Promoting your international school - how your exam board can help

Education is competitive. Trying to make your school stand out is essential – especially when you’re marketing to parents, who are the ultimate decision makers. You have to use all resources at your disposal, and shine a light on your most valuable assets, including the ones you may not initially think of.

Take your exam board. The international qualifications you offer and the exams your students take, play a significant role in how parents perceive your school’s performance and potential. Your exam board can be a powerful partner to include in your school’s marketing strategy.

Let’s take a look at how to include your exam board in your marketing efforts, and attract more parents to your school community.

Quality certifications build confidence in parents

Naturally, parents want to see that your school offers international qualifications that are recognised by universities and employers worldwide. They need to know that their children will acquire the knowledge and skills they need and that will prepare them for their futures after school and as they step into the world of work. 

By marketing your choice of exam board, you show parents that you’re working with a respected assessment provider. This not only reassures parents but gives them transparency around the subjects their children will cover in school, why and how those subjects will be assessed, and what the benefit is for young people in the long term.

Knowing the exam board encourages parents to trust your school more deeply. When they see that the exam board is internationally-renowned and chosen by thousands of schools globally, they can have greater confidence in your school’s offering, and feel reassured that their children will have clearly defined learning pathways when they join your school community..

Exam boards as a competitive advantage

The different features of your exam board matter to parents because they address concerns about personalisation and student-centred learning. By highlighting these features in your marking materials, you can show that your school embraces innovative learning that is tailored to help students succeed – plus, you make your school stand out against others.

These are some of the features of your exam board that you can include in your marketing:

Modular qualifications

A modular approach means students can take assessments in units rather than at the end of the academic year. Many parents may find this extra flexibility appealing, especially if their child struggles with the standard approach to exams.

Pearson Edexcel is the only awarding body to offer a modular route for International GCSEs as an alternative to the linear assessment route.

Read more about modular qualifications.

Onscreen assessment

The ability to offer students a choice of how they sit high stakes assessment, either onscreen or via paper-based exams is a popular competitive advantage for many schools, especially with parents who want to know their child is at at school that is forward-thinking and innovative in how students are assessed. Enabling students to take exams in a format that they prefer and are already very literate in, can be a significant draw for prospective families.

Pearson is the first awarding body to offer onscreen International GCSE and International A Level exams alongside traditional paper-based exams.

Read more about onscreen assessment.

Flexible re-sits

If your exam board offers modular qualifications, students are able to take and if needed, retake specific units in an exam series, rather than having to resit an entire qualification. There are many advantages to this, not least that it demonstrates to parents that your school has the flexibility to ensure their child only takes a unit assessment when they are ready, but also that they can re-sit to improve their grades if needed, helping them reach their potential.

Access arrangements

The majority of exam boards provide access arrangements for students with extra needs. These may include more time in exams, different formats for the exam, and additional equipment to complete the exam. Arrangements reassure parents that their children have fair opportunities to perform well, and that your school cares about equality and allowing all students to reach their potential..

Ongoing research

Your exam board may be involved in, or associated with, research in education. If so, you can communicate to parents what exactly the research is for, and how it relates to innovation in learning.

Pearson's latest research, Assessment Evolved: Redefining Formative Assessment in a Generative AI Era explores how generative AI is reshaping formative assessment. Based on research with over 1,000 educators and expert interviews, it offers actionable strategies for policy, practice, and leadership to help educators build students' AI literacy, critical thinking, and future-ready skills

Maximising exam board partnerships for marketing

Exam boards can be active partners in your marketing. Many boards provide schools with ready-made parent-focused materials to use and adapt for your own context. These include factsheets, downloadable brochures and explanatory videos.

With these resources, you can better promote your school in tandem with your exam board. Additionally, you can keep your messaging consistent across both your school’s marketing and your school board’s communications – which extends the trust that people have in the exam board through to your school (and vice versa).

Pearson's For parents webpage contains a host of content you can share with current and prospective parents and your wider school community.

Exam boards are a strategic marketing asset

Choosing your exam board is an important decision for your exam officers, school leaders, educators and students. It can also help shape your school’s marketing. Quality certifications build trust with parents, standout exam board features bring a competitive advantage, and exam board’s marketing materials are another set of tools in your marketing toolbox.

For parents – who understandably want to be familiar with all of their children’s school experience – having details from and about your exam board is informing and reassuring. It helps them see your school as a reliable and responsible education provider.

Further reading

Find more ways to effectively speak to parents at your school. Read Partnering with parents: Enabling better outcomes and Five tips for a successful parents’ evening.