have eligible AS Level marks from a previous series. We use the best combination of eligible AS Level and A2 results.

You should enter candidates using the relevant entry option e.g. ‘June AS mark carried forward’. You should use the ‘Cambridge Guide to Making Entries’ for the November 2020 series which is available on Cambridge International Direct (Direct).

• If the entry is for a Cambridge IGCSE, O Level or Pre-U syllabus which allows the carry-forward of non-examination assessment (e.g. coursework, speaking tests), we will automatically carry forward the candidate’s marks from the June 2019 series.
• If the entry is for a Cambridge AS or A Level syllabus, or for Cambridge Pre-U Global Perspectives & Research (9777), we will automatically check our records for eligible marks from the June 2019 series and credit these to the candidate.
• If the candidate does not have an eligible mark from the June 2019 series but does have an appropriate AS Level grade from June 2020, we will grade the candidate using the ‘A2-only’ route.

For syllabuses where there have been changes to component codes between the 2019 and 2020 versions of the syllabus, use the entry option code in the November 2020 ‘Cambridge Guide to Making Entries’ which corresponds to the expected description of components. To help you, some examples are given in the table below.

We will carry-forward the marks from the equivalent carry-forward component from the June 2019 series. For AS and A Level this applies to both staged-route candidates and candidates entering best-of-both A Level options.

Carrying-forward non-examination assessment marks from the June 2019 series is not possible for the following syllabuses. This is because of the extensive changes to these syllabuses between 2019 and 2020:

• Cambridge IGCSE Art & Design (0400) and IGCSE (9-1) (0989)
• Cambridge O Level Art & Design (6090)
• Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (0500) and IGCSE (9-1) 0990)

We will not carry-forward AS Level marks from the June 2019 series where carry-forward from a legacy 2019 syllabus to a 2020 syllabus was not permitted (e.g. from legacy 9704 to 9479 in A Level Art & Design).

Where there was no AS syllabus available in the June 2019 series, e.g. 9231 Further Mathematics, we will not carry-forward any AS component marks from the June 2019 series to the November 2020 series.

Some candidates will have June 2019 marks for non-examination assessments, such as coursework or speaking tests, which they intended to carry-forward to the June 2020 series. These marks can be carried forward instead to the November 2020 series, provided that the syllabus has a ‘June carry-forward’ entry option. This is an exemption from our usual 13-month rule. Candidates intending to follow this route should be entered for the ‘June carry-forward’ option for the syllabus in the November 2020 series.

This option is not available:

• for Art & Design syllabuses 0400, 0989, 6090 because of the changes to the syllabus between 2019 and 2020
• for First Language English syllabuses 0500 and 0990 because of the changes to the syllabus between 2019 and 2020.

In some cases, candidates’ work prepared for non-examination assessments, such as coursework or speaking tests in the June 2020 series, may be submitted instead for the November 2020 series. This only applies where the component did not have pre-release materials or early exam stimulus materials that are unique to each exam series. Schools must make sure they have followed the guidance for non-examination assessments (Cambridge Handbook, section 3.4).

This means you will not be able to submit work that was originally produced for June 2020, and which used unique June 2020 stimulus material or exam paper, for a November 2020 entry.

We provide a list of components that use materials unique to each exam series (PDF, 348KB) available in our FAQs. For these components, you will not be able to submit work which was originally produced for June 2020 for a November 2020 entry.

Examples of these components include, but are not limited to:

• Cambridge IGCSE Art & Design syllabuses that have series-specific question papers released on the School Support Hub
• Cambridge IGCSE Foreign Language syllabuses with confidential role play cards for the speaking component.

If the component does not have series-specific materials of this type, candidates can use the work they produced for the June 2020 series for a November 2020 entry. The list of components that do not have series-specific materials (PDF, 367KB) is also available in our FAQs.

Examples of these components include, but are not limited to:

• Cambridge IGCSE speaking tests that do not use confidential role play cards, such as First Language English
• many Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International A Level coursework components.

Candidates’ work must be submitted as part of their November 2020 entry. If it was submitted to Cambridge International prior to the decision not to run our usual June 2020 exam series, it will not be automatically carried forward.