BTEC Tech Award November Update
We’re halfway through the first term – and it’s been a busy one. We know how much you’re juggling right now. Between teaching, supporting learners, and keeping up with curriculum developments, it’s a lot. Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed thank you for all you do.
This update is designed to support you. It includes the latest subject news, key dates, and resources to help you plan ahead. We hope it gives you clarity and saves you time. If there’s anything you’d like more information on—or if you need support with something specific—please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Curriculum and Assessment Review
This week the government published the Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report which includes the conclusions and recommendations of the independent review of the curriculum, assessment and qualifications system in England. They also published the Government response to the CAR report which contains a timeline for future reform.
Our response: The Curriculum and Assessment Review is an important milestone for education and skills in the UK – and it’s just the beginning. We welcome the Review’s support for many of the recommendations we shared. All of these have been inspired by our work with schools and colleges across the country. And we’ll keep working to build an education system that empowers students, champions teachers, and drives the UK’s long-term success. As we now move from ideas into further action, we’ll keep collaborating with educators, students, partners, sector experts to drive manageable and truly impactful change. We’ve already started to do this and would love for you to join us in our next steps.
New Sampling from the Dec 2025-Jan2026 Series
We’ll be asking for a larger sample size when moderating internally assessed work for BTEC Tech Award qualifications.
The deadline to submit learner marks and samples for this series is the 15 December 2025.
By asking for a slightly larger sample upfront, we aim to make the process smoother and reduce the likelihood of additional requests later on. This should help us complete moderation more efficiently, and give you and your students greater clarity and confidence in the outcomes. This process will not affect the way in which moderators currently review the sample, and they will only look at additional samples of work where needed.
| Cohort Size | Sample size * |
|---|---|
| 1 - 15 | All |
| 16 - 100 | 15 |
| 101 - 200 | 20 |
| >200 | 25 |
* You must also include the highest and lowest (non-zero) marked students, if they have not already been selected in your sample.
Useful background content
The Tech Award 2022 Key dates are a vital reference please find the link below.
This knowledge base resource is an excellent repository of knowledge that is curated by customer service experts in an ongoing process. The information is far reaching and detailed, while being easy to navigate.
Whether you want Registration and Entry details or details about the use of Edexcel Online (EOL) for submission of raw marks it can all be found here
Tech Award 2022 - Support Index
After you have submitted marks and the requested samples of learner work for Pearson-Set Assignments, you can expect to receive the initial Moderator Feedback Report. This report will provide valuable information about the accuracy of your marking and offer guidance on areas where you may choose to amend marks (if necessary). Amending marks is optional.
Learners are required to take the external assessment at the end of their qualification (the series in which the learner certificates). This means that learners must sit internal component assessments either prior to or in the same series as the external assessment to fulfil this terminal rule. If a learner chooses to retake an internal assessment in a series after they sat the terminal external assessment, they will also need to re-sit the external component to satisfy the terminal rule.
Learners are allowed one retake of each internal component, and one re-sit of the external assessment within the programme.
To help you understand the terminal rule, we’ve created a new scenario based quick quide that you can use to help you plan your learners path to certification.
Distinction * qualification grade needs all component results to be Distinction.
The UMS total will tell you what qualification outcome the student has achieved, except that for a D* certification all three components also need to be at Distinction. So it is possible for a student to have 270 UMS and not achieve an overall D*.
From the specification section 8:
The Level 2 Distinction* grade at qualification level will be awarded only if a learner has achieved a Level 2 Distinction in each component and the minimum number of uniform marks for the Level 2 Distinction* at qualification level.
Learners can retake internally assessed components once during their course.
If learners are retaking internally assessed components, they must respond to the new PSA released for that series. Learners are permitted to adapt work from their initial sitting where it is appropriate. They can use the full allocated time, including monitored preparation where applicable, and if they choose to adapt work from their initial sitting, they will need to repurpose, build upon and/or amend their work to meet the new PSA. Learners should not be overly guided on how to improve their work, and if assistance is provided, this should be documented and considered during assessment.
For further information, centres should follow the JCQ Guidance with particular attention paid to sections 2 and 17.
If a learner chooses to retake an internal assessment in a series after they sat the terminal external assessment, they will also need to resit the external component to satisfy the terminal rule. Learners are allowed one resit of the external assessment within the programme.
You will submit certification claims for the new BTEC Tech Awards during the series in which learners are sitting their terminal external assessment. You will do this using the cash-in code for the qualification, which you can find in our Information Manual.
You can make certification claims during the normal entry window for the assessment series. If you have a learner who sits their terminal assessment in January and is happy with their result, you will be able to submit a late claim following the release of January results. However, if a learner is not happy with their results and intends to resit in the May/June series, you may choose to delay claiming until making their resit entry.
We have revised the FAQs to include more detail about Claiming certification please review this material carefully
The new VQ Learner Tracker, is a new tool you can use to identify where cash-ins are missing and help you to manage your BTEC Tech Award cohort.
Subject advisor
Tim Brady
Computer Science and ICT Subject Advisor
