• Pearson apologises after BTEC gaffe hits schools' progress 8 scores

    Ministers have vowed to amend schools’ progress 8 scores after it was discovered some were as much as 0.2 points lower than expected because Pearson sent incomplete BTEC results to the government. The exam board has apologised after some schools checked Department for Education data on Thursday and were shocked to see that their progress…

    16.45 Sep. 26th, 2019 | News

  • Complaints against leading exam boards double in two years

    The number of complaints received by Ofqual about England’s largest exam boards has nearly doubled over the past two years, latest figures show. Statistics released by the exams regulator today reveal that there were 143 complaints made against AQA, Pearson and OCR in 2018-19. This is a rise of 54 per cent from the 93…

    17.15 Sep. 3rd, 2019 | News

  • 'Attenborough effect' is 'fuelling' interest in GCSE science

    The “Attenborough effect” – where pupils want to “make a difference” in the world – is fuelling an interest in science, the vice president of Pearson has said. In England, 767,722 16-year-olds took science double award this year – a rise of 5.1 per cent (37,132) from the 730,590 pupils who entered the exam last…

    17.52 Aug. 22nd, 2019 | News

  • Pearson will issue 'revised grades' for some BTEC pupils who missed re-sit chance

    Pearson has pledged to issue “revised grades” for some pupils who may have been disadvantaged by missing out on the opportunity to re-sit exams after its last-minute decision to hike grade boundaries. Writing exclusively for Schools Week, Cindy Rampersaud, Pearson senior vice president, and Derek Richardson, Pearson vice president, said they “apologise unreservedly” for how…

    13.18 Aug. 20th, 2019 | News

  • Pearson: We apologise for not being clear on BTEC changes - but it’s the right call

    This week, tens of thousands of students receive their results for their Level 2 vocational qualifications and GCSEs. Our BTEC Tech Awards are designed to be taught alongside GCSEs, giving students a glimpse into a professional sector whilst teaching them skills for life. Students will receive grades for the first time in five new BTEC…

    13.01 Aug. 20th, 2019 | Opinion

  • Investigation launched after pupils given question 'copied' from textbook

    An investigation has been launched after it emerged a question used in the Edexcel GCSE maths paper 3 this week was almost identical to one used in a revision textbook. Pupils took to social media to share their frustration after they were faced with the same diagram, values and answer in Tuesday’s GCSE higher tier…

    15.06 Jun. 13th, 2019 | News

  • Edexcel allows exam candidates to opt out of gender classifications

    Pupils taking exams this summer have been offered the chance to opt out of gender classifications for the first time. Pearson, the education company that owns the exam board Edexcel, made the step forward, by presenting candidates with the option of removing the male or female classification for their qualifications. The idea of a gender-neutral…

    17.19 Aug. 15th, 2018 | News

  • Edexcel grade boundaries leaked ahead of A-level results day

    The grade boundaries for A-level exams set by the exam board Edexcel have been leaked online, a day ahead of the results being released. The sharing of information flies in the face of a decision made by all exam boards last August to only make the grade boundaries for GCSE and A-level exams available to…

    13.07 Aug. 15th, 2018 | News

  • 65 winners scoop silver Pearson teaching awards for 2018

    Sixty-five silver Pearson teaching awards have been handed out across the country, in the 20th year of celebrating excellence in education. The trophies will be presented to outstanding teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and lecturers in schools and colleges across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, following thousands of nominations. Silver award winners will go on to the…

    17.00 Jun. 22nd, 2018 | News

  • OCR suffers 20% drop in awards as schools flee iGCSE

    A major exam board has reported a huge slump in certifications as schools shun iGCSEs in favour of more traditional qualifications. According to Ofqual’s annual qualifications market report, OCR, the third-largest provider of GCSE and equivalent qualifications, awarded 21 per cent fewer certificates last year. Exam boards WJEC and Pearson also saw falls of 17…

    15.00 Mar. 2nd, 2018 | News

  • Pearson merges Edexcel exams and textbooks publisher - but insists staff won't mix

    Education firm Pearson has merged its schools publishing and UK exams arms, but insists it has “robust firewalls” to prevent staff developing tests from also writing textbooks. Pearson’s UK schools learning team, which decides the content of its textbooks, has been merged with the Edexcel exam board. However, it has insisted it will continue to…

    5.00 Oct. 2nd, 2017 | News