Edexcel welcomes the QCA report on GCE A level examination fees. We are aware of the growing cost of examinations and the impact of this on expenditure in schools and colleges but equally aware that schools do not choose specifications based on price but on the quality of the specification and support offered - the "added value". QCA's report was based on a simple comparison of fees and the description of services as published on awarding body websites without effectively comparing this value for money which is where we differ substantially from other awarding bodies.

The report points to significant differences in pricing strategy across awarding bodies. In particular, to differences in the approach taken by awarding bodies to recovering the cost of A levels which are, in the main, loss-making, and have been since the introduction of Curriculum 2000. These issues were reflected in the QCA investigations into General Qualification pricing published by PKF in December 2006. The PKF investigation concluded that awarding body fees were ‘reasonable’.

Edexcel takes the view that student attainment in GCE A level (and in GCSE) has been static for far too long, and that the solution to improved attainment lies in the strategy outlined by Dr Ken Boston in his evidence to the Commons Select Committee on 17 December 2007. In that evidence, Dr Boston said that improved attainment would come from personalised learning, continuous analysis of performance and professional training of teachers and it is in these arenas that Edexcel is investing most heavily to help schools and colleges raise attainment.