Start with the rules for your exact GCE coursework component before using generative AI. SEAB’s 2026 secondary GCE rules prohibit plagiarism and identify submitting work that is not your own effort or failing to acknowledge sources, including generative AI tools, as examples. Your syllabus and coursework instructions may impose more specific limits.
Permission and acknowledgement are separate checks. Find out whether the tool or type of assistance is allowed for that task. If it is allowed, follow the instructions for documenting it and ensure that the submitted work reflects your own effort.
- Open the coursework instructions for your subject, component and year.
- Check whether the proposed help or tool is permitted.
- Keep a record of permitted sources and assistance.
- Ask your coursework supervisor before using a tool when the rule is unclear.
Read the component instructions first
Find the exact subject code and assessment component. Look for instructions about independent work, teacher guidance, external sources and authenticity declarations. If general guidance and the task instructions differ in detail, ask your supervisor which requirements apply to the task.
A student might want a tool to suggest questions, rewrite paragraphs or generate an image. Describe the exact activity when asking for clarification. A rule about one kind of assistance does not settle the others.
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Keep your own work traceable
Keep the sources you actually consulted and a record of how you developed the work. If the task permits outside help and specifies a disclosure, record the information in the required form. Ask your supervisor what to retain if you have already used a tool and are unsure how the rules apply.
For example, if a task permits consulting external material, a student can note which source informed an idea and what they did with it. The student should check the required acknowledgement format and make sure the final explanation is their own.
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Check before reusing an earlier project
SEAB’s 2026 secondary GCE rules also prohibit submitting any part of coursework previously submitted for an examination, and prohibit using the same coursework in whole or in part for more than one paper. Check with your supervisor before adapting an old project.
Where the task requires an authenticity declaration, read it before signing and ask about any uncertainty. Keep a copy of the approved instructions so you can check them as the work develops.
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Frequently asked questions
Does citing AI make every use acceptable?
Check whether the use is permitted first. Then follow the required acknowledgement and authenticity rules.
Do the same instructions apply to every A-Level or SEC subject?
Use the rules and syllabus for the exact qualification, subject and year. This guide explains the general point using the 2026 secondary GCE rules.
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Official information
Consult SEAB’s 2026 Rules and Regulations for GCE N(A), N(T) and O-Level candidates, especially sections 3.3 and 3.4, and the applicable subject syllabus. Guidance checked on 8 November 2026.