If your IGCSE exams have been cancelled and replaced with a Portfolio of Evidence process, you probably have a lot of questions. What exactly is a portfolio? What goes into it? How will it be marked? And — most urgently — what should you be doing right now?

This guide answers all of those questions. It is written specifically for students in the Gulf region whose Cambridge IGCSE or Pearson Edexcel International GCSE exams for the May/June 2026 series have been moved to an alternative assessment pathway.

The short message is this: your knowledge still matters, and it is still being assessed. The method has changed, but the standard has not. Students who treat the portfolio process seriously — who gather strong evidence and continue studying — will receive grades that genuinely reflect their ability.

Free tool: Use Tutopiya’s Free Portfolio of Evidence Builder to organise your evidence (mocks, coursework/NEA, class tests, teacher-authenticated tasks) and export a clean CSV/PDF index for your teachers or exams team.

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What Is a Portfolio of Evidence?

A Portfolio of Evidence is a structured collection of academic work that your school submits to the exam board in place of traditional written exam papers. Rather than demonstrating your knowledge in a three-hour exam hall sitting, you demonstrate it through work you have already produced across the academic year — combined, in many cases, with assessments your school runs during the contingency period.

Cambridge International’s Definition

Cambridge International defines the Portfolio of Evidence as a body of work that demonstrates a student’s knowledge, skills and understanding against the syllabus learning objectives. Cambridge provides specific guidance to exam centres (schools) on what types of work are acceptable, how evidence should be authenticated, and how to submit the portfolio.

For the June 2026 series, Cambridge has published syllabus-by-syllabus guidance on its official Portfolio of Evidence hub. Each subject has slightly different requirements — the portfolio for IGCSE Biology will look different from the one for IGCSE English Language — but the underlying principle is the same: collect authenticated evidence of your understanding and submit it through your school.

Pearson Edexcel’s Contingency Process

Pearson Edexcel uses slightly different terminology, calling it a contingency assessment process, but the substance is the same. For International GCSE subjects, Pearson has published centre guidance explaining how schools collect and submit evidence when the standard exam series cannot run. Pearson’s process involves:

• Schools gathering evidence of student performance from the academic year
• Teachers authenticating that work (confirming it is the student’s own)
• Centres submitting evidence packages to Pearson’s moderation teams
• Pearson moderators reviewing samples to ensure consistency of grading

Both Cambridge and Pearson place responsibility on schools — your teachers and exams officers are the ones who submit everything. Your job is to make sure the work you have produced is as strong as possible, and that you help your school gather what they need.

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What Goes Into a Portfolio of Evidence?

The exact contents depend on your subject and which exam board you are entered with — always follow your school’s specific instructions. However, across both Cambridge and Pearson, portfolios typically draw from the following types of evidence:

1. Mock Examination Results

Your school mock exams are likely to be a central piece of evidence. If you sat a formal mock exam earlier in the year under exam conditions, your school will have a marked paper with a score. This is exactly the kind of controlled, structured assessment that portfolio processes rely on most heavily.

What to do: Ask your exams officer or subject teacher whether your mock papers have been retained and marked. If your school runs additional mock assessments during the portfolio period, treat them with the same seriousness as a real exam.

2. Coursework and Non-Exam Assessments (NEAs)

Many IGCSE subjects already include a coursework or Non-Exam Assessment component — lab reports for sciences, orals for languages, investigations for maths. Any coursework you have already completed and submitted to your school contributes to the portfolio.

What to do: Confirm with each subject teacher that your coursework has been submitted, marked, and recorded. If any coursework is incomplete, this is the time to prioritise completing it.

3. Class Tests and End-of-Unit Assessments

Formal class tests run by your teachers throughout the year can be included as evidence. These differ from homework in that they are completed under supervised conditions and are teacher-marked against a mark scheme.

What to do: If your school has not yet run formal class assessments for the portfolio, they may do so shortly. Prepare for these exactly as you would for the real exam — revise the topic, practise past paper questions, and go in ready to perform.

