Exams Officer Update
14 December 2023 |
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We've reached the end of another busy term, and indeed another year, and we want to thank you for all your hard work and cooperation throughout 2023. We hope you can enjoy a well-earned festive break.
We appreciate that December has been a really busy month so far, and the introduction of app based multi-factor authentication may have meant you have experienced longer response times for your calls and emails due to increased demand for support. Please be assured that we are working through all of your queries and aim to resolve all of these ahead of what will surely be a busy January. Additional MFA guidance can be found further down this update.
Our Customer Service team will be available as usual for the rest of this
week and next week; our phone lines will close at 12 p.m. on Friday
22 December.
We will be back to our usual 8-5 p.m. opening hours from 2 January 2024.
As always, our essential information guide is available for you to access and utilise throughout the academic year. The article is designed to aid you with frequently asked questions and various processes that you might require assistance with in your day-to-day activities.
Earlier this year, we unveiled the Pearson Development Hub - a designated space specifically tailored for exams officer training. We have created this as part of our commitment to you to offer enhanced support and training in 2023 and beyond. We've produced a guide to accessing the hub, and we'll let you know within this update whenever new training modules are available. |
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| Exams Officer Update | live sessions |
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Throughout the event, we will walk you through the latest news, updates, and upcoming processes for the weeks ahead, providing you with the opportunity to pose any questions you may have. You can view recordings of previous events on our Pearson Development Hub. |
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You should start reviewing your estimated completion dates now ahead of the February 9 cohort declaration checkpoint deadline. The declaration will open in early January, and we’ll be asking heads of centres to sign a confirmation to declare that all estimated completion dates are accurate for all your BTEC registrations. By reviewing your estimated completion dates now, the checkpoint will be a simple form to complete.
You should:
- check estimated completion dates are accurate.
- amend estimated completion dates where needed.
- withdraw learners that have historic estimated completion dates and will no longer be completing.
Read more about maintaining estimated completion dates
Read the latest communication about the cohort confirmation checkpoint
This important work means we will have an accurate shared view of all learners who are expecting an overall qualification result in August. We can track these learners through the year and provide detailed learner insights so we can work in partnership with you to provide on-time results.
We’ll be in touch in January when the cohort confirmation declaration is open for completion, and we’ll also be sharing more information on how you can provide estimated completion dates for BTEC Tech Awards (2022) and T Levels. |
BTEC Firsts and Nationals
Learner Work Transfer (LWT) is now open for you to upload learners’ work for some BTEC Firsts and Nationals throughout the January 2024 external assessment series. You are no longer required to upload learner work to SharePoint.
The submission deadlines vary by unit and are detailed in our BTEC timetables; you should submit learners’ work before the end of each unit’s submission window. You can find a full list of the BTEC units using LWT in our BTEC External Assessments: LWT Guidance support article.
We will work in partnership with you to ensure you are able to upload all your learner work and we receive it.
We have a wealth of support available to help you navigate LWT with confidence, including a short on-demand e-learning module and a recorded webinar: |
There is subject-specific guidance for uploading learner work to LWT in each unit’s administrative support guide (ASG). You can find each subject’s ASGs on the qualification course materials page, under external assessments. |
After working closely with colleges and schools and talking to many exams officers, earlier this month we shared the new BTEC key dates for 2023/24. They are designed to be more streamlined, and allow us to deliver results to all your learners who are expecting them in summer 2024.
Read our BTEC key dates for 2023/24.
We’ll be keeping you updated this year by contacting you directly, but you can also keep up to date by visiting our teaching learning and assessment page 2023/24 for the most up to date FAQs. |
| Date |
Description |
| 15 December |
Submission deadline: Submit your learner work and marks for Tech Award 2022 December/January Pearson Set Assignments |
| 16 January |
Entry deadline: make your entries for March 2024 external examinations |
| 31 January |
Deletion deadline: delete learner registrations if learner has withdrawn from qualification |
| 9 February |
9 February Cohort Declaration checkpoint: deadline for your Head of Centre to confirm
which learners are expecting a qualification result in August 2024, following a check that all
estimated completion dates are accurate on Edexcel Online. |
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From Monday 18 December, the provisional timetables for November 2024 International GCSE and January 2025 International A Level and Edexcel Awards will be available on our website
The consultation window will run from Monday 18 December to Monday 15 January.
Please send any comments to timetables@pearson.com |
You should have started to receive standard and modified question papers for the Edexcel Award January series from Tuesday 5 December. You will be able to track your standard question paper despatch for General Qualifications via Edexcel Online. Attendance registers and labels were dispatched from Monday 4 December.
The Yellow Label Service will be in place for this series for centres in England to return scripts.
If you require electronic copies of these question papers, please check your EOL accounts are up-to-date, ensuring you have access to our Secure Download Service (SDS) service. |
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January 2024
The deadline for ordering modified papers for the January 2024 exam series has now passed.
If you were unable to meet the deadline, please place your late order on AAO/PAAO as a matter of urgency and then contact us by way of email on additional_requirements@pearson.com, quoting your order number and centre number. We will then be able to advise you if it will be possible to supply a modified paper.
Summer 2024
Modified papers for the summer 2024 exam series are now available to order.
The deadline for ordering modified papers for the summer 2024 exams is the 31 January 2024. Please ensure you place any orders for modified papers as soon as possible to avoid the risk of us being unable to fulfil your request.
Please be aware the deadlines for ordering modified papers are as follows: |
- 4 October 2023 - January Series
- 31 January 2024 - summer series
- 20 September 2024 - November series
These do not change each year.
Models for use with summer 2024 Mathematics modified papers
Please be aware that we no longer automatically supply 3D models with the modified large print Maths papers.
Please note that 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 Maths, please complete this form to order your candidate 3D models.
Failure to respond will result in no models being sent to your centre.
If you require any further information regarding this, please contact the Modified Formats Team at additional_requirements@pearson.com
For further information on modified papers, access to past modified papers and answers to FAQs, please go to the modified formats page on our website |
We introduced app-based multi-factor authentication for all users of Edexcel Online earlier this month, to protect your data and maintain the integrity of our assessments. This replaced the existing web based multi-factor authentication, and became mandatory on 5 December. All users will require access to a smart phone device to receive a verification code to access Edexcel Online.
Based on feedback received since this was launched we have also created a short 'Did you know?' graphic to answer some of your immediate questions.
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If you are running examinations in the January 2024 series, it is important for you to stay up to date with the official exam regulations.
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We want to ensure you have all the help and support you need at your fingertips; that’s why we’ve got a library of support articles hosted on our Customer Support Portal. Each article contains answers, detailed information, step-by-step guides, instructional videos, and general advice. Articles require no special access, are easily searchable by keywords in their title, and are available 24/7, 365 days a year. And for good measure, we also have the portal user guide.
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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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