Frequently asked questions
FAQs for all students
Past exam papers for the qualifications Pearson offer can be downloaded from the past papers webpage.
Please note: some exam materials are not available for download, these are indicated by a padlock icon. These are recent exams and are only available to be downloaded by teachers, to be used as mock exams for the first nine months after an examination has been sat. After nine months, the papers will become available for anyone to download.
You can request a replacement document from Pearson. This official document outlines your achievements within the qualification and is recognised by employers and education centres as a valid document.
Please note: this document is different from a Student Result slip, which is only available from your school or college.
Our standard service aims to provide an official document to replace your original certificate in 20 working days. For an additional fee, you can request a priority service for a dispatch within five working days. This service is only available for academic qualifications awarded after 1996.
If we don't find your results, we will provide a partial refund of £20. The rest of the replacement certificate fee will go towards the initial search and administration costs.
We can send an official document as official confirmation of your results to a third party. Select our Documents for third parties standard service on our online form and we’ll send the documentation to your required destination.
Our standard service aims to provide an official document to replace your original certificate in 20 working days. For an additional fee you can request a priority service for a dispatch within five working days. This service is only available for academic qualifications awarded after 1996.
To track your replacement certificate application, visit our tracking page. You will have received a tracking code in the confirmation email of your application.
If you haven't received a confirmation email:
- check your spam folder
- check you entered the correct email address on your application
- on the tracking page, enter the tracking number of your replacement certificate application in the text box underneath 'Check status of request' and click on the 'Go' button. The current status of your request is displayed.
If you can't find your tracking code, contact us using the link below.
If you need your application to be processed sooner than the standard 20 working days, you can apply for fast-track service (includes an additional fee) by contacting us using the link below. The fast-track service will aim to deliver your request within five working days and is only available for academic qualifications completed in January 1996 or later.
Specifications for the qualifications Pearson offer can be downloaded. To do this:
- Click the link below.
- Select the subject of the specification you wish to view.
- Select the qualification type and level from the right-hand side of the page.
In the first instance all suspected malpractice should be reported to your school/college/learning provider.
If you've exhausted their internal complaints process you can report suspected malpractice by learners or staff by emailing pqsmalpractice@pearson.com with as much detail as possible.
FAQs for private candidates
The JCQ provide a list to help private candidates locate their nearest examination centre in the UK.
Click the link below for further information.
In order to find a Pearson centre outside the UK where you can sit an exam, please select the link below and complete the search fields to find details of Pearson-approved centres.
If you're unhappy with your results or think your assessment has been marked incorrectly, there are several options available to you. See our post-results services page to see what services we offer.
Please note: it is not possible for a paper to be remarked. Instead, post-results services can review the marking of a paper. During a review of marking a senior examiner will check your paper against the mark scheme, ensuring everything you have written has been marked accurately.
Private candidates, who wish to request post-results services, can request this from the centre where you sat your examination. Alternatively, you can request post-results services directly through Pearson by contacting us using the link below.
Learner FAQs for BTEC results
If you are a student and want to confirm you will receive a BTEC result on results day in August 2023, please contact your school or college in the first instance.
For students looking for further advice or support after talking to your school or college, please contact us via the Pearson Support Portal on 0345 618 0440 (from 9:00am-5:00pm), or direct message us @PearsonBTECAppr on social media.
You should speak to your school or college for advice. They can request post-results services for you if they believe this is the right course of action. If you have a university offer, you should contact them directly, as they may still be able to accept you if you haven’t met their offer.
If you have not received your BTEC result and you were expecting to receive one in August, you should contact your school or college in the first instance. If you have spoken to your school or college, and still need further help please contact us via the Pearson Support Portal or on 0345 618 0440 (from 9:00am-5:00pm Monday to Friday), or direct message us @PearsonBTECAppr on social media.
You should speak to your school or college for advice - they can request post-results services for you if they believe this is the right course of action. If you have applied to university and decide to request a review of marking, or appeal, you should update your university. They can advise if they can hold your place for you.
We can accept post-results service requests directly from private candidates. Please contact our student services team, and we will ask for proof of ID and then send a form for you to complete for your post-results request.
If you have received the outcome of your review of marking and you are still unhappy, you should talk to your school or college for advice. They can submit an appeal on your behalf, but they must agree that this is the right course of action.
You can find out more about appeals on our post-results services page.
If you have applied to university and decide to appeal, you should update your university. They can advise if they can hold your place for you.
On results day you can use our Verification of Results service to send details of the grades you've received directly to a university outside the UK. Visit our certificate services page where you can find further details about the Verification of Results service.
Universities within the UK usually receive student results via UCAS. If you have applied for university through UCAS, and we have successfully matched your BTEC record with your UCAS application, we will have sent your results direct to UCAS.
If your result has not been sent to your university of higher education institution, you should contact us immediately, via the Pearson Support Portal or on 0345 618 0440 (from 9:00am-5:00pm Monday to Friday), or direct message us @PearsonBTECAppr on social media and we can help.
Your school or college sets up your ResultsPlus Direct account. If you are unable to register, log in, or see the results you were expecting to see, you should contact your school or college as soon as possible so they can help to resolve this issue.
Pass, Merit, Distinction, Distinction* - This is our standard grading system used for BTECs. Distinction* is the highest, Pass is the lowest.
X - this means a learner was absent from an exam.
Y - this means a grade is still pending (your school or college will need to contact us to investigate if they are unsure why this grade has been given).
N - a near pass for BTEC assessments, to show that a learner was very close to passing.
# - a partial grade has been provided, possibly because of special considerations being applied.
Ofqual set out their plans for awarding qualifications in 2024 and their plans to continue with normal arrangements this summer, having returned to normal grading in 2023 for A levels, AS levels and GCSEs, as well as for vocational qualifications. Our guiding principle and approach to awarding BTEC qualification results in 2024 is to maintain the performance standards from 2023.
Read our BTEC learner guide to find out more about how BTECs are awarded
A group of subject and technical experts set grade boundaries (the number of marks needed to achieve a certain grade) after each external assessment has taken place. They review a range of evidence to make sure there is fairness, validity and robustness in the grade boundaries recommended. It is important to remember that the grade boundary decisions for your external assessments make up a small proportion (around 40%) of your qualification and are combined with your internal assessment unit grades to give you your overall qualification grade. For GCSEs or A Levels, the grade boundary will be their final grade for their whole qualification as they are assessed at the end of their qualification in an exam. This means that you can’t directly compare the grade boundaries for the externally assessed exams as they are used differently in BTECs and in GCSEs or A Levels.
Read our BTEC learner guide to find out more about how BTECs are awarded