4. Teacher-Authenticated Work

In some circumstances, particularly for subjects where direct assessment evidence is limited, teachers may prepare structured tasks — essays, problem sets, lab practicals — and authenticate them as evidence of your performance.

Authentication means your teacher signs and dates the work, confirms it was completed under appropriate conditions, and records that it is genuinely your own. This is an important check in the portfolio process: exam boards take authentication seriously, and any unverified or suspect work will not be accepted.

What to do: Never submit work that is not your own. If a teacher asks you to complete an assessed task for portfolio purposes, do it honestly and to the best of your ability. The grade you earn on that task may directly influence your final certificate grade.

5. Predicted Grades Documentation

Your school will likely produce a formal predicted grade for each subject, supported by the evidence above. This predicted grade reflects your teacher’s professional assessment of where your performance is heading, informed by everything they have seen of your work across the year.

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How Cambridge Examiners Mark and Moderate Portfolios

Cambridge does not simply take your teacher’s word for your grade. The portfolio process involves a moderation system designed to ensure consistency and fairness across all centres.

Here is how it works:

Stage 1: Teacher Assessment

Your subject teacher reviews all the evidence in your portfolio and assigns a grade — typically using the same mark schemes and grade boundary information they would use for any internal assessment.

Stage 2: Centre Standardisation

Within your school, teachers will moderate each other’s assessments to ensure consistency. A teacher who has assessed too generously or too strictly will be calibrated against their colleagues.

Stage 3: External Moderation by Cambridge

Cambridge’s external moderators select a sample of portfolios from your school. They review the work and marks, checking that your school’s assessments align with Cambridge’s standards. If there is a systematic discrepancy — for example, if your school has consistently marked too high — Cambridge will apply a statistical adjustment.

This is why your individual performance matters: a strong portfolio from you, assessed against clear mark schemes, is more likely to survive moderation adjustments accurately than a weak one.

Stage 4: Grade Award

Cambridge’s senior examiners review grade statistics across the moderated cohort and make final grade awards. The process aims to be equivalent in rigor and validity to the traditional exam-based grading process.

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Pearson’s Contingency Process: How Schools Submit Evidence

Pearson Edexcel’s contingency process follows a similar structure to Cambridge’s, with some differences in process:

• Centre evidence packs: Schools submit a structured evidence pack for each student, organised by subject. Pearson provides templates and guidance for how this should be arranged.
• Teacher-assessed grades (TAGs): Pearson asks teachers to determine a TAG for each student, supported by the evidence in the pack. TAGs are the teacher’s best professional judgement of the grade the student would have achieved in a standard exam.
• Quality assurance: Pearson’s team reviews evidence packs and TAGs to check for consistency and accuracy. Schools that deviate significantly from expected grade distributions may face additional scrutiny.
• Appeals process: Both students and schools can appeal Pearson’s final grades if they believe the moderation process produced an inaccurate result.

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Your Practical Checklist: What to Gather Right Now

Use this checklist immediately. Work through it subject by subject.

For Every Subject:

• Locate all class test papers from this academic year (get copies from your teacher if needed)
• Confirm your mock exam paper has been marked and recorded — ask your subject teacher
• Ensure all coursework/NEA components have been submitted and marked
• Check with your teacher whether any additional assessed tasks will be set for portfolio purposes — and prepare for them
• Keep digital and physical copies of all your returned marked work

For Specific Subjects:

Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics):

• Ensure all lab reports are complete and submitted
• Gather results from any practical assessments
• Prepare for possible class-based practical tests

English Language:

• Directed writing and essay tasks from across the year
• Any teacher-marked reading comprehension assessments

Mathematics:

• All marked class tests and mocks
• Any investigative or problem-solving tasks set by your teacher

Languages (French, Spanish, etc.):

• Oral/speaking assessment records
• Written compositions and teacher-marked tasks

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Study Tips When Exams Are Replaced by Portfolio Assessment

Many students make the mistake of thinking that because the exam has been cancelled, there is no need to keep studying. This is exactly wrong. Here is why studying harder than ever is the right response.

