Over a year in the making, the Curriculum & Assessment Review (CAR) has landed, but you may not have had time to digest it yet! What does it tell us about the future state of GCSE Science?
As we welcome in the New Year, we’re looking back at what students, tutors and sector leaders told us about post-16 English and maths - and what this means for the year ahead.
Through Resit Rethink, Let’s Talk English, the Pearson School Report, national forums and our summer roundtable, we heard directly from thousands of students and practitioners across secondary and further education.
Here are 10 things you told us in 2025:
Across the world, students are increasingly curious about immersive technology,1 and advances in AI are making it easier to bring these environments to life in the classroom.2 But does this progress mean it’s time to fast-track virtual reality and similar tools into everyday teaching and learning?
The latest research shows that immersive experiences can enhance learning, but a ‘more immersive’ learning experience doesn’t automatically mean it’s more effective. As we see every day, it’s teachers’ choices of what will work best for their students that make the difference, from selecting well-designed experiences, to using them to support every learning journey.
Maths is more than numbers—it’s a gateway to understanding the world, solving problems, and unlocking future opportunities. Yet for many students, teachers, and even parents, maths can be a source of stress and fear. At Pearson, we believe that maths anxiety shouldn’t stand in the way of learning. That’s why we’ve launched a campaign to support confidence in maths across the UK.
What do we mean when we ask why English does not feel creative any more?
Partly, maybe, that after the age of 14, pupils have few opportunities to write fiction, poetry or drama, at least for assessment. There is only one ‘recreative writing’ option at A-Level, and few students take it. The Creative Writing A-Level lasted only from 2014-2018. But then such opportunities haven’t existed for quite a few decades, and even then, they were permitted only intermittently, and reluctantly.
In the last year, the EA has been talking to teachers, academics, and leaders in the discipline about the English GCSEs. As part of our Let’s Talk English series, Dr Rebecca Fisher (CEO of the English Association) outlines the challenges with the GCSEs and recommendations for change as identified by the English subject community.
In our latest Let's Talk English blog, Professor Cathy Shrank considers the surprising careers unlocked by studying English.
As we begin the new school year, and look back on what was an extraordinary summer term, we want to share our reflections on the conversations, ideas and energy that have shaped discussions over the past few months.
What started as an invitation to come together and talk about the future of English has grown into something much bigger. This is no longer just a conversation: it’s a shared commitment to reimagine how this subject can equip every learner with the confidence, creativity and critical thinking skills to succeed in life beyond school.
We’ve brought together thousands of voices from across education — classroom teachers, curriculum leaders, students and sector experts — to explore bold questions about the future of English. From national forums to regional roadshows, a picture has begun to emerge: this is a subject that matters deeply and must adapt to meet the needs of young people in an ever-changing world.
Let’s Talk English is our invitation to rethink the purpose of English — to imagine what a richer, more inclusive and more meaningful experience of the subject could look like.
Since the campaign launched in March, we’ve run six forums with teachers and sector leads across the country. We’ve completed extensive research into the views of secondary English teachers (the results of which are coming soon), and asked representatives from across the sector to share their views on key topics. And we’re only just getting started.
