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Welcome to the latest edition of the international Exams Officer Update. 

As always, our customer support portal offers a wide range of articles to support you in your day to day activities. As we begin to look ahead to the summer exam period, you may find our Entries and Registrations article useful

We will be sharing more 'essential information' articles with you in future editions of this update.
Date Description
21 March Deadline to submit Transferred Candidate applications
International GCSE, GCSE, AS and A LEVEL, Edexcel Award in Maths, ELC, L3 Maths in Context
June 2024
21 March Deadline to make entries
International GCSE, GCSE, AS and A LEVEL, Edexcel Award in Maths, ELC, L3 Maths in Context
June 2024
On March 28 2024 we are hosting a live event, covering key dates and top tips to help you in your role.

  • International Exams Officer webinar | 10.00 am - 10.45 am GMT | 28 March 2024
Register for this event here
A cash-in code is entered for International A Level (IAL) and Modular International GCSEs only (from 2025) and is used to tie all units together and calculate an overall grade.  

Without a cash-in code, a result or certificate CANNOT be given; however, only enter a cash-in code once all units have been entered.  

Knowledge base articles: Entries: Making Entries (International)

You can enter the cash-in code alongside the entries.  

You will only pay for the unit entries.

You can remove this throughout the exam series and no charge will be issued.

Only enter a cash-in code once the correct number of units have been entered to be eligible for the overall award.  

Re-sits  

Candidates re-sitting units, you must cash-in again with the original cash-in code. The best results over the last 2 sessions will be used (this does not apply to maths).

Cash in rules

Entering a cash-in code without the correct number of units will cause the candidate to be ineligible.

Please see International A Level (IAL) Eligibility    

 
On March 6 2024 we hosted a live event, aimed at offering support in making entries for the new Modular International GCSE qualifications. If you werent able to attend this event we have made a recording available.


We have also produced the following articles to support you with the administration of this qualification;
Oral materials for Modern Foreign Languages and Pre-Release Material for GCE Music (9MU0/02) are due to be delivered to centres from Wednesday 13 March onwards. Tracking information will be available via Edexcel Online. 
The deadline for ordering modified papers for the Summer 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.

Please be aware the deadlines for ordering modified papers are as follows
  • 4th October - January Series
  • 31st January - Summer series
  • 20th September - 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.
Accessing electronic copies of question papers

After consultation with Awarding Organisations, JCQ have now revised their timings for when electronic question papers are made available to centres, either by Secure File Transfer or Secure Download Service.

These updates can be viewed in the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations booklet

This has now been increased from 45 to 60 minutes before the published exam start time.

We have also updated our Secure File Transfer (SFT) and Secure Download Service (SDS) guidance to reflect this change.
We are currently reviewing our onboarding process for new Exams Officers, as well as how we support those more established within the role.

To assist with this, we are currently gathering insights from Exams Officers on the average time in post and training availability / options for newer members of the centre staff that work with us. This is also an opportunity to have your say and share any feedback you may wish to provide on the training we currently offer.
We would appreciate your assistance by completing a short survey (8 questions) which should only take a few minutes to complete. You can complete this by scanning the QR code below, or of you would prefer you can access the form using this link.

Please note that if your centre is managed by the British Council, you will follow a different process, and your feedback is not required at this time
On 2 February the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) published their updated JCQ guidance on AI Use in Assessments.

The guidance is designed to help students and teachers to complete NEAs, coursework and other internal assessments successfully, giving students the chance to demonstrate skills which cannot be assessed in exams.

Please do share the latest version of the guidance with senior leaders, teachers and assessors in your school or college. This guidance should inform school policies on AI use, so schools and colleges can provide staff and students with clear information.

A summary of the key updates is available on the JCQ website. They've also produced a poster for students on the use of AI and assessments and an information sheet for teachers along with PowerPoint presentations for teachers and students.

Read all the information on JCQ blog and download the updated guidance and support materials.
We introduced app-based multi-factor authentication for all users of Edexcel Online in December, 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.

Additional guidance on using app based MFA to access the Pearson Portal can be found in the Pearson Portal Authenticator support article.

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.

Please share this information with your teaching and IT staff and anyone else who may have missed these communications but needs to access Pearson systems.
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.

Take a look at our short video that explains more about our support portal, the information you can find and the further benefits it provides. 


If in the event you cannot find the answers you are looking for, we have a team of customer service specialists on hand to help resolve your queries. You can reach this team by either raising a case in the Pearson Support Portal, or by calling them on +44 (0) 120 4770 696
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