Most A-Level and GCSE exams will be delayed by three weeks next summer due to the coronavirus crisis, the Government has announced.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said exams would go ahead in 2021 but pupils would be given more time to prepare after months away from the classroom following school closures.
Summer exams will start on 7 June and end on 2 July for almost all AS/A levels and GCSEs.
A-Level students will get their results on 24 August, with GCSEs on 27 August - allowing students to start the academic year as normal.
Exams were cancelled this summer to due the pandemic - leading to chaos for students whose marks were downgraded by an algorithm.
Amid a public outcry, the Government was forced to make a humiliating u-turn and allow students to keep their teacher-predicted grades.
Announcing the plans, Mr Williamson said: “Fairness to pupils is my priority, and will continue to be at the forefront of every decision we take in the lead up to exams next summer.
"Exams are the fairest way of judging a student’s performance so they will go ahead, underpinned by contingency measures developed in partnership with the sector.
“Students have experienced considerable disruption and it’s right we give them, and their teachers, the certainty that exams will go ahead and more time to prepare."
Under the plans, one maths and one English GCSE exam will be held before the May half-term to allow Year 11 pupils affected by the virus more chances to get their qualifications in the core subjects.
The Department for Education said further detail would come on the plans later in the autumn.
Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green welcomed the delay to exams but said schools should have been given more time to prepare.
“A delay is necessary but not enough to make exams fair for all," she said.
“The government must ensure that every pupil gets the support they need to catch up, and that they look at other possibilities to make exams fairer.”
Education unions warned last week that moving the timing of exams back slightly was unlikely to make any significant difference following the vast gulf in learning experiences between pupils.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said a "compression" of the exam series could hit student wellbeing.
He said: "Announcing a delay is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the planning that now needs to be done.
"This step does not address the disparity between different student's different levels of disruption to learning; much more needs to be done to ensure that the qualification system takes account of this so that students can have confidence that the grades they are awarded in 2021 are fair."
Dr Mary Bousted, of the National Education Union, said it was "unrealistic and unfair" after the disruption to their schooling.
She said: “Today’s announcement is yet another appalling example of political ideology trumping practical reality.
"It demonstrates that this is not a government which is interested in levelling up because the impact of these decisions will impact most severely on the most disadvantaged."
Dr Bousted called for a broader range of topics in exams to give students a fairer chance.
She added: "If government will not reconsider and change its mind quickly, members tell us that exams, even with greater optionality, are no longer tenable.
"In which case, the only route to fairness would be a complete cancellation of exams and the use of robustly moderated, externally quality-assured teacher judgements.”