English
English GCSEs are going onscreen
Find out about our plans to offer English GCSE onscreen from June 2025.
Pearson is delighted to announce that, subject to Ofqual approval, students will be able to sit our three English GCSEs (English Language 1EN0 & 1EN2 and English Literature) onscreen from June 2025.
- Working on a digital device is a normal way of working for many students, and it’s the way they expect to operate in their future working lives. Many students already word-process their English exams as part of their access arrangements.
- The onscreen format has many benefits which are especially valuable both for SEND students and the whole cohort: use the split screen to look at the reading text and the questions at the same time (no page flipping); use sticky notes to jot down ideas; change font size/colour to a look that is best for you; or highlight parts of the text that you want to draw on whilst planning your response.
- Students tell us they want to sit exams onscreen and those that have tried it say it helps them show what they can do. Students say that ‘typed work’ presents their ‘best side’, and allows them to edit more easily.
Try the onscreen GCSE English exams in our sandbox (registration required).
For more than a decade, we’ve gained extensive experience in offering onscreen assessment, forexample with our L1/2 Functional Skills qualifications. From June 2022 we offered part of our GCSE in Computer Science onscreen, and we’ve been offering English mocks and final exams onscreen for English International GCSEs for several years. In summer 2024, students will be able to sit International GCSEs in seven subjects, including English Language and Literature onscreen.
Find out more about all the qualifications Pearson offers onscreen.
No, our aim is to offer more choice and a better experience for those who already do their exams on a device, especially those with additional needs. You will be able to try out the onscreen format and decide whether it suits some or all your students.
It's our ambition to have onscreen assessment available for all GCSEs by 2030.
We hope you’re as excited as we are about being able to offer onscreen assessment to GCSE English students.
Subject advisor
Clare Haviland
English
Subject updates
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June 2026 teaching English update
This June, it’s all about the questions:
• Spotlight on accessibility: how can I plan delivery for my less able KS4 students?
• When can I access the assessment materials from the June 2026 exam series?
• How can I provide feedback on the June 2026 exams?
• How does grading and awarding work?
• What are the entry and submission deadlines for the November 2026 exam series?How can I:
• get ready for delivery for the 2026-2027 academic year?
• support the reading of students starting KS3 and 4 in September?
• set up for coursework success in the 2026-2027 academic year?
• get to grips with using AI constructively in the KS3 and KS4 classroom?
• network with other GCSE teachers this summer?
• improve my A level literature students’ prose performance summer?
Find the answers to these questions and lots more in my June teaching English update. -
May 2026 teaching English update
Dear Colleagues
As we approach possibly the most pressured time of the academic year, I’d like to take a moment to thank you for all your hard work and your dedication to your students. I hope that the NEA submission and exam preparation period runs smoothly and wish you and your students all the very best for the summer exams.
Best wishes
Clare Haviland