UAE announces first-term exam dates for Grades 3 to 12

Abu Dhabi: The UAE Ministry of Education has approved the timetable for first-term examinations for the 2026–2027 academic year, with pupils in Grades 3 to 12 required to attend school in person for exams running from 25 November to 11 December.

The schedule applies to government schools and private schools following the ministry's curriculum, with examinations conducted on paper, electronically or through a combination of both, depending on the subject and grade.

Under the approved timetable, Grade 12 pupils in the general and advanced streams will begin their examinations with mathematics on Wednesday, 25 November, followed by English on 26 November and chemistry on 27 November.

Examinations will resume on Monday, 7 December, with physics, followed by Arabic on 8 December, Islamic Education on 9 December and social studies on 10 December. The two streams will conclude their examinations with biology on Friday, 11 December.

Grade 12 pupils in the applied stream will begin with applied mathematics on 25 November, followed by English on 26 November and applied sciences on 7 December. They will then sit Arabic, Islamic Education and social studies examinations on 8, 9 and 10 December, respectively.

Pupils in the general and advanced streams will sit eight subjects, compared with six in the applied stream.

Mandatory attendance and personal laptops

The ministry has made in-person attendance compulsory for all examinations, requiring pupils to bring their personal laptops to school during the examination period.

Grades 3 and 4 will sit paper-based examinations, while Grades 5 to 12 will take a combination of written and electronic tests, depending on the subject.

Grade 12 pupils enrolled in private schools following the ministry's curriculum must sit all their examinations at government schools, under arrangements coordinated with the ministry's school operations sector.

For Grade 12 English examinations, both the writing and reading components will be conducted electronically. Arabic examinations will combine a paper-based writing component with an electronic reading assessment.

Under the examination guidelines, teachers are prohibited from reading centrally prepared examination questions aloud to pupils, except those in Grade 3.

Teachers supervising Grade 3 examinations may read questions to pupils but must not provide hints or guidance that could reveal the answers.

The ministry has also set 20 November as the deadline for schools to complete and approve student assessment grades for all subjects in Groups A and B, ahead of the first-term examinations.