April 2026 Politics subject update
This update contains useful information, news and advice for Edexcel Politics teachers including two brand new FT for Schools case studies on the House of Lords and US Supreme Court.
Key Dates
You can find the Summer 2026 exam timetable below:
Training for Politics teachers
You can now find a recording of the A level Politics Summer 2025 exam insights event on our website:
Recordings of the A level Politics Paper 3 Network events for US and Global Politics, which ran in early February, will be available on our qualification page soon.
We have the following recorded training events for teachers who are new to teaching our Politics specification or are considering switching:
Edexcel A Level Politics network event – building exam skills
( 57:42 )
Pearson Edexcel A Level Politics Exam Insights May/June 2024
( 1:28:16 )
Edexcel A level Politics Core and Non-Core Political Ideas network event
( 1:26:47 )
A Level Politics: New to Pearson Edexcel
( 1:55:51 )
Youtube Video Title
Youtube video contentRelated Videos
Edexcel A Level Politics network event – building exam skills
( 57:42 )
Pearson Edexcel A Level Politics Exam Insights May/June 2024
( 1:28:16 )
Edexcel A level Politics Core and Non-Core Political Ideas network event
( 1:26:47 )
A Level Politics: New to Pearson Edexcel
( 1:55:51 )
Resources and support materials
New FT for Schools case study - House of Lords
We’ve created a brand-new case study on ‘House of Lords: the relative power of the House of Lords and House of Commons’, using the Financial Times for Schools resource.
This case study, based on FT articles, ‘UK House of Lords accused of holding up passage of assisted dying bill’, and ‘Behemoth bills are causing hold-ups in the Lords’, relates to the following UK Government specification points:
- 1.4 The constitution: debates on further reform
- 2.2 The comparative powers of the House of Commons and House of Lords
- 2.3 The legislative process
It contains research activities, discussion points, suggested homework exercises and sample student responses.
New FT for Schools case study - US Supreme Court
We’ve created another brand-new case study on ‘US Supreme Court: an independent judicial body?’, using the Financial Times for Schools resource.
This case study, based on an FT article, ‘The Supreme Court has delivered an overdue rebuke to Donald Trump on tariffs’, relates to the following US Politics specification points:
- 3.3.1 Relationships between the presidency and the Supreme Court
- 3.3.2 Limitations on presidential power: the Supreme Court and the Constitution
- 4.1 The nature and role of the Supreme Court
- 4.2 The appointment process for the Supreme Court
- 4.3 The Supreme Court and public policy
- 4.6 Interpretations and debates of the US Supreme Court and civil rights: the political versus judicial nature of the Supreme Court
It contains research activities, discussion points, suggested homework exercises and sample student responses.
Look out for more FT for Schools case studies in the Autumn term! You can also find more case studies on the A level Politics qualification page.
A level Politics FT Case Studies: Teacher Feedback Survey
We’d love to get your feedback on this series of FT Case Studies which we launched last Autumn. Please spend a couple of minutes to tell us if you find them useful and also suggest topics for future case studies.
Do you teach GCSE Citizenship and want to help shape its future?
As we look ahead to curriculum and assessment reform, we really want to hear directly from those teaching GCSE Citizenship day in, day out. We’ve created a short survey to give centres the chance to share their views. Your feedback will play an important role in making sure centre voices are heard as future thinking develops. If you can spare just a few minutes, we’d be very grateful if you could take part.
Become an A level Politics Examiner with Pearson
It’s not too late to apply to become an examiner for A level Politics this summer. We are particularly interested in people looking to mark Paper 3A US Politics. If you want to apply please apply online via our examiner recruitment page:
UCAS admissions consultation
We know many of our centres and students use the UCAS application service when applying to Higher Education in the UK. We wanted to let you know that UCAS are currently consulting on the operation of the UCAS undergraduate admissions cycle including:
- the number of initial choices a student can make
- the firm and insurance choice
- application deadlines, including the early (October) deadline and January Equal Consideration Date.
This is an opportunity for you to have your say. You can find out further details about the consultation and respond on the UCAS website. The deadline to respond is 18.00 (UK time) on 22 April 2026.
Subject advisor
Mark Battye
Government and Politics
