Exams and boards
CBSE Class 10 two board exams in 2027: how they work and how to plan
CBSE Class 10 now has a main board exam in February and an optional second exam in May. What the rules mean for your child, and how to plan the year around them.
By the Qlive team. . 5 min read.
From 2026, CBSE holds the Class 10 board exams twice a year. Parents often hear this as “two chances, so less pressure”, and it is partly true. But the details matter, and planning as if the second exam were the real one is the most common mistake. This guide covers how the system works and how to plan Class 10 around it, whether your child is in India or in a CBSE school in the Gulf.
How the two exams work
| First exam | Second exam | |
|---|---|---|
| When | From mid-February | May |
| Who sits it | Every Class 10 student | Students who want to improve |
| Subjects | All subjects | Up to three, from science, maths, social science and languages |
| Results | Around April | Around June |
The rules that matter most:
- The first exam is compulsory. Every student sits it, in every subject.
- The second exam is optional and limited. A student can reappear in up to three subjects, from science, maths, social science and languages.
- The better mark counts. If your child sits a subject twice, the higher of the two marks goes on the final result.
- Internal assessment happens once. Practicals, projects and internal marks are done before the main exams, not repeated.
- Missing too much of the first exam closes the second. A student who does not appear in three or more subjects in the first exam cannot take the second one.
Exact dates and finer rules are announced each year, so check the latest circulars on cbse.gov.in and what your child’s school tells you.
Plan for February
The second exam sits in May, when Class 11 has already started in many schools, and particularly in the Gulf, where the new school year starts in April. A child preparing for a May retake is studying Class 10 maths while Class 11 begins around them. That is hard, and it eats into the start of a new stage.
So plan the whole year as if February were the only exam. Treat May as a safety net for one or two subjects that went badly, not as a second attempt at everything.
What to do this term (October to December)
- Finish the syllabus with the school. Many CBSE schools aim to finish Class 10 teaching by the end of the calendar year, leaving January for pre-boards and revision.
- Find the weak chapters now. Look at the half-yearly paper chapter by chapter. Which chapters lost the most marks? Those are the ones to fix before January.
- Weigh chapters by marks. Not every chapter is worth the same. In maths, for example, algebra carries 20 of the 80 theory marks and geometry 15. Time spent should follow the marks.
- Write answers, not just read them. Timed practice with past papers is what turns understanding into marks.
If your child needs help with particular chapters rather than a whole year of classes, the Qlive Grade 10 crash course lets you pick chapters of maths or science, one-to-one with a teacher, and shows the sessions and fee before you book.
January and February
Pre-boards in January are the best rehearsal there is. Treat each one like the real exam, then spend the days after it fixing what went wrong rather than starting another paper straight away. Our month-by-month Class 10 plan has the full year, and the revision timetable guide helps with the last weeks.
After the results, in April
If the first-exam marks in one or two subjects are well below what your child can do, the May exam is worth it. Decide quickly, register through the school, and keep the revision narrow: the chapters that lost marks, with timed practice. If the marks are fine, let the second exam go and give Class 11 a proper start.