Getting Ready for Results Day 2024
Access key information and guidance for the Summer 2024 results period for GCSE, International GCSE and AS/A level Maths and Statistics, including key dates, details of post-results services and grade boundaries.
In addition to the general guidance below, we have also produced a set of FAQs to help centres in understanding the grade boundaries and grade statistics for this year in more detail.
Understanding Grade Boundaries and Grade Statistics FAQs
You can find information on grade boundaries and grade statistics for all subjects on our support pages using the links below:
Grade boundaries | Pearson qualifications
Grade statistics | Pearson qualifications
Grade boundaries documents that also provide the detailed breakdown of outcomes by centre type, age category and gender for each of our mathematics and statistics qualifications are also available on the Maths Emporium. These documents can be found within the Grade Boundaries cabinet under each qualification.
You can find national data on student performance on the JCQ website using the link below:
You can read more about how grade boundaries are set in our guide: Understanding Grade Boundaries 2024.
Under the approach set by Ofqual, it important to remember that the grade boundaries for a qualification may vary from year to year. It is important that they do so in order to reflect any difference in both the demand of the question papers and the ability of the cohort. Although senior examiners aim to produce papers of comparable demand, we know that some variations in the level of demand of an assessment, and any changes to grade boundaries as a result, are inevitable to ensure that fair and appropriate grading standards are set. This ensures that it is not easier or harder to get a grade between one year and the next.
Our continued improvements to accessibility mean that candidates have been able to access more of the marks and grade boundaries have moved upwards as a result.
Following the summer 2019 exam series for A level Mathematics, we collected a significant amount of feedback from teachers, parents and students. This feedback, along with continued analysis of students’ performance informed a set of key principles designed to ensure our exams are more accessible and that all students can have a positive exam experience. The improvements were first implemented in 2023 and focus on:
- Helping candidates get off to a good start
- Providing more restart opportunities pages
- Unlocking trapped marks assessing standard techniques (AO1)
- Making language more accessible and reducing reading time
You can read more about these changes in our Guide to Question Paper Improvements:
You can find a breakdown of the notional grade performance for each paper in the notional component grade boundaries document, available on our grade boundaries page here:
Grade boundaries | Pearson qualifications
Notional grade performance at component level plays no part in the determination of a qualification grade. Component-level grade boundaries in these linear qualifications are notional only, and do not equate to a certificated grade.
Notional grade performance at component level plays no part in the determination of a qualification grade. Component-level grade boundaries in these linear qualifications are notional only, and do not equate to a certificated grade. When the subject grade boundaries are recommended by the senior examiners, it helps them to consider the component performance for a candidate who will achieve, say, a borderline grade A by producing a borderline grade A performance on each component.
For teachers, the notional component grade boundaries can be useful as an indicator of grade performance when, for example, an examination paper is used as a future mock examination.
Grade statistics are only available at whole qualification level and the individual grade statistics by option are not available for any qualification that has different option routes, including AS and A level Further Mathematics.
When considering whether to submit a post-results service request, it is important to understand that notional grade boundaries - or how close a candidate may be to one - are not relevant. A change in a notional component-level grade may not equate to a subject grade change. If, after reviewing marking, a component mark changes, and the notional grade increases, the subject grade may remain unchanged when the component scores are combined. Only if, when combined with the other component scores, the revised total equates to a higher grade, would the subject grade be changed accordingly.
You can find further guidance on reviews of marking and moderation (RoMM) services in our easy-to-understand guide using the link below.
General qualifications post results services and support (pearson.com)
You can find further information on the appeals process in our support documents:
Teachers can register to attend our free Exam Insights training sessions which will look at the key points that have come out of the May/June 2024 series for each qualification.
Delegates will:
• look in detail at the performance data for each question
• review examples of student responses
• look at how the examiners applied the mark schemes
• receive feedback on specific topics to help with planning for the year ahead.
You can find more details and links to register for each event on the Pearson Professional Development Academy and under the section on Exam Insights and Marking Guidance Network Events below.
Please note the Examiner reports will be available on the Pearson website on Results Day. You can find links to these for each qualification under the section on Question Papers, Mark Schemes and Examiner Reports below.
