IB November 2026 Exam Timetable: Dates and Preparation

The final IB Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme November 2026 examination schedule begins on Friday 23 October 2026. It covers examination zones A, B, and C and assigns subjects to morning or afternoon sessions.

Always download the current official schedule and confirm your personal timetable with your DP coordinator. Schools apply the correct examination zone and session arrangements; a blog should not be your final authority for attendance.

Start with the official document

Use the official November 2026 examination schedule. Search for every registered subject and level, then copy the date, session, paper, and duration into one personal table.

Check the table twice. Similar subject names, languages, levels, and papers can appear on different rows. If anything conflicts with school communication, ask the coordinator rather than guessing.

Record durations as well as dates. A day with one short paper requires a different recovery plan from a day containing long sessions. Add the venue and required arrival time only from school communication, since the published IB schedule does not replace local instructions.

Turn dates into a preparation map

Count backwards from each first paper:

• Eight to six weeks: syllabus audit and focused topic repair
• Five to three weeks: timed sections and complete papers
• Final two weeks: error-log revision and practice based on the real paper order
• Final 48 hours: light retrieval, equipment, sleep, and logistics

The November 2026 revision guide explains what to do in each block.

Plan for paper clusters

Mark any subjects with papers on consecutive days or in adjacent sessions. Complete the heavy relearning for those subjects early; the gap between papers should be reserved for retrieval, error reminders, and maintaining confidence.

Subjects with a longer interval can use a maintenance plan: one short retrieval session after the earlier paper, then a focused return before the next.

Colour-code the personal table by preparation state, not by favourite subject. A cluster containing two weak papers needs earlier repair. A secure subject in the same cluster needs brief maintenance so it does not absorb time that another course requires.

Time-zone and session rules

Do not infer a local start time from “morning” or “afternoon” on a copied timetable. Your school communicates the required arrival time and applies IB scheduling requirements for its examination zone.

An examination cannot simply be moved for personal convenience. Raise clashes, access arrangements, illness, or exceptional circumstances with the coordinator as early as possible.

Build an exam-day handover note

For each subject, prepare a short page with permitted equipment, recurring errors, command-term reminders, formula or data booklet navigation points, and the first action you will take during reading time. This is not a miniature textbook. Its purpose is to move calmly from one paper to the next without searching across months of notes.

After a paper, avoid a long answer comparison if another examination is close. Record any practical issue that the coordinator must know, then switch to the next planned subject. The completed paper can no longer earn more revision time.

Final-week checklist

• Confirm every date, session, venue, and required arrival time with the school.
• Prepare permitted calculators, writing equipment, identification, and other approved materials.
• Check calculator mode, charge, and required reset arrangements.
• Use only permitted reference material.
• Plan transport with a buffer.
• Stop revision at a defined time the evening before each paper.

If two papers are close together, pack the materials for both before leaving home and keep food, water, medication, and rest arrangements consistent with school rules. Do not experiment with a new sleep schedule, study supplement, or intensive overnight session during the examination period.

The timetable is a constraint, not a study method. Its value is that it tells you when each skill must be ready and where recovery time is scarce. Convert it into a realistic sequence now, then update the plan whenever your school issues new instructions.