Appeals policy
Last updated: August 2026
If you think an assessment decision or a result is wrong, you can appeal.
Appealing will never count against you. It will not affect your standing with Northgate Skills Centre or any other assessment you take with us. There is no charge for appealing a decision made by this centre.
1. What you can appeal
- an assessment decision, on the basis that procedures were not applied consistently or fairly;
- a test or assessment result;
- a decision to cancel a test attempt (for example after a problem during a remote sitting);
- a decision not to apply a reasonable adjustment or special consideration;
- a decision about cheating or an admin error that affects you.
If your concern is about the service (how you were treated, facilities, administration), that is a complaint. See our complaints procedure.
2. How to lodge an appeal
You have 20 working days from the assessment decision to lodge an appeal. Keep your course or qualification evidence until you receive a final decision.
Email hello@demo.skillcertify.co.uk with the subject “Appeal”, or use the fields below as the body of that email (this is the centre’s appeals form):
- your full name and candidate or booking reference;
- the date of the decision you are appealing;
- the qualification or assessment;
- your grounds (what was not followed, or what was missed);
- the outcome you want;
- any evidence you want considered.
3. What we do next
These are the centre's appeal stages and timeframes:
| Stage | Who acts | When |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledge | Centre | Within 5 working days after receipt |
| Initial review | Centre review team | Aim to finish within 10 working days after receipt; we will explain any delay and give you a new date |
| Stage 1 | Assessor who made the decision | Within 5 working days of you raising the appeal |
| Stage 2 | Second, independent assessor | Handover within 24 hours of you raising the concern; written outcome within 5 working days of receipt |
| Stage 3 | GQA Qualifications | Tell us within 10 working days of the Stage 2 decision; we submit it under GQA's current policy |
The original assessor does not decide their own appeal at Stage 2. We will explain any centre-stage delay and give you a new date.
4. After GQA
We submit the appeal to GQA Qualifications. We will give you GQA’s current policy, including its deadlines and any fee, alongside our outcome.
After the awarding organisation, you can escalate to Ofqual in England, or the equivalent regulator in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Regulators consider whether procedures were followed, not a re-mark of your work.
5. Our records
We keep a record of every appeal, its outcome and any change we made, and we make those records available to GQA and the regulator on request.
Who we are
This policy belongs to Northgate Skills Centre Ltd, trading as Northgate Skills Centre, of Unit 4, Millbrook Business Park, Canal Road, Leeds LS99 4NG. Our customer policies and notices are listed at Customer information.