June 2025 History subject update
This update contains useful information, news and advice for Edexcel History teachers including GCSE and A level History Summer 2025 student surveys and the latest on the Curriculum and Assessment Review.
Key Dates
Release of Summer 2025 materials on website
This summer we will be releasing question papers, mark schemes and examiner reports via the relevant qualification page on our website on the following dates:
- GCSE question papers will be released on 24 June 2025.
- GCSE mark schemes will be released on 22 July 2025.
- GCSE examiners reports will be made available on our website from 26 August 2025.
- A level question papers will be released on 1 July 2025.
- A level mark schemes will be released on 15 July 2025.
- A level examiner reports will be available on our website from 19 August 2025.
- You will also be able to download GCSE and A level examiner reports from results day via ResultsPlus.
Training for History teachers
We are running the following paid-for training events for Edexcel History teachers this academic year:
Summer 2025 exam insights events will be available to book soon via our training page.
We have the following pre-recorded training events for teachers who are new to teaching our History specifications or are considering switching:
Resources and support materials
We have worked with Harris Federation to create a new set of GCSE History student walkthrough videos to support students with the Summer 2025 exams and beyond.
The future of GCSE History
Last summer the government commissioned an independent review chaired by Professor Becky Francis into curriculum and assessment. The final report with recommendations is due to be published in Autumn 2025.
We're sharing our Curriculum and Assessment review recommendations to kickstart the conversation on changes you'd like to see at curriculum reform.
You can also read our presentation from the Pearson Edexcel workshop at HA Conference 2025 discussing future History qualifications and reform:
Summer 2025 student surveys for GCSE and A level History
We are keen to hear from Edexcel History students about their experiences of studying our qualifications and sitting exams this summer. We’ve created two surveys and we’d be grateful if you could encourage your students to complete them before the end of term to help give us more insight into our qualifications and assessments. In the past we used similar surveys with students and got some fantastic feedback which helped feed into our GCSE History assessment changes.
Teaching Medieval Women Nottingham CPD Day
The Teaching Medieval Women project is a collaboration between teachers and academics to bring the experiences of medieval women into the teaching of medieval history at school. This project was borne out of a shared realisation that women are still substantially under-represented in many of the medieval history classes taught at school in the UK, at KS3, KS4 and A-Level.
On Monday 16 June 2025 they are hosting a free, in person CPD event at Nottingham Trent University Conference Centre, City Campus. This CPD day is a forum to share experiences, to showcase new examples of medieval women with presentations from academics and teachers, and to collaborate on materials to understand how we can best to support the teaching of this topic and attract and engage a new generation of students. The CPD day will involve talks by leading academics, discussion panels and resource design workshops intended to inspire and to support the inclusion of medieval women in current History teaching.
The event is free, but they do anticipate that places will go quickly, so please do register via Eventbrite. The deadline for registration is Monday 9 June. If you have any questions, please email Catherine.gower@ntu.ac.uk.
Teaching Indigenous Histories and Perspectives in Schools
The TIHPS now has an official website which will become the home for new teaching resources and access to support created through the collaborations in the project.
Don’t forget to sign up for the Teaching Indigenous Histories and Perspectives in Schools day conference on Saturday 28th June. Open to all, but particularly suitable for upper KS2 and KS3 teachers, it is costs £10 for the day, including catering, and travel bursaries are available. There will be Indigenous, historian and teacher speakers, expert workshops and free, new schemes of work, as well as the chance to become part of a community afterwards and have members of the team support you in developing and embedding SoWs in your own schools.
SHP Summer Conference 2025
Booking is now open for the SHP Summer Conference 2025, which takes place at Leeds Trinity University between 11-13 July 2025. There will be a fantastic range of workshops for primary and secondary history teachers, led by inspirational teachers and history educators. For more details and to book your place visit the SHP website:
Look out for our Summer 2025 exam feedback surveys for teachers
Later this month, we will be sending out our 2025 exam feedback surveys for teachers. Feedback from these surveys help us to improve the experience of teachers using our qualifications and students sitting our exams. Your feedback is important to us so keep an eye on your inbox for the survey link. I will also include a link to the surveys in my next update.
Subject advisor
Mark Battye
History
