Welcome to the May 2025 update from your Subject Advisor
This update includes training and resources to assist with assessment and submission of work as we approach key dates and deadlines for the summer series.
For updates on the qualification(s) you deliver, please click on the relevant sections below.
2 July 2025 16:00-17:00 BST
Free online event
In this free online network event, our Subject Advisor for Art and Design will introduce a range of evidence-based curriculum planning and delivery approaches in Art and Design that are helpful for planning the next school year. The session will look at what makes a successful Art and Design curriculum and explore new resources on the Pearson website to support teachers in their planning and delivery.
This event would be particularly well suited to new teachers or more experienced teachers delivering the Pearson Edexcel specification for the first time.
4 July 2025 09:30-15:45 BST
£40 in-person event
This face-to-face event will support centres considering a move from offering GCSE Design and Technology to learning pathways through endorsed titles in GCSE Art and Design. Delegates will attend sessions covering the following content:
The JCQ AI Use in Assessments document provides teachers/assessors with the information they need to manage the use of AI in assessments and will help students when completing their coursework and non-examination assessments.
Revision 2 of the document was published on 30 April 2025 and can be found on the JCQ website.
Summary of the JCQ document for teachers:
The JCQ guide should be used alongside Pearson's Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Art and Design guidance.
As the assessment and moderation deadlines draw nearer, this guide supports line managers and non-specialists with the nuances of GCSE and A Level Art and Design qualifications to encourage best outcomes for learners.
Join our teacher group for those teaching our GCSE, International GCSE and A level Art and Design qualifications.
Created to give Art and Design teachers a private, professional space to discuss teaching and learning ideas and ask general questions, the community is run by your Art and Design Subject Advisor, Jaclyn Wiid.
This group is great space to connect and hear about new resources and updates.
| Date | GCSE Art and Design |
|---|---|
| 15 May 2025 | Start of moderator visits |
| 48 hours prior to moderation visit |
Marks submitted on Edexcel Online for visiting moderation |
| 31 May 2025 | International centres only: Marks submitted on Edexcel Online for digital moderation Sampled work submitted on Learner Work Transfer |
| 27 June 2025 | End of moderator visits |
| 21 August 2025 | Results day |
Check out our new bitesize video for GCSE Art and Design Component 2 assessment.
This short video aims to address common misconceptions and discuss how to manage the assessment of the period of sustained focus alongside preparatory portfolio work.
Here you can find all the materials necessary for internal assessment and standardisation as you prepare for moderation.
Administrative Support Guide
This guide outlines key information for visiting moderation as well as other administrative details.
Assessment Grid
One grid must be completed for each candidate, which records the marks for both components.
Authentication Form
This form must be signed by each candidate and the teacher. You may use one form per learner if you write both Component 1 and 2 in the relevant field.
GCSE Art and Design Taxonomy
This assessment resource is helpful to include for each candidate, if possible, to assist the moderator with understanding your assessment decisions.
Exemplar Gallery
Use the Exemplar Materials alongside the Assessment Grid and Taxonomy to internally assess and standardise.
Bitesize Videos
Our bitesize videos will help you with assessing the assessment objectives holistically.
To submit coursework marks through Edexcel Online, please follow the steps in the Administrative Support Guide linked in the 'Preparing for Assessment and Moderation' section above.
You can also view our support article for Edexcel Online: Submitting Coursework Marks.
This guidance is for international centres using digital submission and moderation.
Please note, this submission method is not available to UK centres.
To support your internal assessment and standardisation, please see our free online recorded training for GCSE Art and Design.
To support your internal assessment and standardisation, please see our Exemplar Gallery organised by performance level and component.
| Date | International GCSE Art and Design |
|---|---|
| 21 March 2025 | Deadline for entries (late entry fees after this date) |
| 31 May 2025 | All work submitted digitally on Learner Work Transfer for external assessment |
| 21 August 2025 | Results day |
Here you can find all the materials necessary for digital submission and external assessment.
Administrative Support Guide
This guide outlines the digital submission guidance and use of Learner Work Transfer as well as key information for administration of the qualification.
Authentication Form
This form must be signed by each candidate and the teacher. You may use one form per learner if you write both Component 1 and 2 in the relevant field.
Essential Guide to Component 1
This guide outlines the submission requirements for Component 1 to support your selection of work. Please note, students must submit one project for Component 1 covering all four assessment objectives as a sustained line of enquiry.
LWT Support Videos
These short videos will support you with using Learner Work Transfer (LWT).
Exemplar Gallery
Use the Exemplar Materials to support selection of work for digital submission and external assessment.
Bitesize Videos
Our bitesize videos will help you understand how the assessment objectives are externally assessed holistically.
Watch the International GCSE Art and Design bitesize video playlist
To support your understanding of the external assessment standard, please see our free online recorded training for International GCSE Art and Design.
