Edexcel

Edexcel

Type	Education Examination board
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Region served	United Kingdom- England, Wales and Northern Ireland; International
Parent organization	Pearson
Website	Pearson Qualifications

Edexcel, formally known as Pearson Edexcel - London Examinations, is an International British (UK) education and examination board. Edexcel, is the only privately owned examination board in the UK and part of Pearson PLC, is a portmanteau term combining the words Education & Excellence. It regulates school examinations under the British Curriculum and offers qualifications for schools on the international and regional scale.

History

Edexcel was formed by the merger of two bodies, the BTEC (Business & Technology Education Council) and ULEAC (University of London Examinations and Assessment Council). The Edexcel Foundation (the charity which managed the board) formed a partnership with Pearson PLC. The board is now known colloquially as Edexcel and formally as Edexcel Pearson - London Examinations.

In the 2011-12 academic year, Edexcel marked and delivered more than 3.8 million test scripts for over half a million pupils in six weeks for the National Curriculum Tests at Key Stage 2. They also marked more than 5.7 million academic scripts (Edexcel GCSE, Edexcel GCE A level and Edexcel Diploma), with 90% marked onscreen. The vocational qualifications, such as BTECs, are recognised in more than 80 countries worldwide. In 2011-12, over 2 million learners registered for BTECs and other vocational qualifications, including 650,000 school students taking BTEC Firsts and Nationals.

Edexcel also offers IAL, known as International (Advanced) A-Levels. Offered only outside the UK for qualifications that meet the sixth form level such as year 11, 12 and year 13. In addition Edexcel provides the Edexcel International Diploma (ID) which involves the study of 4 A-Levels (3 full A-Levels and 1 AS-Level in either General Studies or Global Development)

Controversies

2015 Maths Paper

On 4 June 2015, students across the United Kingdom sat an Edexcel GCSE Maths non-calculator paper. The reaction after the exam was universally negative, with many taking to Twitter to express their fury and confusion over questions that "did not make sense" and were "ridiculous". The issue became an instant trend on the social media site where they mocked the questions, and this was covered by some news outlets, including ITV News.

It comes after exam regulator Ofqual branded Maths GCSE papers too hard, and ordered exam boards including Edexcel to reduce the difficulty of their papers. They were ordered to rewrite the tests to cater for those with a lower ability in Maths.

External links

• Edexcel
• Edexcel on YouTube

Semi-protection: High level of IP vandalism. Kinda Stolen (talk) 19:55, 4 June 2015 (UTC)