A private candidate is someone who pursues a course of study independently, but takes an examination or assessment at an approved examination centre.

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

This section provides private candidates wishing to obtain an OCR qualification with the administrative information they need to get started.

The exams officer will be the first port of call at your centre for any queries. 

Finding a centre

Our customer contact centre can provide you with a list of OCR centres in your region that may accept private candidates. However, there is no guarantee that the centres listed can assist with requests for the particular subjects you wish to take. 

If you intend to study through a distance learning provider, we strongly recommend you find an exam centre willing to host all aspects of the assessment, including internal assessments, before enrolling.

The Head of Centre (e.g. headteacher or principal) decides whether or not the centre will accept requests from private candidates, so you should contact centres directly to establish whether they are willing to host you. 

We recommend that you allow yourself plenty of time to start contacting centres well in advance of when your entry needs to be made. We also suggest you contact your local authority for further advice.

Fees

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.