Exam Feedback
As we come towards the end of the exam series, we would like you to share your feedback on this year's papers. We wish to provide students with the best possible experience, and your insights are crucial in helping us achieve this goal.
If you are a teacher whose students have taken any of our externally set assignments or exams in the May/June 2024 series, we are eager to hear your thoughts.
Your feedback will play a vital role in shaping the future of our qualifications and assessments. Your input will be shared with our senior examiners and across our subject teams to help us continuously improve future assessments.
| Qualification |
Exam session | Results to centres | Results to students |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS/A level | Summer 24 | 14 August 2024 | 15 August 2024 |
| GCSE, International GCSE | Summer 24 | 21 August 2024 | 22 August 2024 |
To access our results services and secure materials, and you will need an Edexcel Online login (EOL) to access this. EOL accounts are managed by the centre Exams Officer / EOL Administrator. If, as a teacher, you need an EOL login please talk to your Exams Officer who will be able to get you set up.
Please note that as an additional step for securing customer and learner data we have now introduced our new app-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users of Edexcel Online, replacing the email-based MFA. The app is now mandatory to access Edexcel Online via the Pearson Portal. If you've not done so already, you'll need to download the Pearson authenticator app to a smart device (such as a smart phone) to continue to access Edexcel online via the Pearson Portal.
Results documents
The results documents available for Exams Officers to download in Edexcel online are:
- Broadsheets (CSV/PDF) - shows all summer results
- Component mark list (CSV/PDF) - shows the paper marks, paper weighting, overall marks and grades awarded to candidates by subject (linear qualifications) or unit (modular qualifications).
- Contributing units report (CSV/PDF) - shows how individual units have contributed to cash-in grades for modular qualifications.
- Candidate statement of provisional results (CSPRs) - (PDF) - a statement of results per candidate which includes overall grades, and contributing units for modular subjects.
You can access Summer 2024 grade boundaries on our website from results day. In addition to the official grade boundaries that are produced at subject level, we will also be providing notional grade boundaries at paper level. These can help you mark and assess future mocks.
Exam materials from the Summer 2024 exam series will be made available on our website (secure download) on the following dates:
| Assessment materials | Date of availability on website |
|---|---|
| Question Papers | Tuesday 2 July |
| Mark Schemes | Tuesday 16 July |
| GCE Examiner Reports | Tuesday 20 August (available on ResultsPlus from Results Day) |
| GCSE Examiner Reports | Tuesday 27 August (available on ResultsPlus from Results Day) |
You can access these documents under the Exam Materials section of the relevant qualification pages using the links below.
ResultsPlus - our online results analysis tool
ResultsPlus is our free online results analysis tool, that gives you a detailed breakdown of your students’ performance in Pearson Edexcel exams.
It provides you with the most detailed analysis available of your students’ performance. ResultsPlus will help you to identify topics and skills where your students could benefit from further learning – helping them gain a deeper understanding of their subject.
Teachers can sign into ResultsPlus using their Edexcel Online username and password if their account profile has ResultsPlus access granted by the Exams Officer.
Examiner Reports can be obtained from ResultsPlus on results day by following the steps below:
- Log into Results Plus using your Edexcel Online details
- Once you are logged in under your centre, select 'ResultsPlus Analysis'.
- Then select 'Whole cohort results' followed by 'Cohort paper analysis'.
- Select the relevant qualification and series, eg 'GCE' and 'June 2024', followed by the relevant subject and 'View paper analysis'.
- Select 'Exam docs' and you will find the Examiner Report for that component.
Training Event
Watch our recorded training event in which credible specialists, Chris and Mel from JustMaths, run through everything you need to know about GCSE Maths: ResultsPlus and Access To Scripts.
In this session, Chris and Mel talk about the power of using ResultsPlus and Access To Scripts to inform departmental CPD, as well as guiding you through everything you need to know to be able to access and analyse your students' results.
Access to Scripts
You can also use our free Access to Scripts service to view your candidates’ marked exam scripts online or download as a PDF. It is available from results day until the 13 December 2024.
Providing a rich source of information, you can use this service to help make decisions about requesting a review of marking, but it can also help inform future teaching and learning and gives insights and visibility that performance data alone cannot provide.
