April 2025 Business update
Welcome to this April 2025 update.
This month we have new FT case studies (one each for GCSE and A level) and a reminder that it is not too late to apply to become an examiner with us.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review published its Interim Report last month and you may wish to read both the report and the Pearson response.
I hope that you enjoy the Easter break.
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 14 August | A level results day |
| 21 August | GCSE results day |
The interim report was published in March with the final report due in the autumn.
Many teachers have been emailing me asking about the future of our GCSE and A level qualifications. We have had no indication as yet that reforms are in the pipeline but the final report of the Review may provide more information.
These monthly updates will keep you informed of any announcements.
Ian Marcouse will be running four days of intensive revision for students in London in April.
- April 14-15: Themes 1 and 2 (£60)
- April 16-17: Themes 3 and 4 (£60)
Each taught topic will be followed up by practical exercises, to consolidate knowledge and to build up skills and confidence. There will be emphasis on numerical techniques, as these can make a significant difference to grades. Price elasticity, income elasticity and contribution will be covered specifically.
There will also be a focus on exam technique, as the skills of Application and Evaluation are crucial for higher grades in Business.
All delegates will receive a memory stick with revision questions (with answers that can be looked up on the stick). This will provide hours of revision materials.
We are recruiting examiners for our Business qualifications and would invite you to join one of our examining teams.
The marking period is between May - July. The training required to mark as an examiner will take place between May and June.
Are you an ECT?
Are you internationally based?
We are currently looking to expand our Examining workforce ahead of our assessment activities. We are seeking applicants to mark our International GCSE and International A Level qualifications in Business.
Apply to be an internationally based examiner
| GCSE Business | |
|---|---|
| 30 April | Planning for a Two-Year Course and Developing Skills |
After each event, a zipped file is uploaded to the qualification page. The zipped file includes the materials used in the event and a link to the recording.
The GCSE Business You Tube Channel includes recordings of events from previous years.
| International GCSE Business | |
|---|---|
| 4 September | Getting Ready to Teach International GCSE Business |
| 11 September | Understanding Assessment & Improving Delivery in International GCSE Business |
The A level Business You Tube Channel includes recordings of events from previous years.
| IAL Business | |
|---|---|
| 18 September | Getting Ready to Teach International A Level Business |
| 25 September | Understanding Assessment & Improving Delivery in International A Level Business |
This is a recorded session which focuses on best practice when using ResultsPlus, alongside ExamWizard to analyse your students’ examination results, and improve your in-house approach to teaching the topics your students find challenging.
The Professional Development Academy summarises the training that is available to you.
| GCSE Business |
|---|
| Delivery support |
| Assessment support |
Delivery support focuses on free support materials, networking and both free and paid-for resources. There are links to Pearson, Hodder and other publishers.
| International GCSE Business |
|---|
| Delivery support |
| Assessment support |
Assessment support focuses on assessment news and tools, support in understanding the command verbs, and information about grade boundaries and statistics.
GCSE Case studies from the FT
| Case study | Theme 1 | Theme 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Greggs | 1.1.1 The dynamic nature of business 1.2.1 Customer needs 1.2.4 The competitive environment 1.3.1 Business aims and objectives 1.4.3 The marketing mix |
2.1.1 Business growth 2.2.1 Product 2.2.3 Promotion 2.2.5 Using the marketing mix to make business decisions 2.4.2 Understanding business performance |
| 44 | Milk | 1.1.1 The dynamic nature of business 1.2.1 Customer needs 1.2.3 Market segmentation 1.2.4 The competitive environment |
2.2.1 Product 2.2.5 Using the marketing mix to make business decisions |
| 45 | Next | 1.1.1 The dynamic nature of business 1.1.3 The role of business enterprise 1.2.3 Market segmentation 1.4.3 The marketing mix |
2.2.1 Product 2.2.5 Using the marketing mix to make business decisions 2.3.3 Managing quality |
The FT case studies are appropriate for both GCSE and International GCSE. The mapping in the table (and in the case studies themselves) is to the GCSE specification.
International GCSE Business teachers may find it useful to observe that GCSE Theme 1 looks at small businesses (the focus of Paper 1 on the International GCSE), and that GCSE Theme 2 looks at larger businesses (the focus of Paper 2 on the International GCSE).
