While exams next summer have been cancelled in maintained schools in Wales, independent, fee-paying schools say they still plan to run GCSEs, AS and A levels.
Independent schools confirmed they will continue preparing their pupils for exams in the summer and will carry on running mock exams.
Many of the independent schools in Wales already run England's A levels and England's number-graded GCSEs, either solely or alongside those from Wales' exam board the WJEC.
England has announced it is holding GCSEs and A levels but three weeks later than usual. In Wales exams have been replaced by assessments in maintained schools to be fairer to those who have missed varying amounts of school during the pandemic.
None of the Wales series of exams will run in summer 2021, Education Minister Kirsty Williams announced last week.
She said it would not be a level playing field to run GCSEs, AS and A levels after so much disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and some pupils missing more school than others.
That leaves Wales as the only one of the four UK nations not running A levels or equivalent.
England will run GCSEs and A level exams in summer 2021, but three weeks later than usual.
Scotland will not hold exams for its National 5 qualification - its equivalent to GCSEs - and will instead award grades using a new system of school assessments. Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers, equivalent of A-levels, will be delayed. A-level, AS and GCSE exams in Northern Ireland will start one week later in 2021 but will still finish by June 30.
Monmouth School for Boys, Monmouth School for Girls, Howell's School, Llandaff, and Rydal Penrhos in Colwyn Bay, all confirmed their pupils will take exams if they do go ahead. But the head of Rydal Penrhos warned that they may again be disrupted and urged pupils not to assume they can just revise at the last minute in case the situation changes.
They are among other private schools across Wales which opted to run England's GCSEs and A levels several years ago when qualifications in Wales changed.
In a joint statement Simon Dorman, Headmaster at Monmouth School for Boys and Jessica Miles, Headmistress at Monmouth School for Girls, said the decision not to run Wales' exam series only affects two exams their schools run.
They said: "We are aware of the announcement from the Welsh Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, and have been in touch with our pupils and their parents.
“Our students only take two Welsh Board A level subjects - Business and Economics – in addition to Level 2 Additional Maths. We understand that there will be classroom-based assessments for these subjects starting in the Lent term
“The majority of our A Level and GCSE examinations are set by English examination boards.
“At present, the English government is still suggesting that examinations will be held in the summer term but that they may be delayed by three weeks. We will, therefore, continue to prepare our students for the examinations as we would do normally.
“We will be keeping our pupils and their parents updated on any further changes and on how these assessments will work as soon as we receive further information.”
In a statement Howell's School in Llandaff said it offered both England and Wales exam series.
"We offer a mixed bag of qualifications, with our heads of departments each having the choosing the best syllabus for our students.
"At the moment we are not planning to make any changes to the exam boards that we use. What we don't want is to see Welsh students disadvantaged, but the devil is in the detail.
"Kirsty Williams has assured us that she has spoken to the universities, but until we see exactly what she is proposing in terms of these assessmenst it's business as usual at Howell's.
"We are carrying on with mock exams and with tracking, in anticipation of being asked to provide the exam boards with some equivalent to the CAG we that we were asked to produce for the 2020 results."
John Waszek, headteacher of Rydal Penrhos, an independent school for boys and girls in Colwyn Bay, warned England's exam series may be disrupted again and urged his pupils not to assume they can just revise at the last minute, incase the situation changes.
He said: "It has sometimes been the case in the past that some pupils have taken their academic work a little easier at this time of the year, with the intention of putting in more work closer to the examinations," he said in a letter to parents and pupils.
"Such an approach was always dubious, but this year such a strategy would be potentially disastrous."
The decision not to run A levels in Wales next summer won't disadvantage applicants, universities have promised.
But they have said they will consider how the decision will affect them.
Universities said they "look forward" to getting more detail on how the new assessments, which will replace exam papers in Wales, will work. But the reassured applicants that UK universities are used to dealing with a wide range of qualifications from across the globe.
