General Qualifications Bulletin - International - Issue 24
Dear Colleague
I hope the first few weeks back in your centres have been successful. It’s certainly been busy here at Pearson with the January examination series well under way across the world.
The subject support sessions we have been offering over the past few weeks have been well attended and there are still more to come, make sure you are signed up to hear the latest assessment information. I look forward to seeing some of you at our international live drop in sessions this week. Remember, there is no charge for the events as they are all part of your qualification fee. To book your place please go to the Upcoming events section below.
With the 7 February on the horizon, please make sure you are familiar with the qualification pages as this is where the advance information will sit. I will of course write to you to let you know exactly when this is all released but there is already some helpful information on qualification pages about what to expect.
Kind regards
Hayley White
Assessment Director
We are delighted to confirm that we're introducing a regular International GCSE November series, first running in November 2023. This series is being introduced to best meet the needs of students requiring International GCSE exam opportunities outside of the full May/June series and it will replace the existing January series.
We know that many of you will still want to offer International GCSE exams between May/June 2022 and May/June 2023 and we will therefore continue to run the January series in 2023. This will be the last January International GCSE series.
Please take a look at the 2022-24 timeline
Why are we moving to a November Exam series?
- Due to the pandemic, circumstances have meant that we needed to follow a November International GCSE exam series for the past two years.
- As the November series seemed to be well received, we consulted schools to understand whether there was a preference for a permanent November exam series or reverting to January.
- November was the preferred option for most schools - not just for resits, but also for learners studying on a January-December academic year.
Key information for schools
- To best meet your needs in this series, we are expanding the range of subjects offered compared to the January series. So, we will have 24 subjects available in the November series from 2023. Please take a look at the timeline.
- Please note that there will be no November series in 2022, so that schools have sufficient time to transition to the new November series in 2023.
- To confirm, the January 2023 series will be the final January series available for International GCSE.
- The new November series will not require R papers. Instead, exams in this series will predominantly be scheduled in the AM slot (GMT) to ensure that centres can run exams at reasonable local times.
- Your local Pearson contact will be happy to answer any further queries you may have and support your school in the transition to using the November International GCSE series.
Subject advisor Q&A sessions
This month your subject advisors have been running subject-specific, question and answer sessions on the June 2022 exam series for Pearson Edexcel qualifications. There are still some events running to the end of the month, so do take a look at the events still to run and book your place through the Pearson Professional Development Academy.
Book your Subject Advisor Q&A session
Summer 2022 assessment drop-in sessions
We’re also running a series of drop in webinars over the next few months that are designed to help schools and colleges understand what's being asked of them this year. We’ll cover how to prepare for high-stake exams alongside the contingency preparation and the tools we have available to help minimise the impact on teachers.
For further information and to book your place please visit the Pearson Professional Development Academy.
Book your place on the next Summer 2022 Assessment drop-in session
Participants are encouraged to ask questions during the sessions and upon sign up will also be able to submit questions in advance which we will cover in the event.
This training is not specific to Pearson Edexcel as the arrangements for summer 2022 are common across all awarding organisations. Arrangements for International GCSE will be specific to Pearson qualifications. You do not have to be teaching a Pearson qualification to attend.
31 January 2022 – Modified papers entry deadline
3 February 2022 – A level October/November series reviews of marking deadline
No later than 7 February 2022 – Advance Information released
17 February 2022 – GCSE English and Maths November series reviews of marking deadline
21 March 2022 – International and UK Qualifications entry deadline for International centres
31 March 2022 – All other GCSE and International GCSE November series reviews of marking deadline
More information about key dates for post results services can be found on our post-results support pages.
The 2022 May/June series entry deadline for International and UK general qualifications is 21 March 2022 (for international centres).
Please ensure that all entries are made by this date to avoid incurring late fees.
Read full details on International centre entry deadlines
Reminder: We have made changes to the way we invoice for your qualification entries. Invoices will be sent after the UK entry deadline and not on a weekly basis. This means that you may begin to receive invoices from the week commencing 21 February 2022.
The GCSE, AS and A level past papers from the exceptional October/November 2020 exam series have now been published and are available on the subject pages of our website.
Past papers from the October/November 2021 exam series continue to be available to teachers only, in line with usual practices. However, private candidates who are intending to enter for an examination in Summer 2022 and who require the October/November 2021 exam materials to support their exam preparation can now request access to these materials, either from the centre that has accepted their entry or directly from Pearson by following the instructions on our Private candidates page.
Any centre providing October/November 2021 past papers and mark schemes to private candidates, should ask them to sign the declaration that is available on our web page
UK-based private candidates who have entered, or intend to enter, for an International GCSE exam in Summer 2022 can request additional past papers and mark schemes by visiting our website and contacting us. You will need to inform your entering centre that you have accessed these materials, so that they can take this into account when setting contingency assessments.
Read the ull information on our private candidates page
We'd love to understand your experience of teaching or learning Maths and English at GCSE level. We are especially interested in the skills that are acquired during the GCSE course and any additional skills that you think would be useful if included.
Please take a few minutes to complete this questionnaire
Please be reminded, International centres will have the opportunity to submit candidate work digitally via the Learner Work Transfer (LWT) platform) for the 2022 May/June series.
Please make sure you have visited the relevant qualification pages and have read the corresponding guidance.
Our team of subject advisors send out regular important updates about their specific subject areas.
The updates contain important information about assessments, support, events, resources and other key areas of information.
Sign up for your subject advisor updates now
Please visit the Summer 2022 support tab on each qualification page to find out about the specific adaptations which have been put in place for each qualification. The adaptation and optionality information is available on each page.
You will also find advance information guidance for relevant international and UK qualifications that we released in December. These guidance documents outline the approach that will be taken to the advance information that will be released by 7 February.
Read our frequently asked questions that give you more detail about the adaptations
We’ve also created an interactive document that has all the key links that are currently available. This will be kept up to date as and when new information is released. We recommend you sharing this with your colleagues.
Download the key support document now
Modified papers for learners that require them for the May/June 2022 series can be ordered via the Access Arrangements Online (AAO) and Pearson Access Arrangements Online (PAAO). The deadline for ordering modified papers for the summer series is 31 January 2022.
There is a new FAQ hub and a new Teaching, Learning and assessment page for Vocational and Technical qualifications in 2021/22.
Read vocational and technical qualifications 2021-2022 FAQs
Take a look at the Teaching, learning and assessment 2021-2022 page
You will find the latest information and support for our vocational qualifications on this page, along with links to our regular VQ Bulletin containing all the key updates you need for our vocational qualifications. Please do bookmark this page for future reference.
