General Qualifications Bulletin - UK - Issue - 65
Dear Colleague,
Welcome to a new year and new term. I hope you had a restful break and that the new term has started well for you.
We had results day for students who sat GCSE English Language and GCSE Maths in the November resit window on 9 January and look forward to the November International GCSE results day on 23 January. We will have our usual post-results support available to you; further details can be found below.
In this month’s edition of the qualifications bulletin, we bring you details of the research we’ve been carrying out on the use of modified papers. You can read all five real-life case studies to see what a huge difference this makes to students with many diverse needs. You can also explore how our brand-new research with Cebr outlines how investing in digital transformation in UK state-funded schools will benefit students, teachers, and contribute up to £8.7 billion for the UK economy in 10 years.
This January we launched a new Facebook group to support Pearson Edexcel Drama and Theatre teachers, run by our Subject Advisor, Paul Webster. Plus, we’ve introduced a brand-new Qualifications Key Dates Calendar that can be downloaded and syncronised seamlessly with your own personal calendar. Find out more below.
As ever, if you need any more information or want to share any feedback with us, you can always get in touch via our support portal. We will always do our best to get you the answers as quickly as possible.
I wish you all a restful break during the holiday season.
Hayley White
Vice President, Assessment, Standards and Services
All our regular post-results support is available for International GCSE results day on 23 January and continues to be available for GCSE English Language and GCSE Maths January results.
ResultsPlus
You can get a detailed breakdown of your students’ results through ResultsPlus, our online results analysis service.
Take a look at our ResultsPlus video that provides you with an overview of how ResultsPlus can help you learn more about how your students’ performance compares with class and Pearson Edexcel national averages.
Access to Scripts
You can view your candidates’ marked scripts online or download as a PDF, using our Access to Scripts service.
Do take a look at our Autumn & Winter essential information article which provides information and support for the months ahead.
You can also find further support and training modules on the Pearson Development Hub. If you need help accessing the Development Hub, please take a look at our support article.
Our Facebook community continues to grow. Designed to help and support you with the teaching and delivery of our UK and International qualifications, we’ll be sharing the latest news, updates and information about our support services across subjects. From our own news to updates from Ofqual and JCQ, follow us on @PearsonEdexcel on Facebook to stay up to date.
Follow us @PearsonEdexcel on Facebook
Join our new Facebook Groups
To provide teachers with subject-specific support via Facebook, we’re setting up a number of subject groups, run by our Subject Advisors. The latest subject to join is Drama and Theatre.
Drama and Theatre
Paul Webster, our Drama and Theatre Subject Advisor, has launched the new Drama and Theatre Facebook group to support Pearson Edexcel Drama and Theatre teachers. Created to give you a private, professional space to discuss teaching and learning ideas, ask general questions and connect with other Pearson Edexcel drama teachers.
Join Paul Webster's Drama and Theatre group
Geography
Join Jon Wolton’s Geography group
Statistics
Join Vicky Wood’s Statistics group
Religious Studies
Join Jenna Wyatt’s Religious Studies group
Art and Design
Join Jaclyn Wiid’s the Art and Design group
Languages
Join Rebecca Waker’s Languages group
We understand each learner is unique and we’re committed to supporting all learners and enabling them to access exam materials in the way that suits many diverse needs.
Working in collaboration with NASEN (National Association for Special Educational Needs), we carried out research between 2022 and 2024 about modified GCSE exam papers. We’ve been talking to students with additional access requirements to find out their experience to gain a better understanding of how they use modified papers so we can make further improvements to future modified papers.
Large print, braille and interactive PDFs
Our aim is to support all learners, to help them achieve their best in exams, and to ensure every learner’s educational journey is as inclusive and accessible as possible. Real-life stories like those of Katherine, Arthur, Lina, Simon and the students from the Harris Federation* inspire us to create a more inclusive, accessible and empowering educational environment.
Read these inspiring case studies for yourself
You can also get in touch at additional_requirements@pearson.com to discuss any special requirements that your students may have.
Ensure your students’ exam experience is as inclusive and accessible as possible
We’re here to support you and your students with a variety of modified formats to accommodate a range of difficulties and special requirements. Talk to us about how we can help your students access the exam materials needed to accurately assess their skills and knowledge by contacting: additional_requirements@pearson.com.
The deadline for ordering modified formats for the summer exam series is 31 January 2025.
Find out more about the different types of modified papers we can offer
*Please note student names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.
Amid ongoing discussions about the future of curriculum and assessment, it’s crucial to explore the benefits that technology can unlock for schools, students and the economy.
Our brand-new research with Cebr outlines how investing in digital transformation in UK state-funded schools will benefit students, teachers, and contribute up to £8.7 billion for the UK economy in 10 years.
