General Qualifications Bulletin - UK - Issue 34

As the exam season draws to a close we’d like to remind teachers, students and their families that our Wellbeing Zone has free resources available all year round – from advice on coping with anxiety to fun activities to boost wellbeing.

We also have a wide range of support available on our Students, Parents and Carers web page that may help you with any conversations or questions you may be having or receiving. There is helpful information about low tariff, high tariff and synoptic questions and how this works with the advance information as well as how this may work with different subjects.

We are aware that there are planned RMT Union train strikes planned to take place this week. We can confirm that examinations scheduled for this week will still be taking place on those dates.   

Where a candidate can't sit their exam through circumstances beyond their control, then their school or college can apply for special consideration.

Students can be eligible for special consideration if they have completed one component of their qualification. Please see the JCQ June 2022 special consideration FAQs document for further details.

However, we would recommend that, in the first instance, centres consider the contingency measures available to ensure that as many candidates as possible can sit their exams as intended.

Please make sure you remain vigilant about potential cyber-attacks. We are aware of a small number of centres that have been targeted with a suspicious email that contained a virus. If you you are unsure about any emails, do not open them or click on any links. Contact your IT department for support.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) website has some helpful information about free security checks you can undertake. 

As with any series we do accept late entries and tier changes. If you miss the entry deadline, you can still make entries or changes via EDI or Edexcel Online, but you will be charged late or amendments fees and there may be an impact on question paper delivery.   

We reserve the right to refuse late entries, or to charge additional fees to cover costs incurred by accepting them. For some subjects, we won't accept late entries if it's too late to allocate an examiner or send assessment material.

If you make late entries more than 72 hours before the exam we will make every effort to send you hardcopy papers if you do not already have stock subject to availability. These orders will be tracked and SFT’s scheduled as contingency.  If your late entries are less than 72 hours before the exam and you do not have sufficient stock, you should contact customer services to request an SFT.  If you had prior entries for that Subject and Paper, then you will also be able to download via SDS.   

If you now make a late application for a transferred candidate, we will either SFT the paper to you or if you have your own entries for the papers that the transferred candidate wishes to sit, you will be able to download from Secure Download Service (SDS).  

If you need to contact Customer Services regarding a Transferred Candidates application, please have your application reference number, host centre, candidate number and subject details to hand.  

Ahead of the May/June 2022 results days, we will be changing the way that hard copy results requests are recorded.

All qualifications will now be opted out of receiving hard copy results as default.

The results documents available online consist of:

• Broadsheets
• Component mark list
• Contributing units report
• Candidate statement of provisional results (CSPRs) 

These documents are available to download in Edexcel Online as digital copies. The digital results documents will also be automatically populated in your Edexcel Online mailbox at midnight on the relevant May/June 2022 results date.

If you would still like to receive hard copy results documents, such as Candidate Statement of Provisional Results, and Component Results reports, please update your preferences on Edexcel Online.

Please visit Edexcel Online > select the relevant qualification > select Results > Report Delivery Options, to update your preferences.

As we enter the final weeks of the summer term, please do remember to set up your ResultsPlus account if you’ve not already done so.  

Find out more and set up your ResultsPlus account today.  

For multi-academy trusts and groups of schools, you’ll need to set up a separate account to use the new ResultsPlus Group Analysis service from results day.

Take a look at our short video that explains how ResultsPlus Group Analysis will work for you.   

Please ensure you have created a ResultsPlus and/or a ResultsPlus Group Analysis account before the end of term and be ready for results day. 

Our Key Dates Finder 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. 

• 28 June – Last day of GCSE, AS and A level examinations 
• 29 June – Timetable contingency day for GCSE, AS and A level examinations 
• 5 July – Deadline for submitting requests for special consideration 
• 17 August – Restricted release of AS, A level and other level 3 qualification results to centres
• 18 August – Release of results to candidates for AS, A level and other level 3 qualifications
• 24 August – Restricted release of GCSE and other level 1/2 qualification results to centres
• 25 August – Release of results to candidates for GCSE and other level 1/2 qualifications

For more information on key dates for post results services please visit our Post-results services key dates web page.  

Over the coming weeks we have a number of events related to teaching our specifications. We have network events, feedback events and getting ready to teach events amongst a wide range of others. Take a look at our Pearson Professional Development Academy page to see what events are taking place for your qualifications.

Pearson Professional Development Academy 

We're also running 2 zoom events for Exams Officers, to help you prepare to issue results in August and navigate the post results period successfully. Both sessions will cover the same content, so please book on to the most convenient for you.

• 14 July 2pm - Getting ready for results  - Book your place today
• 11 August 2pm - Getting ready for results  - Book your place today

You may well know who your Subject Advisor is but perhaps you’ve not been able to meet them in person over the last two years. We’ve created a new web page with photos of all our Subject Advisors, their contact details and Twitter accounts.   

As well as signing up to receive regular important communications about your subject area and following your Subject Advisor on Twitter, you can also book an appointment to chat to them on a one-to-one basis and get your questions answered.

Take a closer look and sign up for your support

Please take a look at our FAQ hub, and 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 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.

Read the VQ Bulletins