NCEA exam timetable 2026

NCEA exam timetable 2026 for maths, science and digital technologies

This table lists every external exam for maths, physics, chemistry, biology, earth and space science, science and digital technologies, in date order. It is read from NZQA's 2026 examination timetable. The full timetable also has English, languages, humanities, health and the arts, so use it for any other subject.

The first exam, Level 1 Mathematics and Statistics on Tuesday 10 November, has already been sat. According to NZQA's 2026 assessment specifications, Level 1 Chemistry and Biology is an online digital exam, while the Level 1 Mathematics and Statistics, Level 1 Physics, Earth and Space Science, Level 2 Mathematics and Statistics, Level 2 and 3 Physics, Level 2 and 3 Chemistry, Level 3 Calculus and Level 3 Statistics exams are on printed paper. NZQA marks digital exams in blue on its timetable, so check yours there.

Session times and exam rules for 2026

• Start times. Each exam day has two sessions, at 9.30 am and at 2.00 pm.
• Length. A session lasts 3 hours, according to NZQA's rules for students.
• Arrive early. NZQA says to arrive at least 20 minutes before the exam starts. If you arrive more than 30 minutes after the start, you cannot sit the exam.
• Calculators. They must be silent, handheld, unable to print, and have no external power. Notes, routines and stored files are not allowed in memory, and supervisors check that the memory is cleared. You can only use a calculator in subjects where you used one during the year, from NZQA's approved list.
• No exams on Friday 13 November. It is Canterbury Anniversary Day. NZQA's timetable also marks Westland and Chatham Islands Anniversary Day on Monday 30 November, when no exams are listed.
• Last exam. NCEA and NZ Scholarship exams end on the morning of Friday 4 December.

Gaps between exams in 2026

The timetable gives some subject combinations a lot of space and others very little. These are the combinations most of our readers sit:

Level 3 Physics, Calculus, Chemistry and Statistics

These four exams fall on Thursday 12 November, Monday 16 November, Friday 20 November and Tuesday 24 November, so each is 4 days after the last. Level 3 Biology sits between Calculus and Chemistry on Tuesday 17 November, in the afternoon. The Level 3 Physics guide, Level 3 Calculus guide and Level 3 Chemistry guide cover the standards.

Level 2 Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Statistics, and Biology

Level 2 is tighter. Chemistry is on Monday 16 November in the afternoon, Physics on Wednesday 18 November in the afternoon, Mathematics and Statistics on Thursday 19 November in the morning, and Biology on Friday 20 November in the morning. The Physics and Mathematics and Statistics exams are on consecutive days, with the second starting 19 and a half hours after the first. See the Level 2 Physics, Level 2 Chemistry and Level 2 Maths guides.

Level 1

Level 1 Mathematics and Statistics was on Tuesday 10 November, Physics, Earth and Space Science is on Thursday 12 November in the afternoon, Chemistry and Biology on Thursday 19 November in the afternoon, and Science on Wednesday 25 November in the afternoon. See the Level 1 Maths guide and the Level 1 Physics, Earth and Space Science guide.

Scholarship

NZ Scholarship exams sit in the same weeks: Chemistry on Thursday 12 November, Physics on Wednesday 18 November and Calculus on Wednesday 25 November, all in the morning, with Statistics on Monday 16 November in the afternoon. Scholarship Physics is on the same day as the Level 2 Physics exam, so a student sitting both has the morning and the afternoon.

Results and what comes after the exams

NZQA's key dates page says processing of externally assessed results runs from 7 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. NZQA's results page says you can see end-of-year results in the MyNZQA learners portal "from late January", and NZ Scholarship results from February. NZQA has not published an exact results date yet. Marked exam booklets can be viewed through your MyNZQA account from late January 2027, with Scholarship booklets from February.

Is the 2027 timetable out?

Not yet. NZQA says NCEA and NZ Scholarship end-of-year examinations run from 9 November to 3 December 2027, and that the timetable will be published in December 2026. NZQA's key dates page lists 16 October 2026 for publishing the 2027 external assessment specifications.

Using the daily papers between exams

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper on the NCEA Level 3 Calculus track. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full NCEA exam, and it is not written by NZQA. There is one for each of the other subjects too: Level 1 Maths, Level 2 Maths, Level 3 Physics and Level 3 Chemistry. Treat one as a practice exam the day before: sit it in one go, mark it, and then look at the questions you lost marks on.

1. Work out your own gaps from the table, and block the evening before each exam for a short paper.
2. Sit it with your approved calculator and any resource sheet open, the way you will on the day.
3. Mark it and read the worked answers, which come with today's paper once it is marked.

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