Navigating GCSE and A level reform

Student-centred qualifications. For every future.


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Helping you navigate GCSE and A level reform with confidence

Curriculum reform is creating significant change across GCSEs and A levels. Following the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, schools need clarity on what’s changing, what it means for students and how to plan with confidence. We’re here to help you navigate that change.

Why partner with Pearson during GCSE and A level reform? 

As reform evolves, we’re committed to giving you more than reassurance. We’ll provide clear, practical support you can act on—and qualifications designed to help students progress with confidence. You can expect to have:

  • Confidence – trusted qualifications and assessment that support student progression. 
  • Clarity – straightforward guidance and practical support to help schools plan ahead.
  • Coherence – a joined-up approach from Key Stage 3 through to post-16. 
  • Relevance – qualifications designed around the knowledge, skills and experiences students need for the future.

So you can move forward with confidence, and support every student to succeed, progress and prepare for their future.

Our approach: Student-centred qualifications

At Pearson, we see reform as an opportunity to develop qualifications that are relevant, empowering and fair, helping every student build confidence, make progress and prepare for what comes next. Alongside teachers, we’ve developed these guiding principles to underpin our new, reformed qualifications. 

 

Purple graduation cap resting on a wireframe globe icon, representing global education and learning.

Relevant

Qualifications that connect learning to the real world and reflect the students in your classroom, with inclusive content, meaningful contexts and the right balance of knowledge and skills.

Purple outline of a human head with a brain inside, representing learning and critical thinking.

Empowering

Qualifications that build confidence, deepen understanding and support every student’s potential—helping them grow in capability as well as achievement. 

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Fair

Qualifications that work for all students—and for you—with clear assessment, accessible design and support that helps reduce unnecessary workload. 

What reform means for your subject 

Reform will look different across subject areas. Explore how student-centred design comes to life in each subject: 

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Maths

Supporting maths experiences that build understanding, supports lifelong learning and opens doors to future opportunities.
Purple open book icon representing reading and learning.

English

Empowering students with the agency to speak, the empathy to listen, and the critical mind to navigate a complex, media-rich landscape.
Purple DNA double helix icon representing scientific discovery.

Science

Strengthening understanding and application in real-world contexts.
Purple flag icon marking a goal, representing achievement and progress in post-16 English and maths.

Post-16 English and maths

Rethinking how post-16 English and maths students achieve success, ending the requirement to re-sit exactly the same content studied at school.
Purple icon of two trees representing geography, nature, and the environment.

Geography

Making learning more relevant, engaging and connected to comtemporary global issues.
Purple pen and ruler icon representing creative subjects

Creatives

Championing creativity through more authentic and accessible approaches.
two students female and male walking

The future of post-16 vocational qualifications at Levels 2 and 3

Qualification reform is also reshaping the post-16 landscape in England. Discover our guide to understand what is changing, when it is happening and what it means for your organisation.

Learn more

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Coming soon

Join our autumn-term webinar series for practical guidance on qualification reform, with Pearson experts sharing sector insight and support to help you plan with confidence.

Topics, dates and registration links will be shared soon.

Latest news

  • New Countdown host, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, is taking Maths to new levels

    In the most recent episode of The Right Angle podcast, our guest – Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE – discusses forgotten mathematicians and myth-busting gendered attitudes to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). 

    We are excited to hear more from the child prodigy and new Countdown host, who is taking on the role while Rachel Riley is on maternity leave, about her upcoming book She’s in CTRL and her aspirations for the future of maths…

  • Maths Flex and low-stakes assessment

    When it comes to low-stakes assessment, the consensus is that it is assessment which is not pass or fail, does not cause added stress or anxiety for pupils (Bain, 2004) (children can make mistakes without a penalty) and aims to get children to retrieve information. This blog looks at how Maths Flex can be used for low-stakes assessment.

  • Using Power Maths flexibly after lost learning

    On 27 January we held a webinar to share advice from our authors, Tony Staneff and Josh Lury, about how to use Power Maths flexibly in response to the current situation. Many children are not going into each new unit at the usual, expected starting point, and the volume of missed learning is variable. Please watch the webinar if you have time (it’s 1 hour). Otherwise, this blog is designed to sum up some key points.

Next steps

Stay informed as reform progresses. Sign up for updates to receive the latest guidance, key milestones and subject-specific information. If you'd like to discuss what curriculum and assessment reform could mean for your school or college, our team is here to help.

Sign up for updates or talk to us

Pearson. For every future.