December 2025 Religious Studies subject update | Pearson qualifications

December 2025 Religious Studies subject update

1 December 2025

Welcome to your Pearson Edexcel Religious Studies December 2025 subject update!

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Hello colleagues, 

This last update of the year introduces new teaching resources for GCSE, shares details of upcoming training events and offers updated advice with regard to entering students for Entry Level Certificate.

Whatever you’ve got planned for the holidays, we hope you find time to relax and recharge. 

Best wishes,

Jenna Wyatt
Religious Studies Subject Advisor


Key dates

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  • 12 December - The deadline to access scripts online 
  • 21 February - ELC entry deadline 

Upcoming Training Events

In December 2025, we will release a pre-recorded Exam Insight training session for A Level Religious Studies, presented by our chair of examiners

Pre-recorded event - A-Level - Date / Time TBC 

Find out more

 

We have two upcoming online events designed to provide focused subject knowledge support for for the 'Living the Christian Life / Practices' section, featured in the 'Christianity' area of study, for Pearson Edexcel's GCSE in Religious Studies (specifications A and B) and 'Living the Muslim Life / Practices' section, featured in the 'Islam' area of study. 

  • Christianity – Insight into the teaching of Living the Religious Life / Practices- 08 December 2025 at 16:30-18:00 GMT
  • Islam – Insight into the teaching of Living the Religious Life / Practices - 27 January 2026 at 16:30-18:00 GMT

To book your place and find out more please click below: 

Book your place

In October, we ran an online training session for teachers wishing to take an in depth look at feedback relating to our GCSE Religious Studies specification B (1RB0) summer 2025 exam series.

For those who were unable to join us for the event relating to specification B (1RB0), the recording is available to watch below. 

Recording for Specification B

Link to the delegate pack:

In November, we delivered assessment and marking training for teachers delivering GCSE Specifications A and B. For those who were unable to join us for the event the recording is available to watch below: 

Recording for Assessment and Marking 

Link to the delegate pack: 


The Curriculum and Assessment Review: 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.

See our response and sign up for the latest news


Teaching and Learning Resources

We’re excited to share brand-new resources packed with quick recall questions perfect for helping students revisit and reinforce key knowledge from the Christianity - Marriage and the Family and Christianity - Matters of Life and Death topics for GCSE specification B.

The worksheets inside these resources can be used as 'do now' activities, for intervention sessions, or as home learning/revision tasks.

Christianity Specification B - Marriage and the Family

Christianity Specification B - Matters of Life and Death 

We are pleased to announce the release of another knowledge organiser style resource in support of our Judaism papers for GCSE Religious Studies, Specification A and B.

This resource has been crafted to enhance your students' grasp of key concepts, making complex topics accessible and engaging.
Please note you will need your Edexcel Online log in to access these resources.

Specification A: 

Paper 2F 

Specification B:

Paper 1F

Paper 2F

Paper 3F

Every month, we release an edition of 'Topic of the Month' with the aim of supporting cultural capital and stimulating discussion within the classroom.

This resource ties a current news event to our qualification content and enables students to see the bigger picture of what they are learning and how it relates to the world around them.  Each edition includes a link to an article alongside some key discussion questions to encourage thought around the subject. 

October's topic refers to the global tradition of blessing pets and livestock during the Feast of Saint Francis.

Topic of the Month


Entry Level Certificate sample size 

From the January 2026 series, we’ll be asking you to submit a slightly larger sample size for moderation in Project qualifications and BTEC Tech Awards.

From June 2026, this approach will also apply to GCSE, International GCSE, A level and Entry Level Certificate qualifications. This change is designed to make moderation smoother and reduce the need for additional sample requests later in the year.

Read our email about changes to sample sizes

Enrichment Opportunities

The January Challenge is a fun, free programme of daily creative prompts throughout January for you to do by yourself, with your colleagues, groups or students.

This year the theme is ‘Courageous Change’ with each of the prompts designed to help us get a new perspective, build our courage and helpus collaborate so that we can be more prepared for this ever changing world.

To get involved you can:

Sign up as an individual

Download their free resource packs 

Learn more about The January Challenge 

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I hope you found this update useful. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch using the contact details below. You can also sign up to get these Subject Advisor updates straight to your inbox every month.

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