2026 BECE: Everything you need to know, including cut-off points

The 2026 BECE, which is the final examination for students in Basic 9, will be a special examination administered by WAEC from May 4th to May 11, 2026. This update will provide detailed and useful information on the newly released timetable, the new school choice selection mode, and mocks to download for free to help candidates prepare for the BECE. It also includes top mocks for sale to help students become super-ready for BECE excellence, as well as useful BECE preparation links and pages, among others. In this detailed write-up, we also discuss the subjects to be administered, the BECE cutoff points for 2026, and sample BECE questions and answers.

It is projected by Education-News Consult that the 2026 BECE will be written by at least 600,000 candidates across the country.

All You Need to Know About the 2026 BECE

2026 BECE Exam Date The 2026 BECE will be held by WAEC from 4th May to 11th May 2026. Candidates are to write two subjects each day from Monday to Friday, while a final subject—Arabic—will be written on Monday, the last day of the exam. This will be the second time WAEC will carry out the BECE over six days instead of the usual five.

The 2026 examination will be the third to be written using the 2019 Common Core Curriculum released by NaCCA for use by the Ghana Education Service.

New 2026 BECE Exam Timetable WAEC is yet to release the final 2026 BECE timetable to schools. However, candidates will be expected to write Social Studies and Computing on day one of the exam.

In March 2026, the West African Examinations Council released a new timetable that paired English Language with Religious and Moral Education for May 4, 2026. These two papers will usher students into the 2026 exam year on that Monday. Below is the full timetable.

WAEC BECE 2026 Final Timetable: Basic Education Certificate Examination (School & Private)

School Selection Process: Key Changes for 2026 BECE

Until March 2026, every student, teacher, school, and candidate understood that final-year students would select the second-cycle schools they wished to be placed in before sitting for their BECE.

However, the Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, and the Ministry have disclosed that, effective from the 2026 BECE, all candidates will now choose their schools after the release of the BECE results.

A Welcome Development

This is welcome news for students, schools, teachers, and parents alike. This shift offers stakeholders a chance to think through their choices more carefully, as they will have the advantage of knowing their actual performance before finalizing their selections.

Reducing Placement Stress

This new policy is expected to help candidates avoid the stressful self-placement system and the frequent disappointments associated with not being placed in a preferred school.

Pending Clarifications

While this change is positive, several details remain to be clarified. These include:

• The specific modalities for school selection under the new timing.

• The rules and guidelines that will govern the choice-making process.

• The cutoff points (both in terms of grades and raw scores) as they relate to post-result school selection.

You can test your chances of being placed in any set of schools by simulating your grades and raw scores then see the schools that will be available for you to choose from on skulmanager.com/shschoices/welcome.php

The new curriculum includes three new subjects, with two of them being created from the previous Basic Design and Technology course. These two new subjects are creative arts and design and career technology.

Since 2024, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become computing due to the vast changes made to the curriculum.

1. As students prepare for the BECE, they can take online tests here.
2. Schools can also apply for our special school mock services here
3. Parents can enrol their wards for our novel BECE Home Mock services here.    

BECE NACCA/WAEC-type of mocks and answers for BECE

2026 NEW BECE MOCK QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Schools, teachers, and parents can help their students prepare for the BECE with the top-class mock questions from Education-News Consult.

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2026 RELEVANT MOCK QUESTIONS FOR BECE PREPARATION—BUY HERE NOW

2024 RELEVANT MOCK QUESTIONS FOR 2026 BECE PREPARATION – Buy

2025 RELEVANT MOCK QUESTIONS FOR BECE PREPARATION—BUY HERE NOW

Which Curriculums will be used to access both school and private BECE candidates in 2026?

The 2026 BECE will also see WAEC administer only one set of exam questions to all BECE candidates. In the recent past, two different sets of BECE questions were administered at the same time.

While school candidates from public and private schools will be examined based on the new curriculum, those who sat and failed the 2023 BECE and earlier exams were administered questions set from the old curriculum in the past.

But in 2026, those who failed the 2024 and 2025 BECE and want to resit the BECE will be administered the same questions as those of the 2026 school candidates. This means WAEC will administer the same question to all BECE candidates in 2026.

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Sample BECE Questions From NaCCA

NaCCA released the first set of sample questions for the BECE in 2024 based on the Common Core Curriculum.

Check all the available SAMPLE 2024 BECE questions, which are very relevant to the next BECE candidates, from the following sources:

• BUY NACCA/WAEC-type of mocks and answers for BECE here – Buy
• 2024 BECE Social Studies Sample Questions Released
• 2024 BECE English Language Sample Questions From GES and NaCCA
• 2024 BECE Integrated Science Sample Questions from GES & NaCCA
• 2024 BECE Mathematics Sample Questions Released
• Download 2024 BECE Sample Questions From GES and MoE

Subjects WAEC will administer during 2026 BECE

In the 2026 BECE, the new Common Core Curriculum will require students to answer practical questions or questions that require the application of knowledge and critical thinking, as was the case in 2024 and 2025.

