ICSE exams to start from February 18, ISC from February 13

The ICSE (Class X) exams will start on February 18 and the ISC (Class XII) exams on February 13, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) announced on Monday evening.

The ICSE and ISC exams will end on March 27 and April 5, respectively. The Class X boards will start with the English language paper and the school-leaving exams with environmental science.

“There will be 25 per cent critical thinking and application-based questions in both ICSE and ISC exams. We have announced the schedule now so the students and schools have ample time to prepare for the exams,” Joseph Emmanuel, chief executive and secretary, CISCE, told Metro over the phone.

The council has also said the results of both exams will be declared in May.

In all, 1,00,067 students from 1,461 schools have registered for ISC 2025 and 2,53,384 students from 2,803 schools for ICSE 2025, the council said.

The council had earlier announced that the ISC practical exams would be held between October 1, 2024, and January 31, 2025.

“The announcement of the exam timetable puts students on track and they get serious about their preparations. They now know the number of gap days they have before an examination and can make their individualised study plan,” said Terence John, director of education, Julien Day Group of Schools.

Principals said there is an additional focus on CCTV surveillance during the exams.

“It may be noted that all the candidates appearing for the examination along with the supervisory staff present in the examination hall/room will be under CCTV camera surveillance during the examination,” the council has said.