If scripts have been marked ‘traditionally’ (ie not online), you will need to request them, free of charge, by 13 December 2024, via the Post Results section of Edexcel Online as in previous exam series.
Note, you will need 'Exam viewer' in your Edexcel Online profile if you want to download candidate scripts from results day. Please ask your Exams Officer if you need this adding to your profile.
Discover more about Access to Scripts, along with FAQs and a step-by-step User Guide.
See how teachers have been using Access to Scripts
"An excellent service, we have used it to inform our teaching"
Take a look at the Access to Scripts case studies to see how a number of schools and colleges have been using this service to evaluate how their students performed in the exams, identify skills gaps, help tailor future teaching plans and to develop staff CPD.
Please note, candidate consent is required before requesting script copies, as per section 4.2 of the JCQ's Post-results services guide. Candidate consent can only be obtained after results have been published.
Post-results support services
If you're not happy with your students' results this summer, you should take the following steps:
- View the grade boundaries, question papers, mark schemes and examiner reports for the paper/qualification concerned.
- View your students’ scripts using our free access to scripts service.
- Log in to ResultsPlus to see how your students have performed on every question and compare their performance to the national average.
- If you are still unhappy with your students' results, you may apply for a review of marking via our post-results services.
Read our guide:
Understanding your students' results - a guide to our post-results services (pearson.com)
The deadline for requesting a Review of marking and moderation (ROMM) is 26 September 2024 for GCSE, A level and International GCSE (Service 1, 2 and 3).
How to apply for post-results services
Please speak to your Exams Officer if you wish to proceed with a review of marking. Exams officers should contact their Centre Account Specialist on 0344 463 2535 if they require guidance or watch our post results video. All applications for reviews of marking must be submitted through Edexcel Online.
Post-results support for students
We have a dedicated web page for student post-results support. Please forward this link to your students where they can find information on the services for students.
Appeals
A centre that is dissatisfied with the outcome of a review of marking or moderation (RoMM), special consideration or access arrangement request, or malpractice determination may wish to appeal against the decision. We will allow the head of centre (or designated member of the centre’s senior management team or examinations manager)
- 30 calendar days from the receipt of the outcome to lodge an appeal against a RoMM decision
- 14 calendar days from the receipt of the outcome to lodge an appeal against a malpractice decision
- 14 calendar days from the receipt of the original decision to lodge an appeal against a special consideration or access arrangement decision.
Appeals should be submitted using the appeals webform
There is further guidance on appeals on our support page.
Applications for appeals may only be accepted from a head of centre (on behalf of a candidate or a group of candidates) or private candidates. See the JCQ appeals booklet, 46 & 47.
As part of our post series support, the Maths Team at Pearson have developed a comprehensive package of resources and training events to support teachers.
- Skills maps
- Exemplars
- Results data spreadsheets
- Enhanced QLA
- Shadow papers with student-friendly mark schemes
- Exam Insights Network Events (incl Post-16 GCSE)
- Marking Guidance Training Events
Our Post Series Support Timeline documents include release dates and links to all our support to make it easy for you to plan.
All resources for summer 2024 are now available on the Maths Emporium
Download the Post Series Support Timeline for GCE and Level 3 Maths Qualifications
You can find information for all our Exam Insights Network Events and register on the Pearson Development Academy website:
You can book your place on our Exam Insights Network events and Marking Guidance Network events using the links below.
19 September 2024
16:00-17:00 BST
Event has passed
24 September 2024
16:00-17:30 BST
Event has passed
2 October 2024
16:00-17:00 BST
Event has passed
8 October 2024
16:00-17:30 BST
Event has passed
16 October 2024
16:00-17:00 BST
Event has passed
17 October 2024
16:00-17:00 BST
Event has passed
On behalf of the Pearson Edexcel Maths team, we want to thank everyone in schools and colleges for your dedication in supporting students and helping to make sure they achieve the grades they deserve. We wish you and your students a well-deserved break over the summer, and the best of luck on results day.
I hope you found this update useful. You can contact me through the channels below if you have any questions.
Best regards
Vicky Wood
Subject Advisor for Mathematics and Statistics (UK)
Subject advisor
Vicky Wood
Mathematics and Statistics - UK centres
