Conducting Pearson Edexcel examinations: requirements for international centres

Pearson is a UK-based awarding organisation that delivers Edexcel examinations to students in the UK and many other countries around the world. To ensure that our Pearson Edexcel examinations are an accurate measure of each student’s knowledge and skills, and that no students have an unfair advantage, we require our academic centres to apply a set of requirements.

We would be grateful if you can please ensure that all members of staff involved in administering Pearson Edexcel examinations are familiar with the following documents.

Guidance documents

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), on behalf of UK organisations, has created a document entitled Instructions for conducting examinations (ICE). 

This document contains important and useful information on:

• how examination rooms should be organised
• the instructions students should receive
• who and what can be in the room during examinations
• the rules for handling:
  • question papers before an examination
  • the students' completed scripts at the end of the examination.

The JCQ website also includes the rules that must be followed if you have students with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries that are likely to put them at a substantial disadvantage when undertaking an assessment. In these circumstances a number of adjustments can be made to prevent these students being put at a disadvantage.

Find out more about reasonable adjustments and special consideration

To emphasise, such adjustments must only be implemented under the conditions specified in the JCQ document; allowing arrangements for students who do not meet the criteria will constitute malpractice on the part of your centre and the students concerned. 

Pearson Edexcel examinations: dates and start times

In September 2015, we contacted you about our rules for Pearson Edexcel examination start times in each time zone in 2016.

Centre inspections

To ensure we have a consistent approach to conducting our Pearson Edexcel examinations and maintain the highest standards, it is important that your academic centre is implementing these requirements effectively.

On an annual basis, Pearson inspectors will visit a sample of centres delivering Pearson Edexcel qualifications while examinations are taking place (January or May / June). You will not be informed in advance that an inspector is going to visit you, but he or she will provide proof of their identity on their arrival at your centre. Each inspector is trained to conduct their review as unobtrusively as possible but may require some assistance from you and your colleagues to complete their report.

All centres offering our Pearson Edexcel examinations will receive an inspection visit in due course, and if you do not receive a visit in 2016 it is likely you will be visited the following year. Pearson regional teams may also request information from you in advance of an examination series as a check that our requirements have been understood.

Next steps

It is each centre’s responsibility to ensure the rules are being followed. If you have any questions about the requirements that apply to Pearson Edexcel examinations, or how to implement them correctly, please contact InternationalEO@pearson.com