Support for centres affected by the conflict in the Middle East

Please continue to make your qualification exam entries as normal. If you’re concerned that the current situation may impact your ability to submit your entries for the 21 March deadline, please do get in touch via your Regional Development Manager or our customer support teams. 

Please continue to make your qualification exam entries as normal. 

When a learner is unable to sit an examination at their entering centre due to exceptional circumstances, they can be transferred to another centre to sit examinations. This includes IAL candidates being hosted at UK centres, as long as the entry is made at an international centre. For more information on how to make a transferred candidate application please refer to our support article that provides information specifically for centres in your region on how to process this request. 

Transferred candidates process

If you have concerns around this, please reach out to your local Regional Development Manager or our customer support teams.  

Any withdrawals made before April 21 will trigger an automatic credit of the standard entry fee. If you need to make withdrawals after this date, please get in touch with your regional contact or customer services team and we'll review these on a case-by-case basis.

For some qualifications, we have now moved into the period when departments come together to mark and standardise non‑examined assessments, practical assessments and to conduct speaking exams. Due to current centre closures, we are granting a two week extension to the published deadlines for completing these activities.

If centre closures mean you may still struggle to complete these activities by the new deadline, please contact your Regional Development Manager or our customer support teams as soon as possible. 

We have measures which we can take here, from applying special considerations if the assessment is disrupted, to adjustments if the component cannot be undertaken at all.  

If your practical components have been disrupted, please do contact your Regional Development Manager or our customer support team as soon as possible. 

We’re reviewing all upcoming moderation visits for GCSE and A level practical subjects. Some will need to move online if it becomes unsafe or impractical to complete them in person. Centres should refer to the subject specific guidance document for these qualifications to opt for the digital submission option. If you require extra support or an extension to provide this submission, please get in touch via our support portal.   

If we need to make any changes to your scheduled visit, we’ll let you know as soon as possible so you have time to prepare. 

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Speaking assessments must be taken face-to-face under normal circumstances. However, centres in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE can allow teachers to conduct these remotely over a video call. An audio recording must be uploaded to Learner Work Transfer.

If you require this arrangement, please follow these instructions:

Candidates who have completed a component or unit in the summer series should submit their work as normal. These candidates will be eligible for a calculated grade and don't need to submit a portfolio of evidence.

Read our full guidance document for details on the portfolio of evidence, including information on how you'll submit them and the type of evidence needed.

You'll need to complete a centre evidence confirmation form alongside your students' portfolios so we can see what evidence has been collated, where assessments have been derived from and to confirm theconditions in which they were completed.

At this time, our usual guidance on special consideration applies. 

Where candidates are present for assessments but have been disadvantaged
Centres may apply for special consideration if they are satisfied that there has been a material and detrimental effect on candidate examination performance or in the production of coursework or non-examination assessment. 

In these cases, special consideration will normally be given by applying an allowance of additional marks to each component affected within a specification. 

Where candidates are absent from a timetabled component or unit for acceptable reasons 
When a candidate has missed a timetabled component or unit for acceptable reasons and the centre is prepared to support an application for special consideration, an adjustment may be made to the grade. 

One whole component (at least 15% of the total assessment), must have been completed. For unitised qualifications, the unit must have been missed in the terminal series. 

Exams will not be going ahead in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar.

We’re proceeding on the basis that exams will go ahead as planned across most other countries.

If circumstances mean this is not possible, and in countries where exams have already been cancelled, our long-standing, tried-and tested-contingency processes are ready to be put in place to support centres and learners. 

Our priority will always be to support student progression through their courses, and ultimately to the grade that reflects their performance. 

GCSEs and A Levels are regulated qualifications, and any alternative arrangements must be agreed with Ofqual, our regulator in the UK.

We're having ongoing discussions with them about what arrangements might be possible for students where exams have been cancelled. We will confirm any contingency agreed when we are able to.

No, to be eligible for a calculated IAL grade, students must have completed at least one IA2 unit.

Candidates entered for the full IAL who have only IAS units banked will need to submit portfolios of evidence for the IA2 units they were due to sit in the summer series.

If local conditions mean face-to-face training can’t go ahead safely, we’ll offer an online alternative. We’ll get in touch if anything needs to change for your booking.

Yes, as a general principle and in any examination series, it is considered good practice to keep past paper mocks, sat under exam conditions until after the live examinations have been completed and results released.

We do anticipate delays for you receiving physical certificates. If you have any students that are waiting for a certificate, and they need this to progress to further education we can provide proof of their qualification directly to institutions. Please get in touch with us through the Pearson support portal, and we’ll be able to arrange this for you.

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