A confidential reference and an unmarked exam script share the same underlying problem: disclosing them too early, or to the wrong party, undermines the process that produced them. These exemptions do not remove a person’s right to their own assessment forever, they adjust who can be asked to disclose it, or when.

This guide covers confidential references, exam scripts and exam marks, three exemptions with three very different shapes. It also covers the deadline for exam marks, which runs on whichever of five months or 40 days comes first, not last, a detail that catches out more exam boards and training providers than any other exemption in this series.