The Department began collecting information in sufficient detail to answer this question in 2002-03. No comparable data are available for previous years. The information in the table covers the combined costs of all relevant examination entry fees, including GCSEs, A/AS-levels and GNVQs, and any accreditation costs related to pupils. We do not collect separate data on each type of exam.
Financial year Examination fees (E21)1 (£)2 2002-03 155,611,000 2003-04 173,843,000 2004-05 198,227,000 2005-06 220,056,000 2006-07 240,861,000 2007-083 265,305,000 1 Includes expenditure by local authority maintained schools in England on the costs of examination entry fees, and costs of accreditation related to pupils (the payments centres make to awarding bodies to register with them to take their qualification). This includes GCSEs, A/AS-levels and GNVQs and covers administrative costs e.g. external marking; it excludes the cost of exam resources, such as the test papers themselves. 2 Figures are rounded to the nearest £000. 3 2007-08 data remain provisional and subject to change. Source: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/localauthorities/section52/subPage.cfm?action=section52.default&ID=58 (Budget Data Archive)