Your Knowledge Is Still Being Assessed

Every class test, every teacher-set task, every mock assessment in the portfolio period is a direct opportunity to demonstrate what you know. A student who spent the weeks before the portfolio deadline revising intensively will perform measurably better on these assessments than one who stopped working.

Teachers Are Still Assessing You

Your predicted grades and teacher assessments are not arbitrary. Teachers observe your performance in class, on assessed tasks, and on any school-run assessments during the portfolio period. If you disengage and your performance drops, it will be noticed — and reflected.

Universities and the Future Still Expect Competence

If you are going on to A-Levels, IB, or further study, the knowledge you are supposed to have at IGCSE level is the foundation for what comes next. The cancellation of your exams does not cancel the need for that foundation. Gaps now become problems later.

Practical Study Tips for Portfolio Period:

1. Maintain your revision schedule. Keep studying as if exams were still happening — because in a real sense, they are, just in a different format.

2. Focus on understanding, not memorisation. Portfolio assessments and teacher-set tasks often assess application and explanation, not just recall.

3. Use past papers. Past paper practice remains the single best way to prepare for any IGCSE assessment, including portfolio-period class tests.

4. Ask for feedback. Teachers are in a position to give you more direct feedback during a portfolio period than in exam prep. Use this. Ask what is missing from your work, what would lift it to the next grade.

5. Study in timed conditions. If your school is running assessed tasks, practise under timed, quiet conditions so you are ready.

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How Tutopiya Tutors Help You Build Stronger Evidence

A Tutopiya tutor can transform your portfolio of evidence from average to outstanding. Here is how:

Targeted Subject Support

Our tutors work through your specific IGCSE syllabus topics, identifying gaps and consolidating understanding. Every tutoring session you complete is directly building the knowledge base that will appear in your portfolio assessments.

Mock Assessment Practice

We can run mock exam sessions that replicate the conditions of your school’s assessed tasks — timed, structured, and marked. This is exactly the kind of practice that translates directly into stronger portfolio performance.

Coursework Review

If you have outstanding coursework or teacher-set tasks to complete, a tutor can guide you through the requirements, explain the mark scheme criteria, and help you produce work that meets the top grade descriptors.

Predicted Grade Optimisation

Teachers base their predicted grades on your body of work. A concentrated period of high-quality tutoring can produce noticeable improvement in your assessed performance — and therefore in the grade your teacher can honestly assign.

👉 Find your IGCSE tutor now

👉 Browse all Tutopiya courses and subjects

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My school hasn’t told me much about the portfolio. What should I do? Ask your form tutor or subject teachers directly: “What evidence is being collected for my portfolio, and what class assessments will I need to sit?” If answers are unclear, ask your exams officer. Schools are receiving guidance from exam boards now.

Q: Will my portfolio grade be the same as what I would have scored in the real exam? Not necessarily identical, but the grading process is designed to be equivalent in standard. Cambridge and Pearson apply moderation to ensure consistency. Students who know their material thoroughly tend to achieve grades that accurately reflect their ability.

Q: Can I submit extra work to improve my portfolio? Only through your school — you cannot submit work directly to the exam board. Talk to your teacher about whether additional assessed tasks are planned.

Q: What if I didn’t do well on my mocks? Mocks are one component of the portfolio, not the only one. Class tests, coursework, and additional teacher-set assessments are also included. Focus now on performing as well as possible on everything that comes next.

Q: Is it worth getting a tutor at this stage? Absolutely. The portfolio period is exactly when targeted tutoring has the greatest impact — because improvement in your performance now translates directly into the grades submitted to the exam board.

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The portfolio of evidence process feels unfamiliar, but it is a fair and rigorous system designed by the world’s leading exam boards to assess your knowledge when traditional exams cannot run. Your job is simple: keep working, gather your evidence, and perform your best on every assessment your school sets.

The students who thrive in this process are the ones who treat it seriously. Be one of them.

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