August 2026 International Science Qualification News
Hello colleagues,
Welcome to your August update for teachers of International Science qualifications! Below is a link to updated guidance for teachers regarding results and post-results services, a repeat of our earlier invitation to IAL teachers to get involved with the process of improving these qualifications, news of new onboarding guides and free training coming up in August.
As ever, don't hesitate to get in touch if I can help in any way - why not book a Teams call with me (follow the link below) if it would be helpful to talk something over?
Best wishes,
Tim Lawrence
Pearson Edexcel Subject Advisor for International Science Qualifications
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1 August | The 2025 exam materials will be unpadlocked* |
| 13 August | Results Day for IAL |
| 18 August | IAL examiners' reports released |
| 20 August | Results Day for International GCSE |
| 25 August | International GCSE examiners' reports released |
*June 2026 exam papers and mark schemes are available now as locked exam materials on the qualification web pages.
Final exam timetables for the summer 2027 exam series are available on our webpage linked below.
We have collected together all the key advice and guidance for teachers regarding results day and the post-results services available (including 'access to scripts' and the Review of Marking and Moderation service) on the page linked below.
We are seeking teachers to join our Teacher Research Panel for IAL Biology, Chemistry and Physics. We want to know what is working, what isn't working and everything in between! You can be involved as much or as little as your time allows and activities could range from simple surveys to more detailed focus groups, as we explore ways to improve these qualifications.
If you are keen to be involved and provide feedback through multiple research opportunities, we want to hear from you! If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, please fill in the form below to indicate your interest.
The guides below have been produced to aid teachers who are new to our specifications, and include advice on free and paid-for resources to support planning and teaching, sources of support and training opportunities.
Free online 'Understanding Assessment and Improving Delivery' training events are running in August on the following dates:
- 10 August - International GCSE Physics
- 12 August - IAL Physics
- 17 August - International GCSE Chemistry
- 18 August - International GCSE Biology
- 19 August - IAL Chemistry
- 20 August - IAL Biology
These events all run from 9.00-12.00 UK time and you can book onto them using the link below.
We have face-to-face training events ready to book onto, for teachers of our International GCSE and IAL science courses in the following locations between August and November:
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Nicosia, Cyprus
- Cairo, Egypt
- Greece
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Kuwait City, Kuwait
- Karachi, Pakistan
- Islamabad, Pakistan
- Lahore, Pakistan
- Doha, Qatar
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Dubai, UAE
Online events in the autumn including free 'getting ready to teach' and 'exam insights' training will be launched shortly.
View all International Science courses available and book your places.
We also provide centre-based training opportunities. If this is something you would like to explore, please visit our training page below.
The questions below have been asked during training events recently, in our Facebook group or in emails to teachingscience@pearson.com:
The UK A Leven and GCSE Psychology courses are linear qualifications. This means that any students wishing to improve their grade following results needs to re-sit all the exams, and the next opportunity will be May/June 2027. While this option is not taken by many, some students (particularly A Level students) do independently prepare, re-sit and significantly improve their grade after a gap year before going to university.
IAL Psychology is a fully modular qualification, so students have the option to re-sit any number of units in January or May/June. There is no limit to the number of times they can take a particular unit, and no time-window in which they must do so (other than the 'lifetime of the specification' - it has no end-date announced currently). A new 'cash-in' entry can be made in any exam series in which an exam is taken in the subject. This will generate a new grade and certificate, which will automatically use the best result for each unit, from the previous two attempts. This rule is to discourage students from large numbers of resits. It means that iff they resit a unit and improve their mark, there is no risk in another attempt. However if they resit and score lower, there is a risk that a third attempt could 'lose' their original mark if it fails to improve on it.
While you are always welcome to get in touch with me to share any questions or concerns, Subject Advisors cannot make any comments myself on the accuracy of marking by examiners. Our advice if you feel the mark scheme has not been fairly applied must always be to use the Review of Marking and Moderation (RoMM) process - see details on our 'results support' page linked at the top of this update. A RoMM request results in a senior examiner checking the marking of a paper. The cost is refunded if errors are identified and additional marks are awarded which lead to an increase in the candidate's grade.
Subject advisor
Irine Muhiuddin and Tim Lawrence
UK and International Science
