Exams Officer Update
27 February 2025 |
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Welcome to this week’s Exams Officer Update.
As the new term begins, your attention may be turning to getting your last minute exam entries in and beginning to prepare yourself and your learners for the summer exam series.
- Key Dates
- Exam Paper Tracking
- Missing Labels, Registers & Returning Scripts
- Additional Exams Stationery
- Exam Timetables
- How to apply for Special Considerations (including deadlines)
- Submitting and Amending Coursework & Controlled Assessment Marks
- Submitting Coursework & Controlled Assessment Samples via LWT
- Edexcel Online Access & Permissions for Exams (including Secure Download Service)
- Modified Paper Applications (including enlarged / coloured papers via SDS)
- Vocational Qualifications: Learner Tracker
- BTEC Registration & Entries
- Results & Post-Results
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| Pearson Development Hub and upcoming live EO events |
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Our dedicated space for Exams Officer training has been created as part of our commitment to you, to offer enhanced support and training in 2024/2025 and beyond.
Features
You can access our library of interactive modules alongside live training, curated support articles, and the most useful documents from our website. We have brought everything you need to one place to save time when you need to upskill or refresh yourself on a topic.
- Pause interactive modules and return to them later
- Make notes in the notepad that you can refer to and download later
- Receive email alerts when new content is released.
- Follow curated learning paths for a particular qualification or process
Exams Officer Update live sessions
Why not join us for our next live online event, taking place on Thursday 13 March, 2pm - 3pm. Here we will focus in supporting you through the BTEC external assessment entry processes.
As with last year's events, we will go through news, updates and processes for the coming weeks and give you the opportunity to ask any general questions.
Click the links below to register for this and upcoming events. |
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Date |
Description |
| 7 March |
Deadline to submit special consideration requests
BTEC Technicals
March 2025 |
| 19 March |
Restricted release of results to centres
BTEC Nationals, BTEC Firsts, BTEC Tech Awards (2022)
January 2025 |
| 20 March |
Release of results to learners
BTEC Nationals, BTEC Firsts, BTEC Tech Awards (2022)
January 2025 |
| 21 March* |
Deadline to make external assessment entries
BTEC Nationals, BTEC Firsts, BTEC Tech Awards (2017), BTEC Technicals
June 2025 |
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*Learners who sat BTEC assessments in the January 2025 series can be re-entered for June exams after January results have been issued, and no late fees will be charged. the entry deadline for these learners is 28 March
*Learners who sat BTEC assessments in the February 2025 series can be re-entered for June exams after February results have been issued, and no late fees will be charged. the entry deadline for these learners is 11 April
*Learners who sat BTEC assessments in the March 2025 series can be re-entered for June exams after March results have been issued, and no late fees will be charged. the entry deadline for these learners is 2 May |
The deadline to submit your summer series entries for BTEC Firsts, Nationals and L2 Technicals is 21 March. It’s essential that entries are made on time for all learners. It means that you’ll receive any question papers on time and we know that your learners are on track to receive their results when they expect them.
Following the completion of your cohort confirmation in January, we have a shared view of your learners expecting results in the summer. You can use the VQ Learner Tracker to quickly see all learners who need external assessment entries to be eligible for their overall qualification result.
Once you’ve identified learners who need entries, we have a wealth of support available to help you make your entries on time, whether you’re making them via EDI or on Edexcel Online.
Live support event
We’ll be dedicating time in the next live exams officer update event to focus on entries and using the VQ Learner Tracker to check you’ve made all the entries you need to for your summer cohort.
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Following the Department for Education’s (DfE) review of Level 3 qualifications, some BTEC qualifications will no longer be funded for 16–19 learners in England from 1 August 2025. This may impact your centre if you currently use a top-up model, where learners complete a smaller qualification in their first year before progressing to a larger one in their second year.
Read more about Level 3 defunding and top ups |
The provisional timetables for BTEC external assessments for winter 2026 and summer 2026 exam series are now available on our timetables page. These timetables cover all BTEC qualifications (BTEC Firsts, Tech Awards, Technicals, Nationals. BTEC AAQ Nationals first external exam is Summer 2026).