The new Common Core Curriculum calls for writing in the following subjects:

1. English Language
2. Mathematics
3. Social Studies
4. Religious and Moral Education
5. Integrated Science
6. Computing
7. Creative Art and Design
8. Career Technology.
9. French Language
10. Ghanaian Language
11. Arabic

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While students writing the new Common Core Curriculum exam will write up to 10 subjects, a total of 11 subjects will be administered. Students will not write less than 9 subjects in the exam.

The examination is expected to have the following types of questions:

1. Direct questions (For Private BECE candidates only)
2. Application questions (For School BECE candidates registered by public and private schools only)
3. Questions that demand critical thinking (For School BECE candidates registered by public and private schools only)
4. Logic reasoning (For School BECE candidates registered by public and private schools only)

Fortunately, WAEC and the NaCCA have finally released sample questions for schools, teachers, students, and parents.

Schools that need excellent examination questions, just like those released by WAEC and NaCCA, can contact Education-News Consult for external mock examination questions and answers to help test their students with the various forms of examination questions outlined above.

READ: Juaben Model JHS unveiled in trending video by MoE and GES

Due to the possible examination of students’ application questions, critical thinking or reasoning questions, as well as logic reasoning questions, schools and teachers must also do well to teach their candidates how to answer such questions. This will help improve the question-answering skills of learners ahead of the BECE.

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1. What is the 2026 BECE Grading System?

   At the end of the marking process, WAEC applies its official grading system to determine the grade a candidate has earned, ranging from 1 to 9. Generally, grades from 1 to 5 are considered the best for ensuring a student easily gains admission into a Senior High School (SHS). As a rule of thumb: the smaller the grade, the better the performance.

   To merit placement into a secondary school, a student’s performance is assessed based on two key groups of subjects:

   1. The Core Subjects

   These are the fundamental subjects that every BECE candidate must excel in to increase their chances of being placed in their school and program of choice. The core subjects are:

   • English Language

   • Social Studies

   • Mathematics * Integrated Science

   Note: A student who obtains Grade 9 in either Mathematics or English Language will not be placed in any school, regardless of how well they performed in all other subjects. The scores and grades from these four core subjects are the first to be considered when calculating final aggregates and total raw scores.

   2. Elective/Additional Subjects

   Once the core subjects are accounted for, the two next best grades from the remaining subjects are added to the four core subjects. Together, these six subjects determine the student’s total raw score and final aggregate.

   ---

   2026 BECE Grading Scale (Stanine System)

   Below is the grading breakdown for the 2026 BECE. Candidates should aim for the highest marks to secure their future placements.

   Score Range	Grade	Description
   90 – 100	1	Highest
   80 – 89	2	Higher
   70 – 79	3	High
   60 – 69	4	High Average
   55 – 59	5	Average
   50 – 54	6	Low Average
   40 – 49	7	Low
   35 – 39	8	Lower
   0 – 34	9	Lowest

   BECE Cutoff Points for the 2026 Examination

   While the Ministry of Education has technically removed the “fixed” cutoff point (which used to be an aggregate of 25 or 30), candidates should be aware of “hidden” cutoff points that determine placement into competitive schools.

   Key 2026 Cutoff Trends:

   1. The Grade 9 Automatic Disqualification: Students who obtain Grade 9 in English or Mathematics will not be placed in any secondary school, even if they obtain Grade 1s in all other subjects.

   2. Category A Schools: To be safely placed in a Category A school, candidates should aim for a total raw score of at least 400.

   3. Category B Schools: A raw score of not less than 350 is generally required for placement in a Category B school.

   4. Boarding vs. Day Constraints: Candidates who only choose “Boarding” options may be cut off during the placement process if boarding slots are full, even if “Day” slots are still available at that same school.

READ: Buy NaCCA/WAEC Type of Questions May 2024 BECE Mock

The scenarios mentioned above, along with several other factors, serve as critical BECE cutoff points for candidates preparing for the 2026 examination. To navigate these challenges successfully, parents must carefully consider a variety of factors and seek professional suggestions from teachers and school administrators. Taking these steps will help students avoid the pitfalls of the placement system.

The 2026 BECE is just around the corner. We believe that the insights shared in this update—including the new school placement policy from the Ministry of Education, the detailed grading system, and the critical cutoff point warnings—will go a long way in helping all stakeholders understand the 2026 BECE inside and out. Keeping abreast of these changes is the best way to ensure academic success and a smooth transition to senior high school.

Source: Ghanaeducationnews.org