ICSE (Class 10) board exams are set to start an hour earlier from 2027, at 10 AM instead of 11 AM, according to a report in The Telegraph quoting sources in the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). The council has not yet published a notice or the 2027 timetable, so this is not official until it does.
“The change in ICSE timing will be implemented from 2027, and the exam will start at 10am,” a council source told the newspaper. No change has been reported for ISC (Class 12), which starts at 2 PM.
What would change on exam day
| ICSE paper | As reported for 2027 |
|---|---|
| Exam start and reading time | 10 AM (first 15 minutes for reading the paper) |
| Writing begins | 10:15 AM |
| Two-hour paper ends | 12:15 PM |
| Three-hour paper ends | 1:15 PM |
Students and parents should plan for an earlier morning. The exact reporting time will be in CISCE’s instructions and on the admit card.
Why the council is moving it
The reason is the gap between the two sessions held in the same school, not the gap between a student’s own papers. Many schools run the ICSE paper in the morning and the ISC paper in the afternoon. ISC candidates have to be seated by 1:30 PM for reading time at 1:45 PM, so schools said they had little time to clear the halls and prepare, especially on days with three-hour Class 10 papers such as Hindi and Mathematics. A council source called the transition a “pain point” for schools.
The earlier start has a knock-on effect: schools would need to collect question papers from banks between 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM, the report said.
What students should do now
Nothing changes in what you study. Watch for the official 2027 timetable on cisce.org, which will confirm the timing. Students who usually do their best revision late at night may want to start shifting their routine towards earlier mornings. For past papers and specimen papers, see the ICSE and ISC page on AglaSem Schools.
Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata), 4 November 2026, quoting CISCE sources and school principals. CISCE had not published an official notice when this story was written.
