Centres should prepare computer facilities to enable each candidate to have their own computer with internet access and print off copies of the Part A booklet for candidates to use.

Centres must issue the Part A booklet at the beginning of the Part A period on the date specified by Pearson. Centres must advise candidates of the timetabled session during which they are allowed to prepare notes.

Part A takes place in the afternoon session before Part B. The JCQ defines the afternoon session as starting at 13.30.

The JCQ awarding bodies allow centres in the UK to start up to 30 minutes earlier than, or later than, the published starting time for the session, without the need to complete any paperwork. Prior permission from an awarding body is not required.

Where this policy is followed, to avoid any possible breach of security, late arriving candidates or early departing candidates must be supervised as if the awarding body’s published starting time had been in place. (JCQ, Instructions for Conducting Examinations).

Timetable clashes must be dealt with as outlined in the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations document.

Candidates may prepare summary notes based on their analysis of the provided research which they can annotate on the Part A and also prepare the two further pages of notes that they will be allowed to take into the Part B assessment.

Part A is completed under Low control conditions.

The ICEA definition of Low control is:

These are activities completed without direct supervision. They may include research, preparation of materials and practice. The materials produced by candidates under low control will not be directly assessed.

This means that candidates are allowed to take Part A booklets and their notes away from the centre to use and work on as part of their preparation.

During this time candidates may use

• a computer
• the internet
• textbooks
• their coursework folder, which might include class notes, mocks with teacher feedback, templates on how to dissect and organise the Part A information

During this time teachers must not:

• provide additional support or guidance to candidates
• give candidates additional materials to support them with either the Part A pre-release or the Part B supervised assessment.

Teachers should note that they are responsible for maintaining security and for reporting issues to Pearson.

Candidates may take up to two sides of A4 notes into the Part B supervised assessment as well as the Part A research pack with the annotations they have made.

Candidate notes can be either handwritten or word processed on a computer. If word processed, the font size must be 10 points minimum. If handwritten, the words must be readable by the naked eye.

Candidates’ notes could include

• facts and figures relating to organisations, such as the products they offer and the ways they use the marketing mix in their promotional campaigns.
• reminders about theories or concepts candidates find difficult to remember
• identifying key trends such as percentage increases and summarising the findings.
• annotations to the Part A research pack to indicate what may be useful for PESTLE and SWOT.
• notes candidates may have made in lessons such as what a marketing message is and the key factors to consider when deciding on the type of media to use
• subheadings candidates may wish to remember
• a template which helps organise the notes.

Candidates’ notes must not include any attempt to pre-prepare marketing plans, budgets or timelines.  

Yes.

Centres must make arrangements before Part B is started to:

• inform candidates directly of the allowable content of all Part A which should not include any pre-prepared marketing plans, budgets or timelines
• check that the notes do not include any pre-prepared marketing plans, budgets or timelines
• make the notes available to candidates at the start of the Part B supervised assessment. If notes are electronic, centres should make arrangements to upload the notes to each candidate’s machine/restricted secure area prior to the start of the Part B supervised assessment session
  

Please do not submit Part A work to Pearson. Centres must make arrangements to keep Part A candidate work secure after the completion of the set task (Part B) in case of request from Pearson.

Up to 2 hours of note preparation with access to the internet should be provided in college/school. This is for two reasons:

1. Not all candidates have internet access at home, and this ensures that candidates without access at home can use the college/school facilities.

2. Not all candidates have the self-discipline to use their time productively to prepare for Part B and this ensures that they are more likely to do so.

Centres should prepare computer facilities to enable each candidate to have their own computer without internet access and print off copies of the Part B set task for candidates to use.

Centres must issue the Part B set task at the beginning of the Part B period on the date specified by Pearson. Centres must advise candidates of the timetabled sessions during which they are allowed to prepare notes.

Part B takes place in the morning session on the day after Part A. The JCQ defines the morning session as starting at 9.00am.

The JCQ awarding bodies allow centres in the UK to start up to 30 minutes earlier than, or later than, the published starting time for the session, without the need to complete any paperwork. Prior permission from an awarding body is not required.

Where this policy is followed, to avoid any possible breach of security, late arriving candidates or early departing candidates must be supervised as if the awarding body’s published starting time had been in place. (JCQ, Instructions for Conducting Examinations).

Timetable clashes must be dealt with as outlined in the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations document.

Part B is completed under Medium control conditions.

The ICEA definition of Medium control is:

This is completion of assessment, usually over a longer period of time, which may include a period of controlled conditions. The controlled conditions may allow candidates to access resources, prepared notes or the internet to help them complete the task.

The controlled conditions for this unit allow candidates to:

• have access to the Part A and two pages of notes to allow them to complete the task
  
• have access to permitted software or applications as stated below
  
• candidates must not have access to the Internet, email, or any other resources aside from their permitted notes, unless stated as permitted below.

Candidates are permitted access to any relevant software to enable them to complete the Part B task. This includes, but is not limited to offline versions of:

• Offline Office applications, such as Microsoft Office, Open Office, etc
  
• Any other offline applications, such as project planning software, calculators, spell- checkers, etc

Candidates may have access to blank paper and pens to jot down ideas or sketch out plans. These plans must not be submitted as part of the candidates’ work and will not be marked by examiners.

During this time teachers must not:

• provide additional support or guidance to candidates
• give candidates additional materials to support them

Teachers should note that they are responsible for maintaining security and for reporting issues to Pearson.

During the three-hour period, centres may schedule supervised rest breaks. This time is in addition to the three hours for the task. For example, if a centre starts an assessment at 9am and has a 15 minute supervised break, the session would be scheduled to end at 12.15pm. Task booklets and candidates’ notes must be collected prior to any break, stored under secure conditions and re-issued when the session resumes.

Should be signed by the person(s) involved in the supervision of the set task. This should be retained by the Exams Officer (not submitted to Pearson).

Candidates must be reminded that the header or footer has all the required information and to save their work as two separate pdf files (one for each activity).

Teachers (and Exams Officers/ICT technicians) must not modify the work in any way, nor change how it is saved. If it is not saved in pdf format by the candidate, the files must be sent as they are.

The Exams Officer must then ensure that the files are uploaded by the correct date.

Please refer to the Admin Support Guide for further guidance.