Please email any feedback or comments on these provisional timetables to timetables@pearson.com by the end of Friday 21 March 2025.
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Getting ready for December/January series results
You will receive your December/January series results on Wednesday 19 March, which you can then release to learners on Thursday 20 March. Refer to our dedicated support articles for step-by-step guidance on how to access learner results:
Our understanding your results for BTEC Tech Awards page covers you everything you need to know about your learners’ results.
Certification and resits
If learners sat their terminal external assessment in January and are eligible to certificate, you can either submit certification claims or allow them to resit in the summer.
Certification claims for January assessments open on 21 March and close on 18 April via Edexcel Online.
You can use the grade calculator or check Section 8 of the specification to determine final grades. If a learner does wish to resit the terminal external assessment, you can still choose to submit a certification claim for them if they are eligible, or you can choose to wait until the summer.
When considering resits, you should think about the likelihood of improvement and the potential impact on other assessments and learner wellbeing.
The BTEC Tech Awards are compensatory, meaning that even if a learner receives a U grade in one component, they may still achieve an overall qualification grade if their total UMS points across all components are sufficient.
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Date |
Description |
| 7 March |
Dates by which certificates will be issued
GCSE English Langauge, Mathematics
November 2024 |
| 5 March |
Restricted release of results to centres
Edexcel Award, Project Qualifications
January 2025 |
| 6 March |
Release of results to learners
Edexcel Award, Project Qualifications
January 2025 |
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Pre-release material for 7MC0 Mathematics in Context (Level 3 Core Maths) paper 1, will be released on Monday 3 March 2025.
You will be able to access this from the ' exam materials' section on our website. Please pass this information to your Head of Maths.
From the 2025 exam series onwards the pre-release material will be issued on or around 3 March each year.
This change has been made to ensure that there is adequate preparation time in advance of the examinations. |
Please be reminded that, as published on our website, the deadline to submit requests for modified papers for the summer series was 31 January 2025. This deadline is the same every year.
To order modified papers please select ‘ Access Arrangements Online’ on Edexcel Online.
Then select the relevant portal depending on the qualification.
Access Arrangements Online – GCSE, GCE, Edexcel Award, L3C, PLSC
Pearson Access Arrangements Online – BTEC, International A Level, International GCSE
Models for use with summer 2025 Mathematics modified papers
Please be aware that we no longer automatically supply 3D models with the modified large print Maths papers.
Please note: these will still come as standard with all orders for UEB Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille. You do not need to order these if your candidate uses braille.
If your centre has placed an order for modified large print papers for GCSE, International GCSE, A Level Maths or Edexcel Award Number & Measure, and your student requires 3D models, please complete this form to order these.
If you require any further information regarding this, please contact the Modified Formats Team at additional_requirements@pearson.com.
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The DfE has confirmed that students will not need to memorise formulae and equations for GCSE Maths, Physics and Combined Science (physics) for June 2025, 2026 and 2027.
We will follow the same approach for our International GCSE Physics, Science Double Award and Single Award (physics papers) for all series.
Pearson will continue to provide students with support materials in the form of a formulae sheet for International GCSE Physics, Science Double Award and Single Award (Physics) in 2025, 2026 and 2027. We will provide clean copies with their 2025, 2026 and 2027 exam papers.
This means the formulae sheet to be used in the 2025 exams will be the same as those used for exams in 2024. As such, students and teachers may access exam boards’ 2024 sheets for practice purposes, if they wish. |
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We have recently launched our new Interactive Qualifications Key Dates Calendar. The calendar can be downloaded and synchronised seamlessly with your personal calendar.
This calendar has a subscription function which allows you to import important exam dates into your preferred calendar app such as Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar. You can subscribe to key dates for Vocational qualifications, General qualifications or International qualifications.