Art and Design
The Component 2 externally set assignments for Art and Design will be released:
- 2 January for GCSE Art and Design
- 1 February for A Level Art and Design
To support teachers with their planning and delivery, we have published a new Component 2 bitesize video:
Papers will also be available for secure download from the qualification course materials page:
- Edexcel GCSE Art and Design - June 2025 exam materials
- Edexcel A level Art and Design - June 2025 exam materials
We’ve just released some new guidance for line managers and senior teams about supporting Art and Design departments in the delivery of GCSE and A level courses. Take a look and share this with your colleagues.
Art and Design Network: Live Q&A
Join us on 3 March at 16:00 (GMT) for our virtual drop-in clinic to support centres with the Component 1 and 2 final marking and moderation process.
This online network event is a live Q&A session, where delegates will have the opportunity to ask senior members of our moderating/marking team questions ahead of the summer examination series.
Supported by our Subject Advisor, Jaclyn Wiid, our senior team will help you troubleshoot problems and address any concerns when preparing for the Pearson Edexcel GCSE, A Level, or International GCSE qualifications in Art and Design.
Drama
New Exemplar Library for GCSE Drama
We have a new Exemplar Library for GCSE Drama Components 1 and 2. It's a collection of our student exemplars organised by performance level.
Designed with teachers and access in mind, it is a great way to assess and standardise internally.
Take a look at the GCSE Drama Exemplar Library
Music
New Exemplar Library for GCSE Music
Our new Exemplar Library for GCSE Music has been created to make our exemplar materials more accessible.
The library contains exemplar materials organised by component and categorised into levels based on the corresponding assessment criteria.
Take a look at the GCSE Music Exemplar Library
Design and Technology
Additional content now available in the GCSE Design and Technology Exemplar Library
We’ve expanded the GCSE Design and Technology Exemplar Library for non-examined assessment (NEA) so there is more support to aid the process of internal marking and standardisation at your centre.
Take a look at the GCSE Design and Technology Exemplar Library
GCSE Design Technology face-to-face moderation training event
On Thursday 6 March we’re running two face-to-face moderation training events for teachers and is designed to help centres ensure they meet the required standards.
During the session, we will:
- review exemplar work
- discuss how to interpret the assessment criteria
- answer questions about the moderation process.
Book your training session today.
GCSE Design and Technology: Face-to-face Moderation Training Morning
GCSE Design and Technology: Face-to-face Moderation Training Afternoon
Subject Advisor support
Stay up to date with all your subject news by signing up to receive your Subject Advisor newsletters. Experts in their fields, and many of them former teachers, our subject advisors are here to support you throughout the year and can help with all your subject-specific queries.
Yes please, take me to the sign- up page
Each month our Subject Advisors send out an email update, containing a link to all the qualification news and support for their subject area, and we’d love to hear your feedback on these updates.
Take our short survey and share your thoughts by Friday 14 February to be in with the chance of winning a £20 Amazon voucher*.
The Provisional timetables for Summer 2026 will be available on our Provisional timetables page from Monday 3 February.
The feedback window will run until Friday 21 March. Please send any feedback into timetables@pearson.com
Stay organised with our new interactive Qualifications Key Dates Calendar. It can also be downloaded and synchronised seamlessly with your own personal calendar, such as MS Outlook.
Calendar subscriptions allow you to automatically add important exam dates directly to your preferred calendar app (such as Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar). Once you click the subscription button, the calendar will update itself with any future changes or new dates, ensuring you always have the most up-to-date information without manually entering or updating dates.
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 during January and the early spring term.
Date |
Qualification |
Exam |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
22 Jan 25 |
International GCSE |
Nov 24 |
Restricted release of results to centres |
23 Jan 25 |
International GCSE |
Nov 24 |
Release of results to candidates |
31 Jan 25 |
Edexcel Award & Project Qualification |
Jan 25 |
Deadline to submit special consideration requests |
31 Jan 25 |
GCSE Computer Science 1CP2 |
June 25 |
Programming Language Subset (PLS) available on our website |
31 Jan 25 |
All general qualifications |
June 25 |
Deadline to request modified papers |
13 Feb 25 |
GCSE English Language and Maths |
Nov 24 |
Final date for Access to scripts, clerical checks, reviews of marking, reviews of moderation or other results enquiries |
21 Feb 25 |
All general qualifications |
June 25 |
Entry deadline for UK centres |
22 Feb 25 |
All general qualifications |
June 25 |
Late entry fees will be charged from this date |
28 Feb 25 |
GCSE English Language and Maths |
Nov 24 |
Date by which certificates will be issued |
For more information on key dates for post results services please visit our Post-results services key dates web page.
Multi-factor authentication was successfully rolled out to nearly a quarter of a million Pearson Portal users last year. Although it has now become a standard way of accessing our systems, that we should all be familiar with, it can sometimes present challenges if a smart device is lost or replaced.
You can read more information, see a quick start guide and access FAQs and troubleshooting for our authenticator app in our Pearson Portal Authenticator support article.
