Pearson Remote Invigilation Service for students, parents and carers
Welcome to the Pearson Remote Invigilation Service (RI Service). At Pearson we understand the demand for location agnostic education is growing, and more families are opting to be educated outside of the traditional school setting. The Remote Invigilation Service has been developed in response to this growing need.
Students can now take their Pearson Edexcel exams from home using our Remote Invigilation Service, within a familiar and comfortable environment. This service provides flexibility while still ensuring the same high standards of security, fairness, and integrity as exams taken in an exam centre.
This page explains what remote invigilation is, who it’s for, and how students and families can prepare for exams via the service with confidence.
Please note that the Remote Invigilation Service is not available in all countries. Your school or centre will advise whether remote invigilation is an option for you.
Parents and carers can find introductory details about the service in the Remote Invigilation Service guide for parents and guardians
What is remote invigilation?
Remote invigilation allows students to take exams from a suitable private location, such as their home.
During the exam:
- Identity, room setup and exam conditions are checked
- A trained Pearson invigilator supervises the exam live online
- The student completes their exam on a computer
- A backup device records the exam for exam security purposes
- Exams are recorded for safeguarding and quality assurance purposes
This helps ensure all students are assessed fairly and consistently.
Why choose remote invigilation?
Students and families choose remote invigilation for reasons including flexibility, accessibility and reduced travel. Many students using the service learn online and therefore taking exams online is the natural next stage in their education journey.
In the stories and feedback below, you’ll hear from students and parents how the Remote Invigilation Service helps students perform at their best.
"Our experience of using the Remote Invigilation Service was only positive. By far the most responsive team out of any we’ve dealt with. Sitting exams is stressful. Having a child at home who can’t access a centre adds to that stress, but with the help of your team, my daughter was able to access an otherwise inaccessible qualification (and achieved a Grade 7). Thank you."
"Remote Invigilation was a game changer for my autistic, home educated son. His nearest exam centre was going to be an hour and a half’s travel away. Having the stress of such a long journey would have put him at a severe disadvantage in sitting the exams. Remote invigilation took away that worry and enabled him to sit his International GCSE English Language and Mathematics in the comfortable environment of his home. He passed both (grade 6 and 7) and can now look forward to going to college. Many thanks for this vital service, especially from those who aren’t able to fit into the standard school-centric model of education."
Teagan
( 2:32 )
Cole
( 0:56 )
Patricia
( 1:26 )
Evan
( 1:11 )
Remote invigilation modes of assessment
The Remote Invigilation Service is available for selected subjects via two modes of assessment – onscreen and paper-based. Both modes are conducted via computer, with questions appearing onscreen, but differ in terms of how students capture and submit their answers.
- Onscreen assessments – Text boxes are provided onscreen for students to type their responses directly into the Assessment player.
- Paper‑based assessments – An answer booklet is downloaded from the Assessment Player and printed out under invigilation before the exam is started. Once the exam begins, questions appear onscreen and answers are written by hand. At the end of the exam, the student scans the answer booklet and uploads it for submission.
Benefits of onscreen assessment
Pearson is proud to be leading the way in onscreen assessment as the first awarding body to offer onscreen International GCSE and International A Level exams alongside traditional paper-based exams.
The Remote Invigilation Service makes use of the Pearson onscreen examination format wherever possible as it provides a smoother experience for students and provides the following benefits that help students perform at their best.
- Aligning with their life experiences, where onscreen assessment is a natural extension of the way students already study and interact with friends and family online.
- Preparing students for further education and work where the use of technology is integral to all career paths.
- An inclusive design that facilitates fair access for more students.
Available subjects
Remote invigilation is available for selected Pearson qualifications and subjects only. The mode of assessment is indicated for each subject in the list below.
Please note: Where subjects are listed as onscreen, this is the default mode of assessment for all students. Only students with an approved Access Arrangement may opt out of the onscreen mode of assessment.
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE
| Paper-based | Onscreen default |
|---|---|
| Mathematics A | English Language A* |
| Further Pure Mathematics | English Literature |
| Biology | Economics |
| Chemistry | History |
| Physics | Business |
| Science (Double Award) | Islamic Studies |
| French/German/Spanish* | Global Citizenship |
| Religious Studies | Geography |
| ICT (May/June series only from 2027) | Pakistan Studies |
| Computer Science (May/June series only from 2027) |
* Only written components are available via Remote Invigilation. Please consult your school or centre for information about spoken and coursework components.
Pearson Edexcel International AS and A Level
| Paper-based | Onscreen default |
|---|---|
| Mathematics | English Language |
| Economics | English Literature |
| Biology | History |
| Chemistry | |
| Physics | |
| French/German/Spanish* | |
| Psychology | |
| Geography | |
| Law | |
ICT (Paper 1 from May/June 2026) (Paper 2 from May/June 2027) |
|
Computer Science (IAS from May/June 2027) (IAL from May/June 2028) |
* Only written components are available via Remote Invigilation. Please consult your school or centre for information about spoken and coursework components.
Need help?
Your school or exam centre is always your first point of contact, as they can confirm entries, start times, access arrangements and how the Remote Invigilation Service applies to you. If you still need additional support, or would like clarification about how the service works, our Remote Invigilation Customer Support team is here to help.