If we make any changes or additions to the calendar on our website, these will automatically update in your personal calendar so you can be sure you are always seeing the most up to date information. |
Further to our introduction to the new Pearson Support Portal in the November Exams Officer Newsletter we are continuing to improve our contact us journey, by providing an even more personalised chat experience. You can now access our Pearson Virtual Assistant using your Pearson Portal (Edexcel Online) credentials to receive secure personalised support.
Throughout the coming year we will also be preparing more of our workforce to support you on chat, to guarantee an effortless, efficient and accurate service.
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The Provisional timetables for Summer 2026 have been available on our website from Monday 3 February. These can be found on provisional timetables webpage |
If you choose to contact us via email to examsofficers@pearson.com, you'll notice that our responses are sent from 'customersupport.reply@pearson.com'. This is a response only email address, and allows any responses you send, by clicking 'reply/reply all', to be linked to the existing support case.
However, if you were to compose a brand new email and send to that reply email address, there is no case to link it to, so we do not receive your email and you will not receive a response. This should result in a bounce back email stating the address is invalid. |
We recently introduced our enhanced Qualifications Customer Support Portal, designed to make getting help quicker and easier than ever. Created with our customers in mind, new or enhanced features include:
- A new streamlined contact-us journey enables you to connect quickly with our support teams in the way that suits you; via live-chat for real-time assistance, our new webform, as well as traditional phone or email routes.
- You can use your Pearson Portal (Edexcel Online) credentials to access secure personalised support even faster, and view your existing cases.
- Our comprehensive support article library has also been restructured with sections specific to teachers, exams officers and quality nominees, as well as stronger search functions, to resolve your own queries quickly and easily.
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Cyber Security
Whether you’re a new or experienced Edexcel Online user, it's important that we are all aware of the possible threats to our collective data. We would encourage all exams staff, new and old, to visit our cyber security webpage and watch our short training video. |
Multi Factor Authentication
Multi Factor Authentication was successfully rolled out to nearly a quarter of a million Pearson Portal users last year. Although it has now become a standard way of accessing our systems, that we should all be familiar with, it can sometimes present challenges if a smart device is lost or replaced. You can read more information, see a quick start guide and access FAQs and troubleshooting for our authenticator app in our Pearson Portal Authenticator support article. |
There are multiple ways to contact the customer service teams at Pearson. The Customer Support Portal allows you to choose a method that best suits you.
- Support case – This is much like an email, but we will see all the information you have already populated. You can then log back in to the portal to track the progress of these cases.
- Live chat – A team of agents is waiting to answer these during normal working hours.
- Phone – If you would like to speak with us, we have a team of agents waiting to take your call.
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The likelihood is that Pearson won’t be the only awarding organisation that you or your centre work with, and this means that you will receive lots of different communications. Some of these may be more relevant to your role than others, so it’s important that you and your colleagues are signed up to receive the regular updates that matter to you. It's also important that Edexcel Online accounts are accurate as these are used to determine who needs to receive ad hoc communications.
As Exams Officers, you will be responsible for the creation and maintenance of Edexcel Online accounts for those in other roles, such as teachers or other curriculum staff. Whilst doing this you could also sign them up to receive the relevant subject advisor updates.
Here is a full list of all the regular updates we send, including an archive of previous editions and the sign-up forms.
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The JCQ published its latest update on 12 February, highlighting Term time checkpoints, the NAEO survey and more. |
If you are approved to offer JCQ awarding body qualifications, you will automatically receive the JCQ monthly updates. However, your colleagues can also subscribe to the updates via the JCQ website. |
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Don't forget we have a dedicated Pearson Exams Officer Support page on Facebook. This provides you with a quick and convenient way to stay up to date with our latest news and live updates from the team.
Important and informative announcements will be posted on the page daily and messages will be monitored 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday by Charlie, Emma and Seren; our dedicated Social Media Team. Message them with for help with your queries throughout your working day. |
Sign up to receive these updates
If you would like to sign any of your colleagues up to receive these updates, you can do so here. You can view previous editions of the EO Update on our support portal. |
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