To support your selection of work for digital submission, please see our Exemplar Gallery organised by performance level and component.
| Date | A Level Art and Design |
|---|---|
| 15 May 2025 | Start of moderator visits |
| 48 hours prior to moderation visit |
Marks submitted on Edexcel Online for visiting moderation |
| 31 May 2025 | International centres only: Marks submitted on Edexcel Online for digital moderation Sampled work submitted on Learner Work Transfer |
| 27 June 2025 | End of moderator visits |
| 14 August 2025 | Results day |
Check out our new bitesize video for A Level Art and Design Component 2 assessment.
This short video aims to address common misconceptions and discuss how to manage the assessment of the period of sustained focus alongside preparatory portfolio work.
Here you can find all the materials necessary for internal assessment and standardisation as you prepare for moderation.
Administrative Support Guide
This guide outlines key information for visiting moderation as well as other administrative details.
Assessment Grid
One grid must be completed for each candidate, which records the marks for both components.
Authentication Form
This form must be signed by each candidate and the teacher. You may use one form per learner if you write both Component 1 and 2 in the relevant field.
Performance Calculators
This assessment resource is helpful to include for each candidate, if possible, to assist the moderator with understanding your assessment decisions.
Exemplar Gallery
Use the Exemplar Materials alongside the Assessment Grid and Taxonomy to internally assess and standardise.
Bitesize Videos
Our bitesize videos will help you with assessing the assessment objectives holistically.
To submit coursework marks through Edexcel Online, please follow the steps in the Administrative Support Guide linked in the 'Preparing for Assessment and Moderation' section above.
You can also view our support article for Edexcel Online: Submitting Coursework Marks.
This guidance is for international centres using digital submission and moderation.
Please note, this submission method is not available to UK centres.
To support your internal assessment and standardisation, please see our free online recorded training for A Level Art and Design.
To support your internal assessment and standardisation, please see our Exemplar Gallery organised by performance level and component.
We also have voiceovers available for some performance level 6 (exceptional) portfolios.
| Date | A Level History of Art |
|---|---|
| 19 May 2025 | Paper 1: Visual analysis and themes (PM) |
| 2 June 2025 | Paper 2: Periods (AM) |
| 14 August 2025 | Results day |
The Association for Art History has showcased films on their YouTube channel that highlight the diverse and fascinating careers available to those with a qualification in Art History.
These videos are excellent for raising awareness, as well as for careers days, open days, and much more!
In this live event held on 22 January 2025, delegates explored how to approach Section A of Paper 1, Visual Analysis, discussing effective responses and common mistakes using candidate responses from the most recent exam series.
View the question papers and mark schemes for previous assessment series to help inform future teaching and delivery.
You will need an Edexcel Online login to access any padlocked secure materials and these are managed by your Exams Officer.
Here are some helpful resources and inspiration from creative organisations to emphasise the importance of arts in education and the benefits they bring to young people. Our priority is to create courses that provide students with an authentic creative experience, and we are committed to raising the profile of our subjects in education and beyond.
This June, The Royal Society will host a free in-person and virtual lecture featuring Professor Ingrid Daubechies FRS, the 2025 Bakerian Medal recipient for her contributions to wavelets and image compression.
In her talk, she will explore how mathematical algorithms have helped art historians and conservators reconstruct Mantegna's frescoes and uncover hidden artworks.
Sign up for The Royal Society's free lecture
In this innovative research study, Joanna Fursman, Will Grant, and Carol Wild begin by revisiting the work undertaken by Dick Downing and Ruth Watson in their Tate-sponsored 2004 School Art: What Is It? report.
Twenty years later, they replicate the processes employed by Downing and Watson – asking secondary school art teachers across England about the curriculum they deliver: its contents, structure, and impact.
Candid interviews with 36 participants provide illustrative insight into the state of art education in England’s secondary schools in 2024. Through comparison, contextualisation, and critical reflection, Fursman, Grant, and Wild construct a new set of questions for today’s policymakers and practitioners.
Do you know a young person who loves art and enjoys writing?
Take part in Write on Art, the national writing programme by Art UK and Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art for young people (14–19 years old).
Young people are invited to write 400–600 words about an artwork of their choice on Art UK’s website for one of three categories:
✍️ Creative writing – an imaginative and expressive response to an artwork
💬 Review – a critical commentary about an artwork or installation
📝 Essay – a critical analysis of an artwork supported by evidence
The deadline to submit entries is 30 June 2025.
Twelve successful applicants will be invited to attend a day-long Young Art Writers Workshop at Royal College of Art in September 2025 and have their work published.
The Arts and Minds campaign and coalition is calling for all children and young people to have the right to study creative subjects and for arts funding in schools to be fully restored.
Arts and Minds is a coalition of over 20 organisations including the National Education Union, Equity, the Musicians’ Union and NSEAD, which aims to draw attention to the ‘creative gap’ in schools and are calling for the government to put creativity at the heart of learning.
I hope you found this update useful. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me and the team using the contact details below.
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