General Qualifications Bulletin - International - Issue 26
Dear Colleague
I hope those of you who have had or are currently on half term have enjoyed a well-earned break.
The next few weeks are results weeks with results for the GCSE and International GCSE qualifications that took place in the exceptional November series and the January 2022 International A Level examinations being sent out to centres. I hope that your learners get the results they need for their next steps and that you are able to celebrate those results with them.
Lastly, I look forward to seeing some of you at the upcoming drop in webinars that are designed to help you understand the arrangements this year. We will have a team of our experts attending to answer any questions you may have and as always, we want to offer you the most support we can.
You can find more information about the arrangements for 2022 on our summer 2022 support page.
Kind regards
Hayley White
Assessment Director
The advance information for all relevant International GCSE, GCSE and GCE subjects has now been released.
To support progression and students' best possible performance in the exams, they will want to revise the whole of the course, but advance information will help highlight where to focus more specific revision. It is important to note that the advance information will not cover everything that is to be assessed, and to ensure that students have a good understanding of all the specification content. You can find out more about this in the JCQ Frequently Asked Questions for exam centres and JCQ Frequently Asked Questions for students.
We’ve been listening to feedback from students, parents and carers and we know they are keen to be kept informed of any changes to assessments this year.
We’ve created a new Students, parents and carers support page on our website. Here we provide information and links to additional support to help students, and their parents and carers, understand any changes for the summer exams and to help them prepare for their assessments. You can also watch a video that explains the changes to students.
In addition we have a created a form so students, parents and carers can provide feedback to us or suggest any further support materials they may find useful.
Please do pass this information on to your students.
Did you know that Pearson Edexcel is the only awarding organisation to offer an Onscreen Mocks Service?
We know how important it is for your students to sit mock exams in preparation for their Pearson Edexcel exams. We are also aware that mock exams can be a real burden on teachers' time.
That is why we have launched our Onscreen Mocks Service for Pearson Edexcel GCSE and International GCSE Maths A, English Language A, and English Literature.
You can visit our website to find out more about the service.
Following our last bulletin, we are delighted to confirm that we are 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.
Please take a look at our updated website to learn more about the new exam series from November 2023.
May/June 2022 Assessment drop-in sessions
We are also running a series of drop in webinars over the next few months that are designed to help schools and colleges understand what is being asked of them this year. We will 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.
The next drop-in sessions are on:
- International Qualifications: Thursday 3 March 2022 at 07:00-08:00 GMT
- UK Qualifications: Wednesday 2 March 2022 at 16:00-17:00 GMT
For further information and to book your place please visit the Pearson Professional Development Academy.
The Key Dates Finder on our website enables you to find all of the key dates for Pearson general qualifications and subjects in one place.
Here are those taking place in the next few weeks.
24 February 2022 – Release of GCSE and International GCSE Results to candidates from November 2021 series
1 March 2022 – Moderation window opens for A level and GCSE Physical Education May/June 2022 series
3 March 2022 – Release of International A level, Edexcel Award, Project and International GCSE Results to candidates from the January 2022 series
21 March 2022 – Deadline to request transferred candidate arrangements for May/June 2022 series
21 March 2022 – International and UK Qualifications Entry Deadline for May/June 2022 series
31 March 2022 – Reviews of marking deadline for GCSE and International GCSE November 2021 series
31 March 2022 – Deadline to submit applications for access arrangements for May/June 2022 series
More information about key dates for post results services can be found on our website.
Centres that have made entries for qualifications with visiting components will shortly be contacted by their visiting examiners. If you have not yet made entries for those qualifications, we urge you to do so as early as possible.
International centres will have the opportunity to submit recorded performances digitally via the Learner Work Transfer (LWT) platform.
Please make sure you have read our previous editions of the Pearson Qualifications Bulletin that have shared information about visiting arrangements, plus visited the relevant qualification pages and have read the corresponding guidance.
We have seen some queries specifically related to Art and Design. You can find all the information related to this subject in our Art and Design: International GCSE community hub.
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, advance information and optionality information is available on each page.
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 note that the entry deadline for International qualifications is 21 March. We are here to support you with what to expect as we build up to the May/June 2022 series.
Any information that you may need to support you with getting ready for examinations can be found on our website. There are also links to the important Joint Council for Qualifications documents that all centres must follow when conducting examinations.
There is a new FAQ hub and a new Teaching, learning and assessment page for Vocational and Technical qualifications in 2021/22. You will find the latest information and support for our vocational qualifications on this web 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.
