Pearson and the British Esports Federation have launched the first Internationally recognised Higher National BTEC Qualifications in Esports at Level 4 and Level 5.

The Level 4 Higher National Certificate (HNC, equivalent to the first year of an undergraduate degree) and the Level 5 Higher National Diploma (HND, equivalent to the second year of an undergraduate degree) offer students a clear progression pathway into the esports industry or wider creative industries.

International centres have already begun delivering these qualifications, with the UK set to begin delivery from September 2024.

The Esports Leadership Programme offers the first-ever esports qualifications tailored for individuals aged 11 and above.

Guild Esports has announced an educational course for parents to learn about gaming and esports.

An interesting article on the educational value of esports.

Catch up on the latest education news from British Esports

A story around how designing and playing games can get learners’ attention.

A report on the state of esports in the UK and the opportunities and challenges for the esports industry.

Nik Turner has written this guide to help you get started in delivering a BTEC qualification in Esports.

The current level 3 reforms for post 16 education in England mean that the BTEC Esports suite of qualifications is due to be defunded in July 2026. We have worked closely with our partner, British Esports Federation and government organisations to understand what reformed qualifications could be developed to support the growing esports industry in the UK, and therefore the growing demand for education, giving suitable progression for learners into this industry.

Pearson have the only esports qualifications available at level 3, but these changes will apply to ALL awarding organisations from September 2026.

You can confidently recruit learners on the BTEC L2 and L3 for the academic years 24/25 and 25/26, learners registered before the 31 July 2026 will be funded for their chosen qualification.

To develop qualifications to be funded from August 2026, qualifications need to meet specific funding criteria and subject areas, which currently, esports does not meet.

We are working in partnership with the British Esports Federation, to work through the L3 and L2 reforms around esports, to give the best possible opportunities for learners.

If you would like to attend a briefing to hear more about future delivery options, please complete this form for us to invite you.

Although very early in the reforms programme, we do have two new pages where new AAQ and technical qualifications will be featured.

The post-16 Level 2 vocational qualifications landscape in England is undergoing a significant reform.

To keep you informed, we have created a dedicated webpage providing an overview of the reforms, detailing what we know so far, and explaining the implications for you and your post-16 Level 2 curriculum.

This page provides an overview of the reforms and will be updated as and when new information becomes available.

As part of the Level 3 Vocational Qualification reforms we would like to invite you to help influence the next generation of BTEC Nationals. We want to ensure we capture the teacher and learner voice in our qualifications and support materials.

This is your opportunity to have your say and get involved.

The funding checklists below for 16-19 year olds give you a comprehensive view of funding which takes us up to the cohort starting in 2025.

This will give you clarity on how the recent updates on funding for BTEC Level 3 affect your centre and learners.
 

All learner work required for digital submission for both general and vocational qualifications will be uploaded via the Learner Work Transfer platform (accessed via Edexcel Online). This will include samples for non examined assessment moderation, BTEC moderated components and standards verification, plus BTEC external assessments.

For further information on submitting learner work digitally, please see our range of support articles.

A summary of what’s changed:

• real-life candidate malpractice examples involving AI that has not been referenced appropriately (see new appendix A)
•  new information on how to authenticate private candidate work
•  a new section, AI use and marking, to give clearer guidance on the impact on marking of student use of AI tools and on the use of AI tools by assessors when marking, with real-life examples (see new appendix B)
• an expanded list of AI tools and AI detection tools.

This could be a useful page to bookmark to stay up to date.

The Special Consideration Service is a new online tool to submit and track special consideration requests for BTEC First and National qualifications. This service opened in early January, which means your Exams Officer will no longer complete any paper JCQ Form 10 applications.

Your Exams Officer will be able to track the receipt and processing of special consideration applications for BTEC Firsts and Nationals. All special consideration requests for general and vocational qualifications in summer 2024 will be processed through the Special Consideration Service.

In January we started to allocate standards verifiers (SVs) to the BTEC Level 2 and Level 3 programmes delivered in centres. Standards verification is an integral part of our quality assurance model and must be completed fully and in a timely manner to ensure the successful issue of learner results.

SVs will contact the quality nominee in the first instance to introduce themselves, their role and the sampling process. Quality Nominees then share this information with the relevant lead internal verifier(s), who are then responsible for working with the SV to get the process underway.

The deadline for samples to be shared with your SV is 15 May, although we recommend that this takes place at the earliest opportunity. This will be agreed with your SV upon review of your assessment plan(s).

The 2023-2024 Centre Guide to Standards Verification (please see below) details the sampling approach and strategy for this academic year and also includes the key dates.

There is an updated version of the Assessment Record template for BTEC Entry – Level 3, these can be accessed on the BTEC forms and guides webpage.

This template now includes an updated authenticity declaration to include acknowledgement of any use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. This form is provided for immediate use.

If you design and use your own Assessment Record, please ensure this is updated to replicate the authenticity statement in our template/s.