The new case studies this year start with 43 and 44. These can be found alongside the case studies from the last two years.
| A level Business |
|---|
| Delivery support |
| Assessment support |
Delivery support focuses on free support materials, networking and both free and paid-for resources. There are links to Pearson, Hodder and other publishers.
| IAL Business |
|---|
| Delivery support |
| Assessment support |
Assessment support focuses on assessment news and tools, support in understanding the command verbs, and information about grade boundaries and statistics.
A level case studies from recent news stories
| Case study | Theme 1 | Theme 2 | Theme 3 | Theme 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Chinese manufacturing | 2.1.4 | 3.1.3 | ||
| 42 | IKEA | 1.1.2 | 2.5.3 | ||
| 43 | Aldi (1) | 1.5.3 | 2.2.2 | ||
| 44 | Aldi (2) | 1.1.1 | 2.3.1 | ||
| 45 | Hilton | 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.2.4 |
3.2.3 3.6.1 |
||
| 46 | Ray-Ban Meta glasses | 1.1.2 1.3.1 1.3.3 1.3.4 |
|||
| 47 | Junk food | 1.3.2 | 2.5.2 | ||
| 48 | Vodafone-Three merger | 2.5.2 | 3.2.2 | ||
| 49 | Budget gyms | 1.3 1.5.3 |
2.5.1 2.5.3 |
The mapping in these case studies is for A level Business but IAL Business teachers might be interested to know that the four 'themes' in the A level Business specification correspond very closely to the four units in the IAL Business specification. The command verbs used in the questions are from A level Business so these will need adapting for IAL Business.
As well as the FT case studies available on the qualification page there are also case studies and activities from recent FT articles available in the dropbox folder.
Transform Business Teaching with Multimedia Resources from the Educational Recording Agency (ERA)
The ERA Licence provides seamless access to television and radio recordings, offering a single point of clearance for the rights needed to create and use authentic media resources in your classroom. With ERA’s free video streaming platform, licensed institutions can explore a rich library of curriculum-mapped TV and radio clips tailored to GCSE, AS, and A-level teaching.
Engage your learners with curated clips, full-length documentaries, and programmes that bring economic contexts to life. The platform also includes exclusive access to the BBC Shakespeare and Literary Archives, offering unique cross-curricular opportunities to enrich your lessons with impactful media - perfect for both homework and classroom activities.
To access this free resource registration is required - but is quick and simple. State schools in England are licensed under a central agreement with the DfE and the vast majority of independent schools also hold a current ERA Licence.
Secondary schools around the world can get free online access to the Financial Times, with articles, games and multi-media content on many topics to enrich studies and improve exam performance in business, economics, politics, geography, psychology and other topics.
The FT can help strengthen global and media literacy, and offer insights into preparation for further study and the world of work. It also has competitions, an online work experience programme and teacher selected articles with suggested questions, alongside resources developed by Pearson/Edexcel.
Details at www.ft.com/schools . A staff member can check if their school is already registered and to create student or staff accounts at www.ft.com/schoolsarefree
Summer 2026 Provisional Timetable
May 2025 timetable
November 2025
Summer 2026 Provisional Timetable
The June 2025 pre-release material for Paper 3 is now available to download.
Summer 2026 Provisional Timetable
May/June 2025 timetable
October 2025 timetable
In 2023 we received feedback from centres that the timetable for the International A level October series was too condensed, leading to timetable clashes and a poor candidate experience. As a result, we took the decision to extend the timetable in 2024 on the understanding that results would be issued a week later than previously.
Whilst we added and an additional week in the timetable for October 2024 series, we decided to postpone implementation of the later results date.
We can now confirm that from the October 2025 series onwards we intend to issue results one week later than in previous years. Results dates for January 2026 will be
Thursday 22 January 2026.
January 2026 timetable
Summer 2026 Provisional Timetable
The Pearson Edexcel Facebook page is designed to help and support you with the teaching and delivery of our UK qualifications. You can find 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.
An A level Business teacher has created aTikTok account for his students which he has shared here.
There is a new support page for you to bookmark – General qualifications assessment support. Here we’ll share news information and updates from Ofqual, the Department for Education (DfE), the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Pearson, relating to the exams and assessments for our GCSE, AS and A level qualifications.
We’ll be updating it regularly so you know you’ve got all the latest announcements, news, support materials and updates to enable you to teach our qualifications, help your students with their assessments and post-results support, to enable them to progress.
Multi factor authentication was 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, 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.
Based on feedback received this graphic was created to answer some common questions.
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.
If you teach any of our Economics or BTEC qualifications, you may wish to check out the monthly updates.
Subject advisor
Colin Leith
Business
